Going through a divorce during the holidays can be emotionally wrenching, which is why many people don’t do it — they put it off until January.

“People don’t want to upset the apple cart over the holidays, and they want a peaceful Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year’s. And then, because they don’t want to spend another . . . year with that spouse of theirs, as soon as the holidays are over they pull the plug and file,” says Alton Abramowitz, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.