The new holiday normal for now at least?

How are you celebrating this year?  We had a few friends over on Sunday to have our annual winter solstice celebration.  Last year we gathered on Zoom to sing  together and did without our flaming pudding.  But this year, Zoom just wasn't going to do it.  So we had staggered arrival times, just a couple of people per hour, wore masks, exchanged gifts and enjoyed a fire outside as well.  It was nice to actually sit down and have conversations with people in a more intimate setting than our usual big gatherings.

And now with the big "to do" behind us, we can settle in and just celebrate our Christmas. Yippee.

Do you love the holidays or are you more likely to hide in your burrow until it's all over?

I am both.  Not a lover of hub-bub  I can  find the preparations for our holiday party to be quite exhausting. But there's a part of me that loves feeding people and  sharing some traditions with our friends.  We usually sing songs, make some music and flame a Christmas pudding.  And the aftermath is lovely as I can just relax for the week before Christmas.

The bustle aside, some people are burdened with family expectations, struggles with food, and or money.  Whatever the usual stress is that you struggle with can be amplified at this time of year as expectations and even demands on your time increase.  And for many this comes at the darkest time of the year emotionally because the lack of light affects everyone, regardless of a S.A.D. diagnosis

Many people do thrive at this time of year.  I love winter because it is so  quiet.  I love the stillness and time to go within. The sense of renewal underground; of the landscape resting and restoring. While we celebrate the return of the light at solstice I take one last day or two to celebrate the dark. the Yin, the deep feminine from which we arise; before the earth begins it's seasonal, cyclical tilt.

Whatever the gifts of the season you look forward to, I wish you a lovely winter holiday; full of both joy and rest, renewal of body and spirit!

If you would like some tapping tips to  help with holiday stress check out some of this week's posts on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/lovetapping

Here's one woman's tapping journey to a guilt free Christmas: guilt free Christmas

Mindfulness can be as short as a few breaths!  check out the article here: just a few breaths

And don't forget the power of HeartMath tools, when you take those few mindful breaths, breathe into your heart and activate some wonderful memory and let those good feelings bubble up.  Good feelings can easily replace troubled thoughts if you let them!

Best wishes to you and yours
Penny