Why the Way You Handle the Holidays Can Make or Break Your Relationship

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tionships. Rituals were considered holiday traditions, as well as milestone birthday celebrations and couple-specific activities, such as weekly <a href="https://readmedium.com/why-your-scary-movie-date-night-may-send-you-to-an-exorcist-b2a05c00075f">date nights</a>.</p><figure id="dbf6"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*WTw01jp3EblhRLnx7tgCBQ.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://depositphotos.com/portfolio-2760050.html?content=photo">stetsik</a> on <a href="https://depositphotos.com/420119718/stock-photo-generosity-and-kindness-prepare-surprise.html">DepositPhotos</a></figcaption></figure><p id="f76a">Maniotes and his colleagues, co-authors Brian Ogolsky and Jennifer Hardesty, looked at how couples <a href="https://readmedium.com/3-ways-to-use-emojis-when-communicating-with-potential-partners-on-dating-sites-c779e8d4219e">communicated</a> during their rituals and how it influenced commitment in the relationship. They found that the way rituals were approached could either help a couple grow stronger or expose conflicts that decrease their chances of getting married.</p><p id="03c8">“Rituals seem to really play a role in pausing and slowing down individuals, helping them take a better look at their relationship,” Maniotes said. “They help them see, ‘this is who we are as a <a href="https://readmedium.com/what-sex-conversations-do-couples-want-to-avoid-a8cfd1c2b0bf">couple</a>; this is who we are as a family.’”</p><p id="63dd" type="7">“You get to see a host of behaviors and interactions that might normally be obscured.”</p><p id="d808">Although all rituals can have this effect, this is especially true during the holidays because the long-term potential of a relationship can be revealed as couples interact with their families and are forced to navigate high-pressure situations that may create conflict.</p><p id="5fee">“Rituals have the power to bond individuals and give us a preview into family <a href="https://readmedium.com/quotes-about-life-bfef566ccb8c">life</a> and couple life,” said Maniotes. “We found they help magnify normative relationship experiences.”</p><p id="c484"><b><i>More from K

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iki Wellington:</i></b></p><div id="8b87" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/9-ideas-for-holiday-romance-d780fc7ab8ec"> <div> <div> <h2>9 Ideas for Holiday Romance</h2> <div><h3>As the holiday season winds down, you can still turn your romance up</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*Jqc-tW2DGQ4fsFYWs_Ibag.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="8135" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/10-love-lessons-from-christmas-in-the-twilight-zone-11385eefcf9"> <div> <div> <h2>10 Love Lessons From Christmas in ‘The Twilight Zone’</h2> <div><h3>What Rod Serling’s classic show can still teach us</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*ngyu3gIWYFa_Da6qc8aKTg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="8595" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/your-best-present-ever-your-first-sex-toy-vibrator-7a4326fe846b"> <div> <div> <h2>Your Best Present Ever</h2> <div><h3>From your real first…the only one that matters</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*9uA23Rhg1anPMgyDQp0Cww.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="b677"><b>Source:</b></p><p id="0f3a"><i>Marriage or not? Rituals help dating couples decide relationship future</i>. ScienceDaily. <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201015134227.htm">https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201015134227.htm</a></p></article></body>

Study reveals how holiday rituals impact a couple’s future

The holiday season is almost here and couples are about to embark on a series of rituals to celebrate. Although they may think how they handle these celebrations occurs in a vacuum and doesn’t have any larger implications on the relationship, their future may actually depend on it.

“Rituals seem to really play a role in pausing and slowing down individuals, helping them take a better look at their relationship.”

“Rituals provide a unique time to review one’s partner and relationship; you get to see a host of behaviors and interactions that might normally be obscured,” said Chris Maniotes, who published a study in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships about the impact of rituals on couples. “Some of the ways rituals affected commitment to wed with these couples was by altering their view of their partner, giving them a new perspective.”

In order to find out exactly how people get this new perspective, Maniotes interviewed 24 heterosexual couples who had been together for two-and-a-half years about what rituals meant for the future of their relationships. Rituals were considered holiday traditions, as well as milestone birthday celebrations and couple-specific activities, such as weekly date nights.

Maniotes and his colleagues, co-authors Brian Ogolsky and Jennifer Hardesty, looked at how couples communicated during their rituals and how it influenced commitment in the relationship. They found that the way rituals were approached could either help a couple grow stronger or expose conflicts that decrease their chances of getting married.

“Rituals seem to really play a role in pausing and slowing down individuals, helping them take a better look at their relationship,” Maniotes said. “They help them see, ‘this is who we are as a couple; this is who we are as a family.’”

“You get to see a host of behaviors and interactions that might normally be obscured.”

Although all rituals can have this effect, this is especially true during the holidays because the long-term potential of a relationship can be revealed as couples interact with their families and are forced to navigate high-pressure situations that may create conflict.

“Rituals have the power to bond individuals and give us a preview into family life and couple life,” said Maniotes. “We found they help magnify normative relationship experiences.”

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