I could definitely be called an overactive celebrator - although I mostly direct that energy towards Christmas. As someone raised in the JW's my knowledge of that time of year was limited to Society's facts on how pagan it was, Holiday commercials on the TV and the occasional holiday movie that snuck past my parent's radar.
I have no contact with my "blood" family - I have my husband and his family and a large circle of friends that I surround myself with at the holidays. I enjoy Christmas the most because I love to give people presents and I love finding ones that they will love. I also love decorating my home in it's holiday finery. And the music of Christmas never fails to inspire and soothe me. It just makes me happy.
I'm not big into Halloween because I still carry phobias from my JW upbringing - but you can bet I dress up and decorate the house too - just not with anything really scary. I prefer the warm and fuzzy side of the holiday that focuses on horror and death. Ain't that a hoot?
I think that one very important thing the holidays bring me is tradition and structure. I had to reinvent and start all over when I left my former life behind. Celebrating holidays was a way I could ease back into the real world, seperate myself completely from the JW "Lie".
Now I celebrate holidays for their own sake. I look forward to seeing my children grow up free from the JW taint that tries to suck all the joy out of living.