Christmas cursing: how some effing and blinding can help relieve festive frustrations

Letting it rip with a string of expletives acts as an emotional pressure valve when we're under pressure. It's just what's needed to help you through the most stressful time of the year 

Pic: iStock

IF you regard swearing as a crucial part of getting through the day, then read on because Christmas, the sweariest time of the year, is bearing down. What could possibly induce more curses than being cooped up with the family, re-enacting the annual performance of those embedded family dynamics, with a side of mince pies and Brussels sprouts?

“Christmas is tricky because the social dynamics are different – there are a different set of rules than when you’re with friends or in the workplace,” says historian Melissa Mohr, author of Holy Shit: A Brief History of Swearing. “You can’t swear in front of Grandma.” (Unless you’re spending Christmas in a Korean ‘swearing granny’ restaurant, where you definitely can).