I never think I’m a fan of December. Suddenly the trees are bare, the days are short and it’s oh so hard to get up in the cold, dark mornings.
There’s a real nip in the air now. If we’re lucky we may get a snowfall that transforms the country into Narnia. Everyone loves it for about a day, running about making snowmen and having snowball fights. Then it turns sludgy and melts away as if it never happened.
The year may be winding down yet the pace of everything ramps up as people go mad, yes mad for the party season. Even the grinches, and I count myself among them, get pulled in…
You can’t ignore the frenzy of Christmas, adopted as the key winter festival whatever you believe in and wherever you come from. The twinkly lights, the terrible songs, the tinsel and mistletoe. Even I find myself singing along to ‘It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you...’
Now I like to see a tasteful modest Christmas tree, but I have a secret admiration for those households who go utterly nuts with their decorations. Inflatable reindeer on the roof. Santa’s grotto in the garden. A million multicoloured fairy lights draped over the entire house which threatens the national grid.
The thought of time spent with in-laws and the kids and weird forgotten aunts makes many of us balk, but it’s actually usually rather nice to get squiffy on a Yuletide tipple and gorge on mince pies whilst getting the lowdown on a family member you realise you rather like.
In the quieter time just after Christmas, you may get reflective about what went well in the year and what didn’t. You might feel wistful. You might consider how very lucky you are to pretend to be a bit of a December grinch and then rather enjoy it. Because the truth is many are without a Christmas, without family or food or money. Many sleep rough. Many are in conflict zones. Many simply struggle whilst all those around them are rejoicing…
Especially as the whole world seems to go potty on New Year’s Eve. Sydney, New York, London, Munich. Fireworks, parties, resolutions, drinking, dancing and then … it’s over, it’s done!
In the furore it’s easy to forget that the winter solstice has come and gone, and whilst we’re still in the depths of winter, the days are getting longer once more…
Sam Faith is a writer and filmmaker. She likes to time travel.
Insta: @iamsamfaith