It's crazy, with remote work and all that, people could stay wherever they want. But no, everyone heads back in December to "be with family". I don't really get why this tradition still holds on so much, especially when it creates miles of traffic jams on the roads.
It's mostly a matter of emotions and ritual rather than rational logic. Year-end holidays are loaded with memories and habits - since childhood, you associate this time of year with a specific place, specific people, traditions that repeat themselves. Even if technically you could work from anywhere, your brain needs that anchor. It's not just "being with family," it's getting back to that specific context that mentally takes you back to a version of yourself.
And honestly, remote work doesn't really change the emotional problem - if you stay alone in your apartment working, you'll feel isolated during the holidays. People really want to disconnect from everyday life and share something, even if it creates massive traffic jams. It's not super logical, agreed, but human traditions rarely are. There's also social inertia - everyone does it, so you do it, and that reinforces the cycle.
The whole thing with miles of traffic jams is clearly awful, but for a lot of people it's worth it. That said, some people are starting to change their approach - visiting family at other times, or negotiating to celebrate where they are. It takes a while before mentalities really shift on traditions.
The logic of remote work is just theory - once you say "I'm going to stay home in December," you've already lost, because your family expects to see you. It's not just a matter of distance or practical comfort.
What we forget is that the year-end holidays are also the only real break a lot of people get in a year. Even if you could technically work from anywhere, your parents or family are going to stop their normal activities for that specific period. They're blocking off time. So you can't just stay in your apartment peacefully while they're closing up their house or cutting back on everything. It's become a moment when everyone stops at the same time, and honestly, it's rare that we get that several times a year.
The massive traffic jams in December exist precisely because it's ONE moment, not several. If you work from home in January, April, or September, nobody moves. But December? It's a huge social synchronizer. Kids are on school break, companies are scaling back, everyone gets their bonus or their 13th month payment. It creates an unstoppable wave. Even with remote work, you're going against the current if you stay somewhere else.
At my place it's straightforward - my mom starts prepping the Christmas meal back in September, she calls me regularly to check if I'm coming, and even though we could see each other anytime during the year, December is like D-Day when everyone actually sits down together. You're right that logically it doesn't really make sense, but once you say no you gotta deal with guilt-trip calls for two months, so in the end it's just less of a hassle to make the drive?
People come back mainly because December has become THE time when everyone gathers together, and if you say no you look like the family oddball - it's not really a logical choice but more of a social pressure we all deal with.
And honestly, even with remote work, there's something different about being there in person rather than doing a video call from your place, even if it seems unreasonable when you look at the traffic. It's just easier to go along with it than to break tradition.
I think people overlook something important: it's not just social pressure or habit, it's also that December is literally the moment when everyone has free time at the same time. Sure, you might be working from home, but if you're alone at your place and your grandmother or cousins are on school break, you can finally see each other without juggling schedules. It actually makes sense - December is the exception during the year when constraints ease up for a lot of people, so people take advantage of the window. Yeah, there's definitely family pressure in there too, but that's not the only reason.
I think you're all forgetting something important - it's not just social pressure or rituals from childhood, it's that December brings together people who live far apart and who, honestly, wouldn't have another time to see each other! Your coworker who works in Paris but whose family is in Brittany, they can't really "stay wherever they want" if the goal is to see them - and waiting until January or February, well, it's just not the same. Remote work changes a lot of things, but it doesn't change the fact that we want to spend time with the people we love, and that December has become THE window when everyone can (more or less) free themselves up!
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