Dysfunctional Holidays: The Theater of Cheer Built on Generational Silence Dysfunctional holidays often function as yearly rituals of emotional distortion, not celebrations of genuine connection. Family members gather inside a carefully curated illusion—lights, meals, rituals, nostalgia—designed to smother the wounds no one dares confront. As Gibson explains, emotionally immature families lack the capacity for honest intimacy, so holiday cheer operates as a behavioral directive: smile, comply, perform, forget. This script conditions each participant, Skinner-style, to associate approval with self-abandonment and disapproval with truth-telling.