Is it okay to splurge on special occasions?

I'm opposed to all these articles about how to cook a healthy Thanksgiving dinner or a healthy Valentine's Day meal. I mean, it's only once a year. Right? Why not indulge? Splurge?
But I just started thinking about that--it's only "once a year". Of course, each holiday is only once a year but how many of those once a year splurges might there be?

New Year's Day
Super Bowl
Valentine's Day
Easter Sunday Brunch
Passover Seder
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Fourth of July
Labor Day
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Chanukah
Christmas

I probably left some out. If you think of any, please let me know so I can add them to the list. So I listed 13 special occasions when splurging might be in order. Out of 365 days a year, not such a big deal. Maybe I'm right, then. It is okay to indulge on special occasions.

Hungry after eating?

Wow. Just read an interesting article in WSJ (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123966898930315491.html) about why eating a big meal might make you hungry sooner or even more hungry than if you had eaten a "better" meal. I've always wondered why I am sooo hungry in the morning if I've eaten a particularly splurgeful (I know that's not a word!) meal the night before, especially if I've eaten that meal later than I normally eat. I'm not usually hungry when I wake up. In fact, I can wait about two to three hours after waking up before I'm hungry enough to want to eat. But if I've eaten a meal at about 9 pm and that meal is particularly high in fat and/or sugar, I am indeed ravenous when I awaken. That has always been a mystery to me. I mean, if I've eaten lots of calories at 9 pm, I shouldn't be hungry at 6 am. When I eat a "normal" meal at 7 pm, I wake up without hunger. Huh. Interesting.
The controversey about which makes you feel full longer--fiber, protein, fat--isn't going to be solved any time soon. Volumetrics is based on the fiber theory-eat lots of low calorie high fiber/high water foods and you will stay full longer. I try that all the time. Initially I am full but not "satisfied". I want more food. Not from hunger in the gut but because I want something else. Do you understand? I'm not sure how to describe the feeling except to say that I may be "full" but not satisfied.
High protein has been favored the last few years as a way of increasing the length of satiety. That's the premise for the high protein water drinks. Same issue. Doesn't work for me in the long term. Fat? We used to teach that because fat is digested more slowly it will increase satiety. Nope. That doesn't work for me either. In fact, eating a particularly high fat meal makes me "hungry" for more. Whether that's psychological hunger or physical hunger, I'm not so sure. But when I go wild with fat (fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy all in one meal), it's hard to stop me for the rest of the day.
So, still looking for the perfect combination of foods--the magic bullet.