With less than one week until Thanksgiving, people in colder climes are preparing for the winter ahead, decorating for the holidays, buying turkeys and, of course, looking into where they can go on their winter vacation (if they haven’t already planned something, of course).
When you talk to people about this long season of life, you’ll quickly notice that many people have different opinions about it. Some love the cold, the cozy nature of it all, the holidays. Others can’t wait for it to end.
Yet no matter whether or not you choose to embrace winter this year or reject it in favor of warmer weather, consider how compelling the season is for so many.
Many of us travelers from the northern regions of America know very well the desire to get away and travel to a warm weather destination for the winter season, whether that be for a single week or for the entire season.
Travelers during this season flock to destinations like Arizona, California, Florida and Hawai’i here in the U.S., or go even further, heading to Mexico or the Caribbean to enjoy more tropical climes.
Yet others, still, choose to embrace the winter spirit in all its forms. They, instead, head to places like Colorado or Utah, or Quebec or Iceland or to Europe, embracing the cold and all the snowy winter activities to be had, like skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing.
Isn’t it interesting how winter inspires travel, period? While spring holidays like Easter and the school holiday of Spring Break are synonymous with travel, winter break doesn’t have that same connotation, likely because it’s not the only time during this long season in which people like to travel.
Winter is often described as a long rest, a period of hibernation and slumber. In many places around the globe, winter is when growing things go dormant or die, and when insects and animals take their long rests.
Yet we choose to make the most of the long season by either embracing it or escaping it. Neither one is a wrong choice; both are human nature.
I like to think our travel desires stem from psychological needs. When we’re burnt out with work or our daily lives or both, we crave a relaxing trip that helps us forget our troubles. When we’re bored with our current state or feel stuck, we crave adventure and exploration somewhere new.
It’s a natural inclination to take a break every season, though often we don’t do so for money or time considerations. So when winter, that long stretch of cold, comes to us again, we see it as an opportunity to take a break, to rest.
Whether that rest involves cross-country skiing or lounging on the beach is up to you.
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