Holiday Spirit Year-Round: Why We Should Treat the Whole Year Like a Holiday

It's that time of year where everyone gets in a festive spirit, spends time with family and eats/drinks themselves silly. They buy gifts for others, hoping that their present is received with a wide smile.

Outside of those who either don't celebrate the holidays for personal or religious reasons, people are happy.

The real question is - why can't people have this "cheer" all year?

Why can't everyone be as happy as this bifocaled kid all year?

Do we force ourselves to be happy around the holidays because that's what we are supposed to do? Or are we genuinely happy?

If we're genuinely happy, then why can't this happiness extend beyond the holidays? We should be just as happy on a random day in April as we are on Christmas Day.

Ok, maybe it's because it gives us something to look forward to every year. The cyclical traditions that many cultures have on particular days hold special meaning to the people celebrating them.

I'm not trying to be a Scrooge. On the contrary, I think people who get into the holday spirit should carry a part of that spirit with them throughout the year. It'd make this enthusiasm that many of us seem to force actually become a genuine feeling that can be one spread out across the year.