It's December, and you know what that
means. For quite a few of us, it's a time to take some time to
celebrate with friends and family. In this way, the holidays bring
presents, food and all sorts of memorable times. However, along with
these things come several myths that seem to have persisted over the
years. I'm going to attempt to dispel some of the secular
ones; we don't all celebrate the same things, and a list of
Christmas-related myths would probably take weeks to write. Here are
some of the myths I've personally heard, and the truth behind them.
-Poinsettia plants are poisonous.
While they are certainly not something you want your children and/or
pets to eat, they don't have the poison properties they are thought
to have. They have a sap that tastes terrible and can make a pet
sick, but they would have to eat about 500+ leaves in order for them
to have any long-lasting effect. If you're concerned, put the plants
out of reach.
-Suicides are higher during the
holidays than any other time of the year. This
doesn't hold up to statistical scrutiny. It's certainly
understandable that someone might be more prone to depression during
the colder months when it gets dark early, and people who are alone
might feel bad when seeing all the happiness and 'togetherness'
others have. However, studies have shown that suicide rates are much
more related to mental illness than they are to any other external
factor. The 'blues' I mention above are simply not the same thing as
the clinical depression or bipolar that are behind many suicides
because these disorders have a medical
cause-a
chemical imbalance in the brain that affects emotions and actions.
Even though some of the depressive episodes associated with bipolar
may come in the winter (as they do with me), they could come at any
time of the year. It's the disorders, not the time of year, that are
at work here.
In
fact, some studies from the National Center for Health Statistics
have shown that suicide rates are actually lower
during December, possibly because
of all the 'togetherness'! The cause hasn't been verified, though.
-Eating
later in the day makes you gain weight. Yes,
there are a lot of holiday parties and dinners in the evenings that
serve all kinds of decadent food. But will you gain more weight by
eating these things at night than you would during the day? The
answer is no. While it makes sense to think that daytime might give
you more time to 'burn off' the calories, weight gain comes from
consuming more calories than you burn. Period. It doesn't matter what
time of day.
-If you go outside without a coat or
with wet hair, you'll get sick.
I must confess I am guilty of this-I don't like coats and will often
put my wet hair up in a clip rather than using a hair dryer. I've
never gotten sick this way, and neither has anyone else. They'll
definitely make you feel
cold, but they won't make you catch
one. The runny nose you might get from cold air is a completely
different condition called 'vasomotor rhinitis'.
-New Years' Eve is the most
dangerous time to drive. This
is partly true. This
myth is understandable when we think of all the drunken ways people
bring in the new year, but it's actually not the night with the most
fatalities. According to AAA, it's the night with the most deaths
related to drunk driving,
but not the most deaths total.
That 'honor' goes to July 4. Either way, be careful.
I
hope I've managed to dispel at least a few of the myths associated
with the December holidays. What other urban legends have you heard?
