Slowing Down For Christmas Is A Nice Theory
Let’s see how various cultures put it into practice
Hello out there - in a rushed world,
Here comes your weekly permission to Un-rush and Stress Less.
Timeless insights and impulses on how the power of slow helps you grow - in a rushing world crushing your life
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INSIGHT
Rushing During The Holidays To Cramp It All In – Or Slowing Down To Really Enjoy It All
Wishing you HAPPY HOLIDAYS around the world… In Germany, where I am from, we come together on the evening of the 24th, Christmas Eve, with family, friends, and our loved ones, and SLOW DOWN to enjoy each other’s company with a nice big dinner, gift exchange, playing, reading, and relaxing.
We tend to rush to get everything “prepared” for the holidays. We run from one invitation and gathering to the next to see family members and celebrate with various relatives, friends, and colleagues. And we come out of the holiday season exhausted, needing another break.
Or perhaps, and hopefully, your festive season is different?
Today is the 26th of December, which is in Great Britain Boxing Day, and in Germany and most European countries the “Second Christmas Day” and a public holiday. Everything is still quiet, closed, and in a festive mode. No emails are coming in; all stores are closed. I love it. In my little world, everything seems to have come to a halt.
It is a good time to slow down and take a break.
Com’on, Slow Down For The Holidays!
Embrace a slower pace to find stillness and calm at the end of the year before a new year starts chasing you around again.
Some ideas on how to help ease the festive stress and enjoy some slow days around the holidays and the days “Between the Years,” as the days between Christmas and New Year are called in German-speaking countries. These days are also called “Raunacht” (or “Rauhnacht”) in several other European countries, which signifies an old European custom around the turn of the year.
Let’s stick with modern times and consider a few ideas for enjoying these special days.
Go offline. If everyone enjoys their loved ones and good times, for whom and what do you want to be online? (You want to be online for my Newsletter, of course!)
Take some time to send Holiday and New Year's wishes to your friends, family members, and colleagues. Sending love and thoughts fills your heart and those of others. (Digital or old-fashioned paper).
Remember what’s important (it’s not rushing to buy gifts or getting crazy about Christmas party planning.)
Get crafty yourself – with holiday cards (paper or digital), gifts, decorations, baking, and cooking
Enjoy the cold season (unless you are on the other side of the planet) and get cozy with a big sweater, a fireplace, and hot chocolate.
Cook seasonal and local food
It’s dark early, so get cozy and read. Do like the Nordic people do, who live in the dark several months a year and who embrace reading, candlelight, and cooking.
IMPULSES
Curated stories on the topic of slowing down and stressing less, designed to open up new ways of looking at why you should give yourself permission to un-rush.
Slow Down With A Hot Drink Around The World
The phenomenon of a hot drink and its impact on the pace at which we hurry through life is impressive.
It seems normal to me (the German one), and it seems normal to the Italians, the Dutch, the French, or the Swedish to take a break during the day or before/after work to sit down with a friend and have a cup of coffee or tea.
The Swedish
The Swedish call it fika, coffee and cake break. At home or in a café, sit down with a friend or colleague and have a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. Take a break and then continue with your duties.
The Germans
The Germans call it Kaffeeklatsch. Get together and chat over coffee. Same idea: take a break, catch up with a friend, or talk about work stuff with a colleague, as long as you break away from what you are doing. Sit down in a coffee shop and enjoy a cup of hot coffee.
The Italians
The Italians call it Prendiamo un caffè, and they stand at the bar of a coffee shop and sip an espresso. There is a whole culture around your espresso—how it is brewed, served and how you drink it. You chat with the barista and the others in the coffee shop and return to work.
The French
The French call it “goutte à goutte”, or slow coffee, as a daily ritual to savor the moment and enjoy their morning brew. The process involves using a French press or a siphon machine, which releases a drop of hot water onto the coffee beans, extracting the flavor one drop at a time. This slow and mindful process is a great way to kick-start the day and is an example of how slow-living rituals can be incorporated into daily practices.
It doesn’t have to take long. But you slow down for a moment and enjoy your coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.
The Americans
Americans seem to always run around with a paper cup filled with some hot drink they call coffee, usually some crazy variation of ingredients in addition to coffee with some fancy name.
Europeans sit down with a hot drink and enjoy. With or without a friend, with or without a newspaper. Slowing down the hurry of the day for a moment.
The Japanese
The Japanese have another very slow way of enjoying the pleasure of a hot drink. The tea ceremony. It is a joy to witness the Japanese tea ceremony in an atmosphere distinct from the fast pace of everyday life. I've been to a few in Japan, and it's really soothing.
The Japanese tea ceremony ("the way of tea", chadō) is a tradition steeped in history. It is a ceremonial way of preparing and drinking green tea, typically in a traditional tearoom with a tatami floor. A full, formal tea ceremony is a multi-hour event; however, most tea ceremonies these days are much abbreviated events that are limited to the enjoyment of a bowl of thin tea.
Nevertheless, drinking tea in Japan, whether at home or in a café, is a slow and calming way to enjoy your drink amid the chaos of everyday life.