Psychoanalysis and the Holidays

As another holiday season is upon us, images of social gatherings, clinking glasses, and shared festivities come to mind. Yet, their opposites also emerge. Those left behind — not working but also not with family — occupy a strange, in-between space, one that may feel either too hot or too cold, never warm or cozy. Either too crowded or too empty, but never just right. Without the rhythm of daily life, one might confront a silence that feels far from peaceful.

Through psychoanalysis, we can elucidate such moments using a few different understandings. In the stillness of staying behind, one can encounter the uncanny — das Unheimlich¹ — the familiar made strange. Consider holiday films like Home Alone or, with a darker twist, It’s a Wonderful Life. Both reveal that there’s more to the holiday season than meets the eye. These stories resonate because they tap into discomforts that persist year-round². Interestingly, the fear often derives not from being alone but from sensing that someone, or something, might be present.

And, as a matter of fact, there is: the Other. Whenever a lack presents itself, the Other becomes more apparent, and its demands are rarely easy (if even possible) to manage. Something as seemingly simple as deciding on a holiday menu can become a source of dread. Is choosing dinner really that hard, or is it the Other putting unbearable pressure on the choice?

Loneliness in this context is not merely a lack of company but a dislocation. The world outside insists on celebration, but for those staying behind, an unnerving absence becomes nearly inescapable. The invitation here is not to avoid the unease but to address it, to let the stillness speak. Perhaps, in doing so, one might discover a different kind of connection — with those hidden parts of oneself and with the intangible threads³ that link us to others, even in solitude.

1. Freud, S. (1919). The uncanny. In J. Strachey (Ed. & Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 17, pp. 217–256). London: Hogarth Press.

2. Lacan, J. (1977). The four fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis (A. Sheridan, Trans.). New York: Norton.

3. Miller, J.-A. (1981). The treasure of the signifier. In The seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book XVI: From an Other to the other (Unpublished seminar, 1968-1969).