Bringing Light to Winter

Inside: The coldest season can be dark and dreary, but I’ve found a simple way for bringing light to winter, and it’s made a difference.

TV stand with decorations and lights. — My winter light display.

While most everyone is looking forward to spring, myself included, this post might seem too late this season. But it’s never too late for a good tip, something helpful for future winters.

Back in January I read a great article in The Epoch Times: “To Beat the Winter Blues, Think Like a Norwegian.” The writer quoted a researcher, Kari Leibowitz, who studied how Norwegians approach winter, particularly “polar nights” when the sun sets in northern Norway in late November and doesn’t rise for two months. She lived a year at the University of Tromso, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. What she found, in a nutshell, was that people there had a positive mindset toward wintertime instead of dreading the season, so common here in the US. They made the most of winter, spending their time outdoors doing what they love, like cross-country skiing, and enjoying their cozy living spaces indoors.

While I definitely haven’t taken up cross-country skiing, the article did inspire me to make my living space cozy. So when taking down the Christmas decorations, I kept back a strand of plain white lights for draping over the electric fireplace. I didn’t want to use the colored lights because those speak Christmas to me. I wanted this to be different.

Admittedly it wasn’t much. I just draped them here and there over my makeshift mantle, and I wasn’t even sure I liked them. When Mike arrived home that night, I half expected him to sigh and ask me what the lights were for.

“They’re a little bright,” he said, but hurried to add, “but that’s okay.” Winter isn’t his favorite month, and we both could use the lift this time of year.

My Cozy Experiment

So I’ve had the light strand up for nearly two months, plugged in most of the time. What I’ve noticed is how the lights have added a little something special to my living room, and it’s had a positive effect on my mood. It can get so dark and dreary in the long winter months of January and February. But this year that little added touch of something special brightened our days–literally!

While it’s been a rough start this year, and the February cold snap didn’t help, another Light has helped me navigate the hard places. Even better than a strand of white lights draped over a makeshift mantle.

I highly recommend both.