Why I Don’t Celebrate King’s Day (Or Any Other Holidays)
By Nat | ourplantpantry.com

Every year around April, the country turns orange. People get on the streets, drink, dance, buy junk they don’t need, and call it “celebration.” On the surface, King’s Day looks like joy. But to me, it feels hollow. Manufactured. Almost desperate.

King’s Day is a distraction. It’s not really about the king, tradition, or even unity. It exists for two reasons:
A: So people have an excuse to spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need.
B: So there’s at least something to look forward to in a life that, for many, feels empty or repetitive.

Behind all the orange flags and cheerful noise, is a society where a lot of people feel stuck—unseen, unheard, and tired. The system is broken, but instead of fixing it, we get parties. A national day to forget how messed up things are, if only for a moment.

And it’s not just King’s Day.
Think about it—Christmas, New Year’s, Black Friday, summer vacations, weekend getaways…
It’s all one big cycle:
Work your ass off in a system that doesn’t care about your well-being, stay exhausted and disconnected most of the time, and then get thrown a bone—one day, or one week—to feel “alive” again.
Rinse and repeat.

Because for most people, day-to-day life in this society feels heavy, disconnected, and unfulfilling. The system is broken, but instead of addressing that, we distract ourselves. We’re sold this illusion that if we just hang on a little longer, another holiday will come. Another festival. Another break.
“Just get through the week.”
“Just hold on till summer.”
“Just wait for Christmas.”

But are these moments that we’re supposed to look forward to? They’re often rushed, expensive, and draining. Vacations where you spend more time stressed than relaxed. Holidays where you’re stuck in traffic, in crowded stores, or around people you don’t really feel connected to anymore. And then it’s back to the grind.

Work hard, feel empty, celebrate, repeat.

I see it all as a cycle designed to keep people quiet. To keep people working, spending, obeying—just satisfied enough not to revolt, but not free enough to really live.
It’s sedation dressed up as a celebration.
A system built on burnout, but coated in glitter.

What would life look like if we stopped needing these temporary highs to survive the lows?
What if instead of escaping, we rebuilt?
What if we created lives we didn’t feel the urge to escape from?

At Our Plant Pantry, I write a lot about slowing down, reconnecting with nature, and remembering what actually matters. Because that’s the kind of life I want. One that doesn’t need King’s Day—or any day like it—to feel worth living.