Halloween? Christmas? Or Both?

I've always been more of a fan of Halloween, to be honest, I think the build-up to Christmas can be quite stressful most of the time. 

Halloween. I think I might have some trauma associated with Christmas holidays. Nothing too terrible but boy do I not look forward to December whatsoever. I don’t like getting gifts because that’s just more stuff I need to take care of and it’s harder to get rid of the gifts you don’t want. My extended family also has a bad habit of not putting a limit to how many engagements we are OBLIGATED to go to during that whole month.

Halloween on the other hand is mostly harmless. 

I don’t like Christmas that much. Everything gets contaminated with glitter which causes panic attacks for me. It’s loud with music and crowded people. Random holiday scents shoved everywhere giving me headaches and nausea. And Christmas lights hurt my eyes.

Im also not a fan of the cold.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I generally consider it being low stimulation, but even then I’m completely dysregulated the next day. But Christmas celebrations last a lot longer than one day…

But Christmas does get a week off of school 

I don't do halloween, I prefer xmas, but only if I've got a house full of people, which I'm hoping to have ths year. I love all the cooking, even though I don't make xmas cake or puddings anymore, because nobody really eats them, we have lots of other stuff. I often end up making several pounds of pastry, different types for different things, shortcrust for mince pies, puff for nut roast wellington and I will attempt choux pastry for profiteroles.

I also have to make a massive ginger cake every year or both my son and step son will think I don't love them anymore. My favourite bit of xmas dinner is the bread sauce, I love the stuff and often make extra and have it for breakfast the next day.

I love the decorations too, I love to decorate the tree, every bauble with a memory attached to it.

OMG!! What a mental picture. w⁠(⁠°⁠ｏ⁠°⁠)⁠w

I was going to leave a gentle post about Christmas but this post just blows everything out of the water. My mind has gone off in all sorts of different directions.

Yikes!!

Iain said:

Meeting complete strangers and 2 minutes later having a huge snog with their hand down your pants takes a bit of getting used to but adds to the spice of it all

Absolutely Christmas, I love the festive feeling especially the buildup

WitchyPrincess06 said:

what's your favourite holiday?

At the moment, Carnival.

It is 5 days of street parties in the height of summer which have loads of street parties, processions and huge bands made up of everyday people who have been practicing for months.

The country more of less shuts down for the week, there are something like 3.5 days of bank holiday so everyone can be a part of it.

There is also a bit of a mindset shift for a lot of people in relation to their morals. Hooking up with someone for a snog, bit of fooling around of an outright bit of practice baby making is positively expected, often many times a day with different people (note it isn't expected but most people won't take offence to being asked and chances of action are high).

I know of 3 married couples who have an agreement to catch up at the end of carnival but to go have some fun in the meantime. 

There is a big LGBT presence during this time with a lot of very colourful and extrovert goings on.

Costumes are commonplace but not mandatory and the less clothing the better seems to be the rule of thumb. Body positivity is high through the event which can be quite an eye opener.

From an autistic point of view the lack of structure can be an issue - events sometimes fail to happen because streets get closed and you cannot physically get to your destination, or there is an issue which cannot be fixed in time because everyone is on holiday.

The chaos seems to be a big part of it and leaning into it to feel at its mercy can sometimes be the best approach.

Noise is also a biggie - the carnival processions can be like standing beside a machine gun that just keeps on going and also the parties in bars go on to all hours of the night, so earplugs are essential if you suffer with this.

If you can find a way to manage the autistic reactions to these things however it can be an amazing experience. You get swept up in a chaotic party moving through the streets, most people a bit drunk or high and all having a great time. Meeting complete strangers and 2 minutes later having a huge snog with their hand down your pants takes a bit of getting used to but adds to the spice of it all.

In case you are wondering if there is some sort of SA on the go, this is not the case. There is consent asked and given and there are plenty of people around who will help you if you call for help.

It is also not a sleasy, sex obsessed event as most people are there for the music and party, but the naughtiness goes on at the edged, discreet enough not to be intrusive. By the fourth day not many have the stamina to keep going anyway LOL.

There are also competitions with different samba groups contesting for a prize so a lot of effort goes into the bigger competitions with their floats and synchronised, costumed dancers. These are the things you will probably see on TV when it is covering carnival.

Christmas is a time of eating, drinking, decorations and time off work. It is also a time to see people and family.

Halloween is one strange day that I don't get.

I prefer Christmas for the break you get.

But I am on my own for various reasons. It causes some issues. Last Christmas I entered the current burnout, I retraumatized myself, but it set me on the path to getting diagnosed and now finally starting to understand myself. But coming to terms with the past is hard and I wonder where my life went.

I am a little scared of this Christmas to be honest, I don't want to get stressed again. I wondering whether to go somewhere to get away from my house and break some of the memories.

I love Christmas definitely my fave time of year (Apart from the noisy shops full of crazy Christmas shoppers!)

I'm literally listening to Christmas music on Spotify right now. The things I love about Christmas are the music, the movies, carefully wrapping presents for my family and picking out special gifts for them in the months leading up to the big day. Carolling is one of my fave things as well. My village has a carol service on Christmas Eve which I'm sometimes part of. I used to do it as a child, not so much now because of my anxiety, but it's something I'd like to try and do this year if I can/

My little sister is young enough to still believe in Santa and seeing her excited on Christmas Day is a fun and special part of it as well. She wakes me up every year at 4am lol.

Halloween I don't really partake in except for watching Halloween movies

I mean I do like my birthday as well but I have had some birthdays that have been so boring. For me the milestone birthdays have been the worst for me. I mean I had to spend my 21st in isolation because my mum got corona and I was living with her at the time. 

I kinda agree with you regarding Birthdays, it kinda feels different when you're an adult... of course I do still like my birthday but I think unless it's a big milestone birthday I don’t really do much

I like Christmas and Easter but mainly because of things like The Kings Speech on Christmas day. Halloween is boring (because I don't do anything to celebrate it)

I am so much more of a Christmas  girl! I’m actually thinking of putting my Christmas decorations soon as well now! I just love all the coziness and festiveness, also my birthday is in December so that adds excitement. Saying that birthdays seem to get more boring as I get older.

Christmas more than Halloween, although I'm not that mad about it. For some years I hated both, but recently have started to look forward to Christmas again. We haven't had a tree for years but are thinking of getting a small one this year.