Initially, I had assumed that @rm5's health issues had derived from the uncomfortable (and very conducive to catching illness) and unpleasant environment engendered by the (appalling) conditions demanded by the profit seekers who run modern aviation.
However, I also recall that my mother very often came down with a really rotten cold or flu in the days immediately following Christmas - one which laid her out for the best part of a week.
Other Brother informed me that his wife - my German sister-in-law - has fallen ill the past two years around Christmas (and she was also ill when my mother died, missing part of the funeral).
In the past, I have also sometimes come down with colossal colds at - or, more usually, several days after - Christmas.
@rm5, @The Clark: I am inclined to think that this may come down to two, or three, things.
One is the time of year - winter is cold, wet, miserable, and people are tired, and prone to illness.
The second lies in the nature of the Christmas celebrations, the fact that even when welcomed, they can bring an added stress and strain to family lives stripped of their normal structures, scaffolding, or routine, as one is now in proximity - for days on end - and cooped up with - people who may bring out the best (and worst) in you.
And the third is precisely tied to the second: Those hazy days immediately after Christmas - even in families that are happy - allow for time to think, and to take stock of things, (there is a reason that surprisingly many people hand in their notice upon their return to work in early January) but they also allow for people to take a bit of a breather from the normal timetables that govern our lives, and from the stresses and strains of everyday life.
In practice, this "switching off" is - or seems to be - a time when the body cries "halt", and demands that you actually take the time to step back, take some time away from everything, and try to fully rest, as suppressed stresses - often in the form of an illness that fells you for days - make themselves felt.
Anyway, the best of luck to you.
