Isn't it strange when whole nations suddenly become mad about buying gifts, arranging decorations, cooking and consuming unusual (and often unhealthy) dishes? Isn't it strange that everybody should get merry at a definite date, regardless of the individual condition and personal dispositions? Isn't it strange when, all of a sudden, the regular timetable gets broken and neglected, and any work, however urgent, has to wait till the end of the break?

This is the way people behave during official holidays. So much time is wasted, so much headache gained. The absurdity of this tradition is especially demonstrative in Russia, where people are accustomed to celebrate Christmas, New Year, then again Christmas (Jan 7/8), and again New Year (Jan 13/14), then Chinese New Year, and then the chain of holidays including (among the others) St. Tatiana (Jan 25), the Valentine's Day, the Army's Day (Feb. 23), Women's Day (March 8), St. Patrick, Easter (including the week before and the week after), the May Day, the Victory day... The first half of each year becomes an incessant festivity. Even those dates that are not yet officially recognized as days off influence general moods, distracting people from practical needs.

I admit that one needs sometimes relaxation and breaking away from the routine. I only insist that everybody's life is entirely individual, and people know themselves when it's time to be happy, or to be sad. One must be able to have a break when one really needs it, regardless of somebody else's desires. Of course, I should not expose my personal holidays and grieves to the public, putting the entire neighborhood upside down. In the ideal, nobody will notice the other's personal events, and everybody will esteem the privacy of the others.