CELEBRATIONS

 Celebrations mark the pinnacles of joy in our lives. We celebrate marriages and partnerships, victories and harvests, growth and new beginnings. At these moments, our joy seems to overflow, and we have an irresistible urge to bring others together to join in our delight. Whether in a crowd of hundreds at a hotel ballroom or with a small cluster of family members at a picnic in the park, joy’s highest highs draw us into communal experience. We pause our daily activities to toast and dance, feast and frolic. We set aside individual preferences, wishes and anxieties to immerse ourselves in a tide of collective joy. From an evolutionary perspective, celebrations seem quite frivolous. All that feasting and frolicking expends valuable resources and energy, while at the same time taking us away from productive endeavours. Yet all cultures celebrate, and so do some species of animals like elephants and wolves.