While the Earth Holds its Breath: Embracing the winter season checklist

Posted on October 31, 2024

Helen Moat used to hide from winter: she would hunker down inside, yearn for the sun, and wait it out. So when she heard others call it their preferred season, she went on a mission to discover what they saw in the months she found so difficult.

Trying to understand why some of the darkest and coldest countries in the world have the lowest rates of seasonal depression, she dives into cultural practices from warming winter food to traditional book gifting and finds that forcing herself outside in the cold unexpectedly invigorates her and pushes her into deepened human connections.

With this in mind, we have put together a checklist to get you through each of the winter months.

 

 

November

Fruit cake – comfort food

December

Jólabókaflóð – The Christmas Book Flood

January

In the Stillness – New beginnings

February

Winter Music – Seek out Skylarks

 

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While the Earth Holds its Breath by Helen Moat, is publishing on the 14th November 2024.

Helen Moat is the author of A Time of Birds (Saraband, 2020), a travelogue of her journey across Europe, by bike, with her teenage son. She has also written multiple travel guides and is a regular contributor to Derbyshire Life, BBC Countryfile magazine, Wanderlust, a variety of websites, and to regional radio, as well as leading travel workshops and contributing to national newspapers and magazines.