January Notebook - The Slow Living Issue
Winter stars, peace and Wassailing
Hello,
Time seems to stop in January doesn’t it. Which is something I’m learning to appreciate.
I hate to think of all the years I wished January away, or in fact when I wished anything away. Time speeds up in a terrifying way as you get older and after the downhill rush of December I’m very happy to have a slower, more peaceful month ahead.
So if you need to reframe the month of January (and most of us do - it doesn’t have the best reputation), think of it as one long, slow Winter’s nap with permission to do as little as possible. February and March will give us plenty of opportunity for fresh starts and activities. But let’s keep January cosy and quiet shall we?
In the ebb and flow of the year, this is still very much a season of rest. So there will be no mentions of goals or resolutions in this newsletter, thank you very much.
We’ll be following the lead of our pagan ancestors instead, continuing the Midwinter festivities over into January and focusing on all the slow, gentle, warming aspects of this month.
In this newsletter, we’ll be cosying up with hibernation rituals, drinking warming spiced drinks and continuing the festive spirit of last month with an Orchard Wassail.
Who’s with me?
Things to love about January
1. Beautiful wintry weather
In the UK there is actually more chance of snow in January and February than there was in December. So if we didn’t get a White Christmas, then there is still hope. If we’re really lucky, January will bring us the crackling frosts, ice-glazed water and the silence of a snowy landscape we were hoping for last month.
2. Slow Living
If you’ve wanted to embrace the slow living movement, now is your moment! No other month lends itself to this way of living more than gentle and sleepy January. Although the longest night has gone, we are still in the thick of Midwinter and now is not the time for rushing anything.
Life will pick up pace soon enough, with the first of the Spring festivals starting next month (hello Imbolc!), so make the most of this long, lovely month of rest while you can.
2. Old (and Odd) Folklore customs
If you want to embrace the weird and wonderful, and feel connected to your pagan past, January has just the thing for you - a Wassail ceremony. In the ancient calendar Midwinter festivities would continue over into January, culminating in a Wassail on the Twelfth Night where apple trees and orchards were blessed (and much spiced cider was drunk) to ensure a good apple harvest ahead.
I’ll be sending out a special Wassail Newsletter shortly, so keep an eye out for that, or subscribe below, if you want to know more.
Things to do in January
Feeling suitably January-ish yet? I hope so. Right, here’s your list of things to do, see and eat this month:
1. Drink hot cider and eat spiced apple cakes
The Orchard Wassail on January 6th involves drinking lots of hot spiced cider, along with singing, dancing and general merriment. I’ll be sending out a Wassail newsletter shortly with recipes for spiced drinks and I’ve also included several recipes for spiced apple cake and other warming apple-based treats in there too. Because I see no reason why we shouldn’t stretch out the festive eating and drinking right though the month.
2. Plan adventures for the year ahead
I said there would be no mention of resolutions, diets or exercise in this newsletter and I stand by that. Instead I think we should all make exciting plans in January instead. The first Saturday of the New Year is known in the travel industry as Sunshine Saturday as this is traditionally the busiest day of the year for booking summer holidays.
While I imagine very few of us will have the funds to actually book anything just yet, the planning of summer adventures costs nothing and is the perfect activity on a January evening.
3. Count the birds
The Big Garden Birdwatch returns this year from 26-28th January. Run by the RSPB it’s an interactive bit of citizen science that only takes an hour. You just find a comfy spot indoors near a window, then count all the birds that visit your garden over the course of an hour. You can find out more info and log your results here.
Last year the most spotted birds in the UK were house sparrows, blue tits, starlings, wood pigeons and blackbirds. I think most of the wood pigeons were in my garden, although I may have been counting the same ones several times… I’ll be honest, I got a bit muddled towards the end of the hour. But this time I’ll be reading their FAQ’s first and will attempt to not mess it up.
4. Embrace hibernation rituals
In this cold, dark month it pays to follow the advice of the Danes who are well used to finding happiness in the winter thanks to their now-famous concept of Hygge. The basic underlying concept of which is just to embrace simple ways to be cosy and relaxed.
Hygge is thought to derive from the Old Norse word meaning "protected from the outside world" which seems very appropriate for this month. So whatever helps you to do that is to be encouraged.
Lighting candles, reading real books, wearing only cosy clothes, saying no to going out… Whatever you choose, just call it hygge and immediate changes from ‘slightly lazy’ to ‘wholesome and Scandinavian’.
January Folklore
Much of the folklore attached to this month is concerned with predicting frosts and snow, as well as marking the best date to get back to work after the festive season.
Here are a few pieces for you to squirrel away, ready to impress, surprise or completely baffle someone at the appropriate moment.
1. Don’t go back to work until Plough Monday
If you’re reluctant to go back to work this month, try suggesting to your boss that you’ll be following the ancient agricultural tradition of starting the year on January 6.
This day was known as Plough Monday and marked the start of the agricultural season. It was a fairly relaxed return to work too, as this day often involved singing, dancing, processing and merrymaking as a ritual to start the new ploughing season. If only all first days back at work were still like this.
2. Wrap up warm on St Hilarys Day
St Hilarys Day on 13th January is said to be the coldest day of the year. According to the Guardian, this could be because ‘a particularly severe winter freeze began on this date in 1205, when the river Thames remained frozen over for two months.’ Either way, best to make yourself a hot chocolate or spiced cider (see above) on this day, just in case.
3. Listen for the birds
If the birds begin to sing in January, Frosts are on the way.
Ok, that’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed your January newsletter and I hope you have a wonderful month filled with hibernation rituals, winter stars and jolly Wassails.
Now it’s over to you to share your January rituals and traditions in the Comments. I’m really interested to know if anyone else loves January and if so what your rituals and traditions look like?
I’ll see you next month for a February edition of the Monthly Notebook. We’ll be diving into early Spring rituals, Imbolc festivities and some delicious seasonal cakes and breads. I’ll add a sprinkling of weird and wonderful folklore for you too. Look forward to seeing you there. If you haven’t already Subscribed then just click below to make sure that post arrives safely in your inbox.
Vicky xx
Ohhh I’m so on board with the deep wintering and the slowness of this month.
Interesting what you’ve also written about the birds, during sunset they sang so loud in the trees behind my house, so uncommon for this time of the year. In the south of Germany we say the birds start singing again only after Imbolg / Candlemass.
In my most recent post I’ve written exactly about resting and also that historically, January isn’t really the start of the new year (in addition to following nature of course it becomes clear). And also how I love that where I grew up in the Alpine region, we leave the winter decorations up for a few more weeks (latest until early Feb. oftentimes no one has patience for that though) but the whole concept of new year new me, goals etc just doest make sense. we’re still resting and don’t need to be a new person is just such a new concept I find.
I really needed to read this little encouragement today 🙂 Here in Italy, we celebrate Epiphany on January 6th as a national holiday, which is when the Holiday season actually ends. I'm lucky that my work place allows us to follow this custom and so the return to the office will be on January 8th this year. I find it a gentler way to enter the new year.