Heartbreak Holidays

Here’s to the ones whose hearts are broken this holiday season

By Esther Chan

As the end of the year draws closer, it’s not difficult to realize the holidays draw out the child-like joy in most of us. Considering the delight of families, friends, and food, this is hardly a surprise. Despite the increased jubilance, it stands to reason that, while the holidays incite merriment for some, they simultaneously serve as reminders of pain for another. 

While the sounds of loved ones’ laughter permeate your ears, another’s are deafened by the silence of vacant friends and family. That exchange from tears of laughter to that of heartbreak is the reality for countless individuals—so don’t forget them. Don’t forget the father who no longer holds his child and whose decorations are a reminder that this year, one less stocking will hang upon the mantel. Or the isolated daughter who relives the familiar flash of aching hurt when gazing at those commercials of perfect nuclear families joining hands at the table, knowing that her own has been permanently severed. Perhaps it’s the betrayed single parent whose broken heart throbs with each Hallmark Christmas film that depicts a perfect love story that is no longer their own. And maybe it’s the weary students who can only observe through the screen, denied the loving, physical embrace of their families this year.

There is never shame in reveling in the holiday spirit, but don’t forget those injured souls. To them I say, here’s to you—the ones whose lips still smile and eyes still shine. Maybe you don’t fulfill the requirements for the “ideal” holiday, but you’re still here. You still breathe, and you still survive. Even amidst the distracting exuberance of the festivities, you are seen, you are not forgotten, and you are not alone.