Do you think a lot of relationships end before Xmas time?

[Standard-Fare]

I've been browsing some threads around here... seems like a lot of people ended relationships recently, in the weeks before Christmas time. I'm wondering how common this is and whether this time of year can have some unique impact on relationships.

 

Thinking about this I realized two relationships of mine have ended around this same time of year.

 

With the most recent, which ended about 2.5 weeks ago, I do think the holiday season played some role. I think we both felt the pressure to "get our affairs in order" before the holidays came around. There were questions in the air -- whether we were going to get each other gifts, whether we would do any traveling together, and whether we were going to spend New Year's side by side. Once we both realized the answer to these questions was "unlikely," the breakup certainly seemed inevitable.

 

I think the breakup was going to happen either way, but I do feel like the holidays put this sort of artificial deadline on things and forced us to make a move. It seemed like we both didn't want to go through the holidays with questions hanging over our head; we chose for a clean break instead. In my mind this made the breakup a little more abrupt than I would have preferred.

 

Can anyone else relate?

[BoredAgain]

Yes... I found this:

 

This info was gathered after monitoring Facebook profiles referencing breakups. It was interesting to see that breakups spiked during certain points in the year. Here's my analysis of the are the results:

 

Spike 1: Valentine's Day

It's ironic that there would be a rash of breakups on the most romantic day of the year. My theory is that women dump their boyfriends when he drops the ball on Valentine's Day. Perhaps he didn't get a good gift, or he completely forgot about the holiday.

 

Spike 2: Spring Break

When it starts getting warm again and our hormones start kicking in, it's tough to be in a relationship.

 

Spike 3: April Fool's Day

Is this a sick joke? Do people really break up as a prank? I'd be in big trouble if I tried to pull that one.

 

Spike 4: Mondays

Mondays consistently spiked in the study. As I get deeper into professional life, I do admit I hate Mondays more and more. I think Monday breakups happen when people are feeling down or depressed. But maybe it’s as simple as people just updating their Facebook profiles on Monday.

 

Spike 5: Summer

A layover from spring fever, summer is also a "playful" time of year. It's warm. People are partying and going on vacation. And there's a desire to be free. Or, because of all the vacation and adventure, someone may end up cheating which could lead to a breakup.

 

Spike 6: 2 Weeks Before The Holiday Season

When you plan to breakup, you sometimes have to consider timing. Breaking up with someone is mean, but breaking up with them during the actual holidays is that much more cruel. So, why not get it out of the way before the holidays?

 

Source: http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/men/breakup-calendar

 

But the obvious problem I see with the above analysis is that it actually covers a huge portion of the year. So maybe the best conclusion to draw is simply that breakups are generally very common.

[Standard-Fare]

But the obvious problem I see with the above analysis is that it actually covers a huge portion of the year. So maybe the best conclusion to draw is simply that breakups are generally very common.

 

Yeah that definitely covers a huge time range.

 

The pattern I've seen for myself is that relationships seem more positive and enticing in the springtime. It's a romantic time of year, when everything's blooming, and it puts most people in a more expansive state of mind. Also I think most people's hormones are a little more excited at that time.

 

On the other side, if things in a relationship aren't great by the time late fall and winter comes around, chances are the season is going to exaggerate those problems. When the days are short, dark, and cold you're going to be viewing your partner and your relationship with a realistic, unidealized eye. You essentially have to hibernate with each other somewhat during the winter so if you realize this is not the person you want to hibernate with... it's going to become clear.

 

Then, as mentioned, there's the artificial "deadline" and "fresh start" that Christmas/New Year's can create.