Alexandra Sif Herleifsdottir, 19 years old, left, and Audur Elin Sigurdardottir, right, sitting and talking at a coffee house in downtown Reykjavik
Posted on 01/31/2015 6:20:04 PM PST by lightman
Three Cultural Traditions, Philosophies That Can Help Combat Winter Blues
Saturday, January 31, 2015 20:40 ET Rachelle Gaynor, Accuweather.com Staff Writer
Winter tends to bring feelings of fatigue and, at times, depression to people around the world, making it harder to feel motivated and energetic. However, these cultural traditions offer creative ways to beat the winter blues and remain optimistic when it feels like winter is dragging on.
1. Hygge- Denmark
"The essence of 'hygge' is to surround yourself in a warm, cozy atmosphere with people you care about and enjoy something you love," Tai Højer Klan, online manager at VisitDenmark, said.
Activities that would fit into the hygee mentality would be cuddling up with a blanket by the fire, drinking some coffee or wine with friends, watching a favorite movie while indulging in your favorite sweets or lighting candles and preparing a home-cooked meal.
"The term 'hygge' is all about the feeling you have when you are surrounded by loved ones and indulging in something you enjoy like sweets, board games, movies, music, food, etc.," Klan said.
This feeling of relaxation and companionship encourages people to get together more frequently, and the increased interaction can significantly help ward off feelings of sadness and fatigue during the winter months.
"Maintaining this attitude year-round appears to help the Danes focus their attention and energy toward appreciating what you have and sharing that feeling with others," Dr. Simon Rego, director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said.
According to Rego, this philosophy is more easily adopted in places like Denmark as opposed to the United States because of the fundamental differences in the two cultures.
"The only question is whether people here are willing and able to embrace it, as we tend to be more individualistic and pragmatic here in the U.S.," Rego said.
Another reason that hygge might have grown in Denmark while other countries like the United States only see this type of philosophy during holidays is that it is more common in the Danish culture to invite people over to your house for meals as opposed to eating out.
"When you invite people over for dinner, you usually make an effort to create a cozy and hyggelig atmosphere," Klan said.
2. Friluftsliv- Norway and Sweden
The word Friluftsliv can be translated to mean "free air life" and is a philosophy that permeates Norway and Sweden.
"Friluftsliv can be regarded both as an activity and a philosophy to be back 'home' in nature, not as a tourist gazing at nature, but as returning home and trying to reconnect to nature and the landscape," Hans Gelter, associate professor at Luleå University of Technology, said. "It is trying to be interconnected with the more-than-human world."
Whereas hygge helps people feel connected to each other, Friluftsliv helps people feel a connection with nature, which can help them adopt a more positive attitude toward winter because they feel more at ease with the elements.
It is easy to feel connected to nature in places like Norway and Sweden that have laws like "Allemansrätten" that allow everyone access to the land, even private property, according to Gelter. This may be one reason that this philosophy is not seen frequently in countries such as the United States.
This spiritual connection to nature is possible for everyone because of the way the human brain evolved in nature where things happen fluidly, randomly and organically, according to Gelter. Therefore, it makes sense that human minds would respond positively and be more satisfied watching waves roll in or the flames of a fire as opposed to looking at more stagnant images like a building.
"As our brain is developed to interact with this organic and fractal world of nature, my theory is that the simplistic geometrical world we have created 'under-stimulates' our brain and creates a mental stress," Klan said.
According to Klan, studies have shown that people who regularly celebrate Friluftsliv are more happy and feel satisfied with their lives.
3. Yalda- Iran
Another way to change your attitude about winter is to interpret winter as a positive rather than a negative. That is exactly what people in Iran, as well as other Central Asian countries, do when they celebrate Yalda night.
"On Yalda festival, Iranians celebrate the arrival of winter, the renewal of the sun and the victory of light over darkness," Firouzeh Mirrazavi, deputy editor of Iran Review, said.
Yalda, which means birth, occurs on the longest night of the year that leads into winter and focuses on the fact that there will be more sunlight in the future.
"This day marks the victory of the sun over darkness," Mirrazavi said.
While light is literally defeating darkness, this festival also serves as a metaphor for good defeating evil. Therefore, winter is considered a time to celebrate, which they do in Iran by staying awake all night with friends and family, reading mythology and poetry and eating foods such as watermelon, dried nuts and pomegranates.
By looking at winter as one step closer to spring and lightness, as opposed to a time of darkness and cold, people are able to remain optimistic about the future and are motivated to take steps toward making their futures bright.
Alexandra Sif Herleifsdottir, 19 years old, left, and Audur Elin Sigurdardottir, right, sitting and talking at a coffee house in downtown Reykjavik
How about a combo of the first two minus the constant “human interaction”
and screw the Iranians?
Up Helly Aa in Lerwick, Shetland is how it's done.
A couple of pics but you have to look up the details and videos. Basically they spend a year building a full size Viking ship. On the last Tuesday of January they drag it through the streets in a torch lit procession. At the end the ship is burned.
Lots of parties, food and adult beverage along the way.
The Norse version of Burning Man!
This rather brush fire my dad started as part of a land clearing project burned rather nicely.
Edited together. YT compression doesn’t help in this case:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCTroxE1EIA
Alexandra Sif Herleifsdottir, 19 years old, left, and Audur Elin Sigurdardottir, right, sitting and talking at a coffee house in downtown Reykjavik
So, talking about a Danish pastime, but shows pictures from Iceland? Are there no pretty blonde girls in Denmark?
Seriously, though, there’s nothing like firelight for me to chase away winter blues from longer nights and shorter days. A big fire in the fireplace if cold enough to warrant, or outdoors in the backyard fire pit if not cold enough to warrant. There’s just something about it, the dancing flames, the color. Very comforting.
Saunas, rolling around in the snow nekkid, these things help break the monotony.
Very interesting, thanks for posting this.
I did the cozy thing, and I’ve been doing the Iranian thing every day since it stopped being dark when I’ve left work, now I have to try the connect with nature thing!
BTW, those two gals got nothing on the two beautiful Georgia (US) gals that served us in an Applebee’s years ago.
I said to hubby, now I know what they mean when they say “Georgia Peaches”!
And may God continue to bless the USA.
According to more recent theories, the two types of skull found in Mesolithic graves do not suggest the presence of two different populations as was formerly believed, but rather they indicate a wide degree of genetic variation within one and the same population. All in all, the peoples of the northeast were very different from those of the west. The decisive difference is in the teeth.
East Europeans have small teeth compared with the relatively large teeth of the Scandinavian, a peculiarity deriving from an age-old genetic distinction. Ancient skulls tell us that the early settlers of east Europe were mostly descendants of an ancient east European population which lived in prolonged isolation from the Scandinavians. Perhaps the "Siberian" element in Finnish genes is, in fact, east European in origin?
DNA studies of Iceland show that the male DNA haplogroups come from Scandanavia and the female DNA halpogroups come from Ireland. The Vikings stopped in Ireland and grabbed all the pretty women and took them to Iceland with them.
For real!
The lack of D3 is why we're White.
"Cold-weather wear and the sun's angle in the winter sky limit how much ultraviolet light reaches the skin. This can add up to a deficiency in production of vitamin D, which might explain why respiratory infections are common and severe in winter.
I definitely fall in the Hygge category. Always have. Minus the interlopers. Just like tomorrow - it’s going to be a cold rain all day, all night. We got plenty of candles, loaded up on some firewood and adult spirits, and I’ll be in my plaid flannel shirt, lounging pants, and Muk Luks, lording over a crock pot of chili or sweet-and-sour meatballs for Super Bowl dinner while my wife is wrapped in her new fleece throw on the sofa.
However, I wouldn’t turn those two blondes away if they wanted to come for a visit.............
I like to get on my bicycle and ride. Best time of year.
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