The Holiday Syndrome

The Holiday Syndrome is a convenient term to describe a fairly specific reaction in a certain group of psychoanalytic patients during the period beginning a few days before Thanksgiving, continuing through Christmas and until a few days after January 1st of each year. It is characterized by the presence of diffuse anxiety, numerous regressive phenomena including marked feelings of helplessness, possessiveness and increased irritability, nostalgic or bitter rumination about holiday experiences of youth, depressive affect and a wish for magical resolution of problems. This reaction frequently dominates the patient and his associations in analysis throughout the 5-6 week period involved. The patient may act out some of the regressive phenomena with family, family substitutes or contemporary love object. He may deny the meaningfulness of the holiday season to him, though the emotional components and unconsciously motivated behavior remain.

The most important day during this 5-6 weeks' period is, of course, Christmas. Some of the origins of Christmas in ancient Rome as related to the winter solstice, and the institution of New Year's Day shortly thereafter, have been well described by Jekels (3). The determinants of the reactions to Christmas and the holiday season have been formulated in various ways. The relationship to relaxation of superego functioning and magical expectations of Santa Claus has been presented by Eisenbud (1), while Richard Sterba (4) has emphasized the concept of the Christmas season as an acting out of childbirth. Jekels (3) has formulated the reactions to Christmas as a dramatization of the ambivalent relationship between father and son. These dynamics are certainly applicable in some instances. However, it is important to consider other motivating factors as well.

In the United States, there is a unique constellation of holidays, beginning with Thanksgiving, an American institution, and including Christmas and New Year's celebrations, heritages fro