I come from a large family who always centered holidays on family traditional gatherings. We always spent Christmas Eve with my maternal grandmother and extended family, and Christmas afternoon with my paternal grandmother and extended family. Thanksgiving was a cornucopia of food often with guests. We also lived in a neighborhood safe for trick or treating, so selecting Halloween costumes was major fun along with the gathering of candy. I think I passed these traditions on to my children. This background makes me enjoy celebration-themed movies and books, yet I also believe the inclusion of a holiday must advance the purpose behind the story's telling.
Celebrations must increase novel sales, otherwise few would be published, yet every October new 'Christmas' themed romances emerge. I've also read a few themed around Halloween, but usually, the romance is tinged with a spooky mystery. I enjoy them. Many people must because Hallmark dedicates the holiday-themed movies to year-round showing on their TV stations.
In science fiction and fantasy, holidays are a little harder to include than in historical or contemporary stories. I have used a series of double-day holidays in my fantasy Magic Aegis. These were similar but different from what celebrations in the current world's reality. These were part of this particular story that had a world built on numerology after a catastrophic ending to a former civilization, and each holiday had a meaning. The idea began with a day of hand-fasting and continued from there.
The only other time I included a holiday in a story was the science fiction world of Crewkin. This was a fist day celebration similar to New Years Day, where the main character felt ostracized by the rest of the ship's crew, so she volunteered to do ship's duty while the others celebrated.
As I attempt to write contemporary and historical stories, the likelihood of including holidays increases. These days of celebration, depending on the day, are about remembrance, relationships, gratitude, sharing, joy, and love, and so help cement purpose into storylines.
Please visit and read these authors' posts on this topic:
Skye Taylor
Dr. Bob Rich
Helena Fairfax
A.J. Maguire
Anne de Gruchy
Diane Bator
Rachael Kosinski
Marci Baun
