My two weeks off in December/January.
I get that as well.
I'm an independent, a contractor, and whilst I am free to take time off as I see fit, I rarely do. I haven't always been independent. I've had permanent positions that I've lost, so it's a mindset. I worry. As an independent, you don't know what your workload is going to be the next six months.
I think I'm safe - my current client's kept me on for more than 4 years, and I think they depend on me since I'm leading their devs now, hiring new people when needed. I hope so, anyway.
So two weeks is a lot.