I feel like a grumpy, old bear this holiday season. I don’t want to put my energy into decking halls. I avoid shopping as much as possible. I have no idea what to get anybody, and the muzak playing everywhere makes me want to poke holes in my ear drums.
Poor dazed bear could be longing to return to her dark, quiet box in the attic.
I’m not really grumpy. And I’m certainly not sad or depressed. It’s just that I’m not into the hoopla of the holidays much anymore. In winter, I like to stay home, play mandolin and ukulele, write poetry and prose, and laugh at anything that pokes fun at commercialism, holiday treacle, or extreme reverence. This article on spiders who decorate their webs with ornaments is an example of the kind of holiday humor I relish (for more general species-related humor, see this post).
Part of me has been feeling a bit guilty about all this.
A post by Havi Brooks — “Rituals, Traditions, and Zombies,” — made me realize I was not alone in wrestling with these feelings of being at odds with the holiday mandate. She writes:
…If I were going to invent a holiday…It would be one that gave you permission to hide.
That’s exactly what I want: permission to hide. Actually, I want even more (I always do). I want to celebrate hiding. I’d rather call it hibernation — intentional hibernation — where we’re not sleeping but taking advantage of darkness and cold to turn inward, to indulge and nurture creativity, to enrich our quirky inner lives.
Hibernating and becoming grumpy at too much falderol is what bears do. Nothing to feel guilty about.
Hurrah for bears! I like the example of my cat, who is spending a lot of time curled in her warm kitty bed this time of year. I interact glancingly with the holidays, exchanging a few presents, attending a few parties, but strenuously avoiding stores, musak, and tinsel.
It is a relief to hear I’m not the only one. Thanks for posting!
Grumpy bears and cats unite! We could learn a lot from other species about how to take advantage of seasonal rhythms. Sounds like your holidays are peaceful and sane. Enjoy and thanks for the comment. Hope to make it to dancing after the first of the year.
Hidernation!
Very good. Hadn’t thought of that one.
[...] that comes up for me every time I read something I feel like I need to look up. This week it was a quote on Havi’s blog from <a href=one of her Item! Posts: “I like to… laugh at anything that [...]