The holiday season is in full swing and, while enjoying the merriment and looking forward to Christmas, this is also the time of year I begin counting down to Dec. 21, the winter solstice and the shortest day of 2019.
Sure, there are several weeks of scant sunlight ahead of us, but reaching the milestone provides some solace, knowing that each day is a little longer than the previous until summer arrives. I embrace winter with the same enthusiasm as most locals, but it’s the darkness that can affect my mood. It’s driving to and from work under the cover of stars that begins to wear on me.
Sure, it’s the price we pay for our long summer evenings. But it’s also too easy to fall into a routine of bundling up and disconnecting from neighbors, especially on weekdays. I joke to friends that once I get home on Mondays through Fridays during the winter, I’m no longer available and unwilling to warm up the car.
That’s an exaggeration, but barely. Unless I’m on the mountain, or attending a long-planned event, I’m apt to simply stay home out of habit. Luckily, this is Northwest Montana, and we really, really like events. In this issue of the Beacon, our reporters highlight several of them: from Cabin Fever Days in Bad Rock Canyon to the Polar Bear Plunge in Woods Bay. Residents riding on barstools and jumping in an icy lake can draw even the biggest winter hermits out of hibernation.
My reaction to the shorter days is mild annoyance and increased laziness, but others fare far worse. Symptoms of those actually suffering from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, include depression, change in appetite and difficulty concentrating.
Norman Rosenthal, a medical doctor and author of Winter Blues who first described the disorder in 1984, wrote that humans have likely long struggled with SAD and it’s no coincidence that so many cultures celebrate major holidays during the darkest months of the year.
There are a number of suggestions for the estimated 10 million Americans suffering from SAD to help them weather the winter, many of them common sense. Exercise more, watch what you eat, bring more light into your home. I would add that there’s probably a better way to get through the workweek than finding excuses to hole up in front of your living room fireplace.
Along with the creative, and even bizarre, events our unique communities host this time of year, it’s also an opportunity for you and me to start traditions of our own. A coworker and I have attempted to start a poker game every couple weeks. Local breweries host trivia nights across the valley to lure you out of your cave. And more artists are hosting painting parties.
None of this may appeal to you. But once the hunting season ends and the holidays pass, there’s still a lot of winter left. Only emerging to ski on weekends and attend the occasional festival isn’t enough to maintain a positive disposition until the daylight returns. In the summer, many of us are trying to cram as many as activities as possible in a four-month span while navigating tourists, weddings and out-of-state visitors. These short days are perhaps the best time to reconnect with those who matter most to you. The alternative is just hiding out and complaining how dark it is.