The notions of filing for Bankruptcy and enjoying the holidays are not as foreign as one might think. Most people will try to forget their financial issues around this time of the year, but the financial stress can never be far from the surface. Creditors do not go on holiday. One of the primary goals of a bankruptcy filing is to restore some financial sanity to people's existence - so that they can enjoy the rest of their lives.
The ability to create a plan of action which deals with the overwhelming burden of out of control debt is itself a form of relief. Long before the actual bankruptcy petition is filed with the Court, our office will tell clients to refer creditor and collection calls to us so that we can inform them of the pending Bankruptcy filing, and with it the imposition of the federally mandated automatic stay which stops everything in its place. Even though there may not be a legal bar for collection (although harassment is always prohibited under law), most creditor are not terribly interested in pursuing individuals about to file Bankruptcy. It is not in their financial interests to do so.