Thanksgiving, Halloween, Fourth of July, St. Patrick’s Day, and New Year’s Eve. If I were to create a league for the best holidays, this would be my starting lineup. When sharing this with people in my life, they are always shocked that I omit Christmas from this list.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas: the holiday spirit, people’s overwhelming commitment to green and red, the tradition of Santa, and the celebration of Jesus’s birthday. Which is why 36 percent of Americans report Christmas being their favorite holiday, according to a 2025 Talker Research survey.
But most of these qualities that make Christmas so “special” can be found in many other holidays that are often overlooked. Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrating gratitude, generosity, and eating heaps of food. In my opinion, that can’t be beat. Just like Christmas, Thanksgiving brings families together and gives students a break from school. It promotes generosity through canned food drives and Turkey Trot runs which raise money to alleviate food insecurities. This theme of gratitude and selflessness is what makes Thanksgiving rank higher than Christmas for me.
Another overlooked holiday that we recognize in my house is St. Patrick’s Day. Instead of just wearing green, we have corned beef hash browns for breakfast and clover-shaped ravioli for dinner to commemorate the small Irish heritage we have.
New Year’s Eve also holds a particular place in my heart. After having our traditional smoked ham, my immediate family calls our extended family in Ecuador at 10:50 P.M. Central time so we can count them down into their New Year during their timezone. We then sing “Happy Birthday” to my aunt, who was born on New Year’s Day. Lastly, we eat 12 grapes for the last 12 seconds of the countdown in order to bring good fortune into the New Year.
Throughout my childhood, I have been lucky enough to have parents that made every holiday special. On Valentine’s Day, my siblings and I receive small gifts and as a family we have heart-shaped ravioli for dinner. My mom made it important to note that the holiday isn’t just about romantic relationships, but all the love we share everyday, which made me appreciate the day in a different light.
Although these traditions might seem small, they are always something that I am excited for. Our celebrations give these underrecognized holidays more meaning, making them very important to me. My intention is not to be a Scrooge, but instead to highlight how I have become closer to my family and am able to find joy throughout the entire year thanks to tradition. All holidays can be magical if you make them, not just Christmas.
My intent is not to be a Scrooge, it is to encourage people to give due credit to other holidays that deserve it. By creating new traditions, and recognizing those that already exist, we can give ourselves other times of year to look forward to rather than only wait for one.
