I haven't been to AA since I moved at the first of the year, but I recall those nights, both being the new guy, and seeing them come in. It was particularly bad around Christmas/New Years, then around February, when a good chunk of Wyoming seems to be ice cube.
I won't deny that there's an increase in drinking during various holidays. For me, though, it didn't matter if it was a holiday. I drank. It wasn't celebration, or even fooling myself into thinking it was celebration. It was absolutely, positively being so sick and f***ed up in the head that I couldn't think of an alternative.
Being that messed up is why I distrust myself to understand most other people drinking socially. They wouldn't understand how I drank, and I have no way to relate to a beer or a cocktail being nothing more than a choice of beverage.
"Always Believe!" -The Ultimate Warrior