Staying creative in the hibernation period

Looking at writers throughout history many great works have come out of times of darkness. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in the 'year without a summer' and dark weather can certainly inspire us to create: from gloomy gothics to warming winter tales. However, it can be a struggle to find and maintain this inspiration.

For many, winter is a time of low mood and lower energy and this is completely understandable. The sun currently sets in York at 4.27pm and it is a bleak thought that it will only set earlier for the next month. It feels all too easy to snooze the alarm and lock the door at night. But lets look at how we, as humans, have embraced the winter months for thousands of years, and how we still can today.

Winter has always been a more restful season

How have we embraced winter throughout history?

Traditionally winter is a time of bedding down. Long before we had alarm clocks and bluescreens our lives were been dictated by the seasons.

In the summer there was work to be done! There were berries to pick, animals to hunt and food to store (if we look at a time before farming), and then there was the summer season of growing, the autumn harvest and a winter of very little to do.

Until the past few centuries those Homo Sapiens who lived in the Northern Hemisphere rested in winter. There may be a few animals to hunt but, depending on a good harvest, there was not so much to do while the Earth slept.

Timeless ways to embrace the winter:

In winters of old, all across the world, we see evidence of different peoples but many similar traditions when it comes to embracing the winter month. Here are just a few of them, and they probably sound familiar to you,

• Story telling: One thing that we all look forward to in the winter season today is watching movies and our ancestors were no different - except they didn't have Netflix. They still enjoyed stories and entertainment though. In Victorian England Dickens found his fame through his winter stories and truly gave rise to the 'Winter Tale' tradition that many of us still enjoy today. In earlier times, way back before literacy was widespread, people would tell stories and pass down folklore in oral traditions. This can be seen all over the world, from seanchaí, the traditional story keepers in Ireland, to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe who see stories as gifts winter has always encourages humans to embrace stories as tools to entertain and educate people.

• Winter festivals: We all look forward to different festivities in winter. Halloween, Hanukkah, Christmas, Diwali, Shab-e Yalda, the Luna New Year - these are just a few examples where we come together and fight the cold dark of winter with the warm lights of candles, fires and fireworks. It is such a human instinct to seek warmth and light, and celebrating in groups is a way to feel that warmth emotionally, as well as physically. We have evidence of celebrations of the winter solstice from 10,200BC and I would like to think that as long as there have been humans, we've been coming together and banishing the cold with the warmth of celebration.

• Resting in winter: It seems instinctual that as the nights grow long, so does our desire to sleep for longer grow too. There has been fairly recent debate over whether some of our hominid ancestors hibernated fully (as bears do). Unfortunately for those who are already deeply embedded in their duvets, there are some pretty good medical reasons not to set your alarm for February and drift off. While we might not need to sleep for the whole winter there is recent scientific evidence that we may still need to sleep for longer. For many of us, this ongoing research may just be finally justifying what has always seemed common sense. Looking into more recent history than our 400,000-year-old-hibernating-hominid ancestors, we can see that winter was always a time for less work and more rest. Without modern farming technologies we had no choice but to let the land rest and let ourselves rest too. Resting has always given us a chance to reflect, recuperate and then come back to the world with a clearer mind.

How to embrace ancient, instinctual winter traditions in the modern world

The traditions above should all sound very familiar to you. However, our modern world, with technologies that allow us to have light, warmth and any food we wish at any time of day, make some of them seem less important. Or, perhaps you feel like you do some of them, and yet you're still struggling to find that seasonal Hygge feeling.

When it comes to the first tradition - story telling - you may be thinking 'well, I do watch Netflix every night' but that might still not be bringing you joy. I certainly know that binging a show often leaves me feeling far more sluggish and less creative than when I started,

When it comes to consuming 'stories' try to be intentional. Make a list of movies or TV shows you want to watch and then see if you can find a friend who might like to watch something too. In our modern world, this might mean agreeing a time to watch a show and then having a phone call with a friend about it after if you don't live nearby. Having a set time to watch something and then a discussion after can bring you closer to friends and make the show more meaningful.

Remember that story telling in the past has been about engaging, not just watching. This is a massive part of how we enjoy entertainment and yet can be overlooked in our insular world.

The same goes for books - if you're struggling to find motivation to read as the winter brings fatigue, try joining a book club. It's great to have a date to work towards when reading and you can have some great cosy conversations about the books you read.

Celebrating festivals - the more you put in, the more you get out! Celebrations may seem like thing that just 'happen' at this time of year but don't forget that someone has to plan them. It's great to go along to friend and family parties but remember that the more you bring to the season the more you get out.

Make an effort to go to things, contribute to events in a small way, see close friends when you can and if you're feeling a bit tired, choose to spend time with those who are most important to you.

For most people giving something can feel even better than receiving something - that goes for time and effort as well as gifts! Make an effort to reach out to people. It is great to share light, food and laughter at this time of year and even a small effort to contribute to something will go a long way in boosting your mood.

Resting - is there time for it in our modern world? Unfortunately we don't yet live in a world with indisputable evidence that we need more rest in winter and so most people will be working to their normal, 9-5 (or 6? or 7?) schedule.

It's hard to find time to rest in summer, when the days feel so much longer, so it can be nigh on impossible now.

If you want to make more headspace to do things in the evening try having half an hour when you get home from work just sitting quietly. You could have a nap, just close your eyes, or try journaling.

It's easy to feel so exhausted you just want to sit on the couch and scroll through TikTok but - try to resist! If you find yourself spending a lot of time on social media, put a timer on the apps on your phone. Make a list of what you really want to do and make time for yourself. You'll feel so much happier if you properly rest, or partake in restful activities like having a bath or baking.

Taking back time for ourselves is definitely hard but everyone has things they wish they spent less or more time doing. Find out what these are for you and plan for it.

Staying creative

It is really easy to let our creativity slip in this time but, as our trip into the past has shown, the winter has traditionally been (possibly) the most creative season.

If you are spending more time in the house because of the weather remind yourself of the creative activities you'd like to do.

Treat socialising in a different way to the summer. You could plan a time to get creative with friends, have more chilled events and relish in the feeling of hygge. Watch the sunset at 4.30pm - or the sunrise at 7.30am - and appreciate that you might not be awake to see either at certain times of year!

Creating often comes out of necessity too. When Shelley wrote Frankenstein it was because the weather was too awful to do any exciting outdoor activities.

Embrace the necessity of creating, resting and celebrating to get you through the winter!

Thank you for reading this weeks post! I'm currently snuggled up on the sofa, with a candle lit, and I'm so very glad I took the time to create this post today. If you're looking to socialise creatively head to the courses page of my website where you'll find our next in-person and online writing sessions advertised. It's only £5 to book on and you'll definitely not regret getting creative and beating the winter blues!

Stay cosy,

Sarah x