First Monday in January "D-Day" in Britain for Record Divorces

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Don’t feel bad if you’re sick of your spouse after spending the long holiday vacation holed up with the fam.

You’re not alone. The Washington Post reported this week that so many people in Britain file for divorce the first full week in January that lawyers there call it "D-Day."

The majority of Brits take a long holiday over the Christmas break, for many of them the longest vacation of the year. And all of that togetherness doesn’t always bring about the expected holiday cheer.

"Christmas is not a cause of divorce but it is certainly a catalyst," said James Stewart of Manches, the largest family and divorce law firm in the country, to reporters, "And January is the busiest time of the year for us as a result.".

Agrees Susan Kingston, the family law head at Dawson’s Solicitors, another British law firm. "We are expecting this to be the busiest day and indeed week. A stressful Christmas can often be the final nail in the marital coffin," said Kingston to the press.

Many couples will try to stick it out through the holidays, and don’t want to break the bad news to children during Christmastime. The additional time spent as unhappy spouses with too much togetherness can be the final straw, say legal and relationship experts.

"This phenomenon isn’t caused by global warming, Cupid’s arrow or a cosmic meeting of the planets, it’s triggered by a unique combination of loneliness and resolution that just doesn’t occur any other time of the year," said psychiatrist Victoria Lukats, to reporters.

Marriage counselors also report a huge surge in appointments early in January, as people resolve to try to repair their relationships, or have decided they just can’t go through another year the way things are.

It doesn’t help that holiday parties include lots of alcohol and temptations to overindulge in many ways, including having affairs. Forty-two percent of divorcing couples cite infidelity as the major cause for their breakup.

Financial strain is another reason often given for marriage stress. In addition to divorce lawyers, other sectors which face high traffic the first week of January are accounting services and debt management counselors, as people face the mountain of debt they’ve piled up over the holidays.

Plus, they have to figure out a way to pay for that divorce.