Winter represents many things to different people. For some, it is a period of quiet reflection; for others, it is a time when mental health is challenged to the extreme. The lack of sunlight presents a particularly harsh moment for the melanin-ed, with the depletion of vitamin D from our bodies. It is a topic widely discussed at GirlDreamer every year.
As we wind down, wherever we are based in the Global North — New York, London, Birmingham, and beyond — we are forced to reckon with the consequences of ancestral displacement and migration to this ever-colder kingdom. Speaking for myself, I spent my formative years in Jamaica, Kenya, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Singapore, only arriving in the United Kingdom for university. I took the sun for granted until I lost it for at least a third of the year — a reminder to stay present and practice gratitude. To say the least, it was a shock to the system, culturally and climatically. A double whammy of discombobulation.
For other people of colour, their families may have lived here for generations, yet they still feel the effects of seasonal affective disorder just as deeply. So it begs the question: is this written in our DNA? Our ancestry?
The truth is, everyone under the sun — no matter what shade they bear — can struggle with seasonal depression. And there may even be people of colour who thrive in this season; we are not a monolith. I have yet to meet them, but I can’t deny they exist. However, I do wonder what happens when the compounded impact of being racialised in an environment not necessarily built for us adds to the many layers we must navigate in systems that were never designed with us in mind.
With the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment and the post-colonial legacies we continue to live under in the so-called “United” Kingdom, women of colour are among many groups facing a myriad of challenges. Christmas itself becomes a moral conundrum as much as it is a festive celebration with our families. Is the value of our families measured by the price tag, or by the time we spend together? From a collectivist perspective, I hold the latter.
It’s quite difficult to describe the situation we now find ourselves in. The intersectional lived experiences of women of colour are like layers of clothes: we feel the weight of sexism, racism, and classism hugging us, never quite keeping us warm or safe. This is a byproduct of a capitalist society falsely advertised as one of prosperity and purpose. Its remnants are all around us, where wealth inequality drives much of the social poverty we see today. All of the “isms” we experience now exist to maintain the status quo. The neoliberal jig is up. Those of us from the Global South understand this. Like refugees, economic migrants are often forced to displace themselves due to colonial Western foreign policies that destabilise our home countries, resulting in a lack of economic prosperity.
Yet education can be both a tool to instill conformity and a tool that allows people to transform their societies in creative and critical ways. There is a level of consciousness in the working classes that is apparent today. This is why, despite seeing a nation that has not fully dealt with its empirical past, we witness large-scale protests challenging wars and genocides in the “Middle East” and beyond. I use quotation marks because the term “Middle East” is inherently colonialist, as is much of the English language. There is a lot of learning and unlearning to be done. Luckily, through individuation and critical thought, people are spotting the cracks in the lies we’ve been told.
One of these cracks is the lie of Christmas — that you need to have all these things to feel whole. Parents stress about how to put food on the table or make their children happy with gifts they might not be able to afford. For some, Christmas is a merry period; for others, it is a season of pressure and isolation. Well, I’m here to say: you are not alone.
This is why, at GirlDreamer, we prioritise rest. As convincing as it may seem to run at light speed in the everyday rat race, our society was built to make us believe that constant productivity equals worthiness. As we close out the year, we want to remind you that cultures shaped around joy and collective care exist. It is okay to take a break. You don’t have to constantly function to be deemed worthy. You don’t have to live up to all the expectations of Christmas either.
Whether you are having a quiet night in watching movies on your sofa, or turning your house into a winter wonderland with your family, you are equally deserving. Let’s normalise giving rather than receiving. Honour this time as an opportunity to give back to those who have less than us and remind ourselves that the current status quo is not our fault. Before you compare your Christmas or the way you are spending your winter, understand that you are not alone in the lows of the darkness.
Personally, I will be focusing on being with family, celebrating with friends, and setting intentions to carry into the new year. In the Chinese lunar calendar, this year is the year of the snake, where we’ve shed old skin — and, without getting into it, I have shed a lot of my old self. 2026 will be the year of the horse: the year we move forward. Now it’s time for a new beginning. Rest and reset before the next test.
With love, peace, and mindfulness, we wish you a very merry Christmas — in all the ways it comes to you.
