Hey Autumleaf...
I can appreciate what you are going through. In my hospital it is always the low man on the totem pole gets abused the most. My first year as an OR nurse I had to take 4 slots for the winter holidays. I ended up working a 12 shift on Christmas eve(7p-7a) and then a second call shift all day Christmas (Thank God they didn't call me I was exhausted and slept all Christmas day) and had to work another 12 on New Years Eve. The next year was a little better but I got sick of it REAl quick. I suggested like another hospital does in the area; 4hr shifts. It requires more people to cover but for only 4 hrs stints. Well this suggestion didn't even make it out of the box. The higher seniority people dinged it immediately. They did they're time; so that was it. I still feel 4 hr shifts so NO ONE is missing out on the whole day of festivities is a good option.

not fair.
In our hospital it doesn't work that way. If xmas is on your regular rotation, you work it, no matter how much seniority you have. You can BOOK it off if you like, but you have to use holiday time to do that. I do not have to work the holidays, but I went in this morning with a huge platter of goodies to make sure they girls (and guy) know that even those of us off today are thinking of them. I like that it's in the rotation, that way people don't get resentful. This is the first xmas I've had off in 14 years.