Holidating

Dating during the holidays.

“There is one question every single person hates being asked at holiday gatherings (but inevitably always is): ‘Are you seeing anyone?’,” assertedDarcy Wintonyk in a recent article for ctvbc.ca.

Paddi Rice, the president and CEO of a Canadian dating service, told Wintonyk that this time of year matches Valentine’s Day for levels of romantic trepidation:

But while the holidays can be a time of dread, it doesn’t have to be. Rice said December is actually the easiest time for meeting someone new, a term he coined “Holidating.”

“Saying ‘Merry Christmas’ might be the best pickup line ever – but it only has a shelf life of about three weeks. So why not take it out of the closet?” he said.

(The term holidating has in fact been in use for a number of years. In 2006, the dating service It’s Just Lunch prepared an everything-you-need-to-know guide to holidating. According to The Jamaica Gleaner, holidating alsodescribes a “long-distance relationship in which dating occurs when one or both parties are on holiday.”)