We are all aware there are certain occasions in one's life where lighting a cigar is as integral as breathing itself. There are moments when it is expected everyone on hand will have a cigar in hand, smoking away in a puff of celebration.

While some people may smoke cigars during infrequent occasions - a divorce, a lottery win, an early release from prison - there is a set list of standard occasions when a cigar is nearly required.

The Birth of a Child
If cigars could talk, "It's a Boy," or "It's a Girl" would tea party as their personal mantras. Everyone has the picture in their head of the jolly, red-faced father hiding in an unseen crevice of a smoke-free hospital, taking a few quick drags. Cigars have become the epitome of celebration and cutting the head off a cigar upon the birth of a child is often as monumental as cutting the cord itself.

Thanksgiving
Some of the goals of Thanksgiving are to watch football, eat yourself into oblivion, and relax in a recliner, a spot of drool hanging down your chin. It's a time of gluttony and joy, where everyone is grateful for family, friends, health, and not being born a turkey. After a good meal, there is no better way to top it off than with a good cigar. A good cigar gives you flavor, closure from your feast, and another reason to be grateful.

Christmas Eve
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, everyone was smoking, yes, even the mouse. Christmas Eve is another season of festivities, a time to enjoy the finer people and the finer things in life. Some even say that Santa himself is a cigar smoker; it's not Rudolph's nose but a lit cigar guiding the sleigh from rooftop to rooftop. Perhaps this is the reason he is so jolly.

A Promotion
It nearly seems that those who get promoted are required to smoke cigars; it is as if their very promotion depends on it. Someone who can't seize the moment by puffing on a Habano or a Montecristo may be asked to clean out their office then frisked to make sure they aren't stealing any staplers or paper clips. The reason for this image is simple: cigars command respect, as do those who smoke them. And, those are often the type of people businesses want climbing their corporate ladder.

A Wedding
Though a lot of brides won't smoke cigars during their wedding, with fear that they will get ash on their white dress, the father-of-the-bride is nearly required to light one. Unable to secure llamas or cattle, since the fad of arranged marriages has disintegrated, the dowry of this century is a cigar and the father-of-the-bride deserves to be rewarded one. He's celebrating his daughter's growing up, the addition of a son-in-law, and the low interest rate on the credit card he used to pay for the wedding.

These are just a few examples of occasions when smoking a cigar enhances the moment. Any time a moment is celebratory, a cigar should be included. It is as if cigars belong in the first aid kit for all the finer times of life. But, truth be told, the concept of "Cigar Occasions" can be oxymoronic; in the end, the best way to smoke cigars is any way but occasionally.