December is a time for giving, a time to remember family and celebrate together. it's a time for gifts, merriment, and cheer. It's also the month in which we wear horrendous and ugly sweaters that we'd never imagine putting on at any other time.
Normally, we like to dress fashionably. For some reason, though, every third Friday in December, we decide to throw all that out the window and try to outdo one another. We compete in contests for the ugliest and most terrible sweater. But why is that? What is the fascinating with these eyesores and what makes them acceptable at this time of year?
Every holiday has its oddities. During October, nearly anything goes. It's a chance to indulge your fantasy and imagination, to become something or someone else entirely. For easter, wearing bunny ears is perfectly acceptable and no one will look at you askance.
As long as there have been sweaters, there have been ugly sweaters. Not all of them were intentionally ugly, and even the idea of what's ugly is a matter of perspective. The real rise of the ugly sweater as a cultural thing came with two entertainers. On the Cosby show, it was common to see Bill Huxtable in an ugly sweater. Chevy Chase made it even more popular with Christmas Vacation. The phenomenon saw a lapse in the 90s, but then something happened.
In Vancouver, two men put together a tacky sweater party to raise money for cancer treatments for a friend. The event ended up being a hit, and similar events started to pop up throughout successive years. The ugly sweater gatherings have turned into a sort of annual expectation, now. From small parties to charity events, people are now going out of their way to find the most horrible sweaters they can get their hands on.
According to statistics from National Today, 23% of people will wear an ugly sweater during the holidays, while 9% of people have, at one time or another, attended an ugly sweater event. One of the most popular sites dedicated to ugly sweaters has made $5 million dollars specializing in these terrible garments. The adoption of this 'holiday' has increased by 200% since 2012, so it doesn't seem that it's going anywhere soon.
You can get your own ugly sweater from the variety in our shop and join the 23%.
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