Why Celebration Is Resistance This Holiday Season

This holiday season has felt heavy for so many of us. The news has been relentless, and every day we are reminded of how much our communities carry. For Latinx and first-gen families in particular, that weight can feel doubled. We are navigating our personal lives and the broader world at the same time. It makes sense that joy might feel far away or even inappropriate. This is the holiday duality many of us feel: joy and heaviness, gratitude and guilt, celebration and grief all living in the same space. Yet I keep coming back to this truth. Joy is resistance.

So many in our communities were not always given the space to rest, celebrate, or feel proud without consequence. For generations, our families had to focus on survival, not joy. So when we choose joy today, we interrupt a long history of pushing through without recognition. We reclaim something our families rarely had access to. That is resistance.

Celebration is joy in action. Celebrating, whether alone or with loved ones, gives our nervous system a break from being on high alert. It reconnects us to what we value and reminds us we are not carrying everything on our own. These moments build resilience and give us the energy to continue.

Historically, celebration has always helped our communities survive difficult times. Our families did not only get through hard times by working and sacrificing. They also survived through ritual and gathering. Things like a carne asada in the backyard, a birthday crowded into a small living room, or a holiday meal stretched to feed everyone were not just social moments. They were survival tools, reminding us that we had people to lean on. They gave us space to laugh, to breathe, to eat, to remember our culture, and to feel less alone in whatever we were facing. These gatherings held our communities together when everything else felt uncertain and helped keep our spirit alive.

You might still be wondering how to celebrate when so much is happening in the world. I understand this deeply. There have been moments when I have felt joy, only to immediately feel guilty for it. It can feel disrespectful to experience happiness while so much grief exists. As a therapist, many clients tell me they feel guilty about resting or celebrating because they worry that it disconnects them from the struggles around them.

What I share with my clients is this. Joy is nourishing. It helps us stay grounded, connected, and able to keep caring. It is about giving ourselves moments of breath, moments that remind us of who we are, moments that help us continue. It can feel confusing that joy is part of survival, but it is. Joy helps sustain us when things feel unbearable. Being together, celebrating, and naming our wins strengthens our communities and challenges the discouraging narratives that fill our feeds. There is a real duality this season, and allowing moments of joy makes that duality more sustainable.

As you enter this holiday season, give yourself permission to celebrate. We deserve moments of light, even when the world feels dark. If celebration feels hard, start small. Celebrate yourself. Celebrate a friend. Celebrate a community member by naming their wins out loud. Witness each other. Yes, we are witnessing each other’s pain, but we also need to witness each other’s joy again to shift the narrative back to who we are at our core.

So here is a challenge for you. Find one thing worth celebrating this week and honor it. Let it matter. Let it remind you that joy still exists, and that choosing it is a powerful act of resistance.

Si se puede.