Last Christmas I heard about an outdoor nativity event held on a farm. A crowd of all ages gathered and moved around different parts of the farm, hearing how Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem all those years ago unfolded, and singing carols, while farm animals (goats, sheep and donkeys) bleated or munched hay in their pens. Lanterns lit the scene.
Yes, it would probably have felt warmer in a church or hall, but this was so alive, so real, so authentic too. Elemental and down to earth, an experience that could help ground anyone there, an experience that brought to life the Christmas events once nore, in a new light.
At any other time in winter, it’s unlikely that anyone would linger in a draughty farmyard for long. The wonder of Christmas! But we also need to dig deep and look for other imaginative ways to spend time outdoors in winter, to connect with nature even when it’s dark or cold. Now that it’s so well known how beneficial it is for our wellbeing to be outdoors – calming and regulating body and mind alike – we need to grasp those benefits throughout the whole year.
It’s pretty obvious that winter can be dispiriting and depressing, and that’s largely due to sensory deprivation as the dark, cold days drag on. All looks bleached of colour, cloud and fog loom, some days never come truly light. All the colours and sights and sounds of summer have fled. The farm nativity then would be a sensory experience, full of different sights, sounds and smells. Stimuli that can transform how you feel.
Usually we also lose the time spent outdoors that can so lift mood – just when we need that boost the most. Taking less exercise is also common in winter, again at the very time we need to move to improve circulation and produce “happy hormones”. Winter exercise can happen indoors – dancing, stretching, maybe in an online class or group – but getting outdoors still helps too.
In midwinter we need more to lure us out when all looks bare and dormant. Astro photography inspires some, or cold water swimming, or going to a light show at a local visitor attraction, or even walking round your local area to see sparkling lights in homes and gardens at dusk. The lights can make the darkness feel less immense and overpowering. Parkrun continues to attract runners on winter weekends, and another tradition that’s developed is the Santa Fun Run in many places. Carol singing outdoors, round a Christmas tree or tramping along from house to house, is an outdoor tradition that has stood the test of time, celebrated in Thomas Hardy’s novel Under The Greenwood Tree.
I know I find my energy levels plummet along with the falling temperatures – but also that even a rapid outing to the postbox along the road makes me feel more alert.
Winter can feel like enforced rest, enforced waiting. Something like that farmyard nativity, or carol singing, or taking time to look out at the night sky, makes even midwinter feel more alive, here and now.