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Although winter doesn’t officially begin until Dec. 21, it’s already cold in many places — and with the coronavirus pandemic still raging, many are dreading a season when we very likely won’t be able to gather safely with others indoors.
How are you feeling about the onset of winter this year? What plans have you made, if any, to weather it? Are you a person who generally enjoys the cozy sweaters and snowball fights of the season, or would you rather hibernate like a bear and skip straight from the fall to spring?
In “What Scandinavians Can Teach Us About Embracing Winter,” Kari Leibowitz writes how instead of fearing the arrival of cold weather this year, we can all adopt a positive winter mind-set:
This winter, indoor dining, bars, movie theaters and many other indoor gatherings are likely to be ill-advised, if not prohibited. If we can’t gather safely indoors, where the cold and dark of winter usually drive us, what will we do? For inspiration, we can look to Scandinavia, where people live with some of the darkest, longest winters and yet are consistently ranked as the happiest people in the world. How do they do it, and what can we learn from them?
I’m a psychologist who moved to the Arctic a few years ago to answer these questions. As part of a United States-Norway Fulbright research grant, I went to the world’s northernmost university in Tromso, Norway — over 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle — to see how people thrived during the long winters.
In Tromso, the sun doesn’t rise at all for two months. They get, at most, a few hours of indirect light a day from the end of November to the end of January. Yet the residents of Tromso have low rates of seasonal depression. One reason, I learned, is that they tend to have a “positive wintertime mind-set.”
People there see the winter as a special time of year full of opportunities for enjoyment and fulfillment, rather than a limiting time of year to dread. In fact, my research found that this positive wintertime mind-set was associated with well-being, including greater life satisfaction and more positive emotions.
In the pandemic, rather than feeling depressed that the arrival of cold weather will mean that you’ll be isolated indoors, apart from friends and family, we can take lessons from Scandinavians about how to continue getting together outdoors.
Before you dismiss the idea of outdoor winter fun, think of the cold-weather traditions you may already have positive associations with, like tailgate parties, bonfires or ice skating. If you’re properly bundled up, you can continue to see friends and relatives outdoors while making the effort to minimize coronavirus risk.
Embracing winter is a hallmark of Scandinavian family life. Kids play outside at school, wearing light-reflecting vests, even when it’s dark in the daytime and snowing. According to Linda McGurk, the Swedish author of “There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather,” “Even if you haven’t grown up with this, I don’t think it’s too late.” She says you can still cultivate a positive wintertime mind-set as an adult. Those who have a positive wintertime mind-set consistently employ three strategies.
Students, read the entire article, then tell us:
What do you like most about winter? What are your favorite activities? Do you have a favorite winter memory?
If you don’t love cold weather, what do you usually do to make the winter season more bearable? Cozy sweaters? Huddling in blankets and watching TV? And, if you live in a warmer climate year round, do you ever wish you were able to experience real “winter weather”?
How are you feeling about winter this year? Do you fear that the arrival of weather that will mean you will be isolated indoors, apart from friends and family — or do you think it will be fine? How is the pandemic affecting your winter plans?
What do you think of the Scandinavian concepts of friluftsliv, hygge and koselig? Which resonate most with your own experiences? Do you think you can learn to love and appreciate winter? Do you think a mind-set change, or perhaps simply some better clothes, could help you?
What strategies discussed in the article do you want to incorporate this winter? What can you do now to plan ahead, to help yourself and perhaps even your friends, family or community to get through the season safely — and maybe even pleasantly?
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Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
