To think January and February are weird months?

[KeeG8181]

I've just gone to the supermarket and it's virtually empty, and it's got me thinking.

Does anyone else just find January and February weird?
Christmas and New Year is over so there's not much to look forward to for those who celebrate. The majority of people are skint, everywhere is so quiet, it's absolutely freezing and gets dark early. Idk I feel so bleh!

Am I the only one who finds it really eerie?

Nah, its summer here. Best time of the year.
Mornings on the beach, kids are on holidays.

@edwinbear

I don't mind January. I don't like the bit in between Christmas and NY where I sit on the sofa, drinking wine, eating cheese and feeling my stomach pressing deeper into my waistband by the minute.

Once NYE is out of the way, I quite enjoy dry Jan, eating better and getting back to the gym. I feel sluggish during the party season, but (unsurprisingly), once I start my Jan health kick, I sleep better, look better and lose the Christmas pounds. Plus I save loads as there is nothing to do or buy, and nobody wants to go out. It's a hibernation period, before emerging out of my cocoon in the spring!

I love it. It feels like everything is reset and its going to get lighter hopefully so will I

I have a January birthday.

It's only shit if I'm in the UK IME.

January and February are horrible months
Usually try a week away in Feb ...half term as I'm a TA - UK break - always pick a lovely posh small apartment or house and even if weather is rubbish it helps to have it to look forward to and once there it's a change of scenery even if all we do is eat and watch films etc snuggled on sofa !!

Yes, it is a grotty depressing time of the year. I think there should be another festival at the end of January to look forward to. Something involving lots of colour and flowers

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlemas

Those pesky Christians think of everything. I am considering keeping the tree up for this this a la middle ages.

Yes, after a couple of months of sinking everything into Christmas, you then have to sink everything into what you didn't before in order to afford Christmas.
This year has been worse as well because of everything regarding covid hanging in the air until the New Year.

I quite like Jan & Feb
You need to prepare but I enjoy them.

I love January and February,

The stress and hassle of Christmas has gone.
Candles, wood burners, cosy evenings reading or watching tv.
Fresh starts and the anticipation of a year ahead.
Spring is on the horizon, bulbs and appearing in the ground.
Seed catalogues.

I like them, I see them as reset months when you come out of your christmas slumber & get prepared for the year ahead.

Totally agree, January is an awful month, dark, yucky weather, forever until payday, dark going to work and coming hone, plus the flat feeling after Christmas. I’m a teacher and it’s always a really boring term as well, as there’s no holidays, special events etc, etc.

I don’t mind February as it starts to feel lighter in an evening, there’s a haif-term holiday, shorter month until payday and the first signs of Spring start coming through.

I was at the supermarket yesterday teatime as well and it was eerily quiet and very, very empty shelves. I did wonder if there’d been a bit of panic buying in advance of Boris’s possible announcement given what happened this time last year.

Yeah its just you lots of family birthdays in January and February.... its party time

My birthday is in February so it's my favorite month of the year.
I don't mind January either I like getting the house back in order, I usually have a big clear out and get things organised.

@Ifailed

To all those people saying they hate January but like February because of pancakes, why not just make pancakes in January as well?

Because it's about a sense of communal occasion. I've been with DH too many decades to go all dewy-eyed at Valentine's day, but that sense of communal occasion halfway through February, and seeing decorations around is a light relief and a sense of time.

I can and do cook pancakes through the year, but that doesn't make it Shrove Tuesday. Plus there's other rituals associated like Shrovetide Football then the start of Lent.

For that reason, it's brevity, slightly longer days and the emerging signs of spring, February is an easier month to get through than January.

The darkness of early January can be very claustrophobic and limiting and the things to look forwards to are a little distant.

March is a relief even if it's the start of months of anti-histamine. It's worth it!

Candles are your friends in the darker months. January is not the time to diet or not drink!

Try to get outside every day, regardless and celebrate every occasion. We do this throughout the year starting off with Burns night and Chinese New Year

I don't mind the end of January but I don't like the first couple of weeks at all. The Christmas decorations all go away and everything seems dark and dull. Christmas seems like weeks ago already. I never know when to stop saying happy new year to people. Surely any time after about 6th or 7th is a bit odd, but I don't see some people for the first time this year until after then. February is ok but I don't like Valentine's Day. I'm glad I'm not alone in my mild dislike of March. It feels like it should be spring but always seems to be freezing cold and blustery. To be honest, I'm an autumn person so the only months I really like are September to December.

I like them me , time to huddle down and hibernate before the spring. It’s a beautiful day here in Northumberland with bright blue sky , going to go and plant some bulbs in the garden and get some Vit D

My number 1 tip is to keep up some fairy lights

Yeah they're shite. Feb especially.

Things start looking up in March.

How sad to wish away two months of the year every year. It’s a cycle you end up in, dreading it because you expect it to be awful. Change it? Embrace the cold and grey. Keep the Christmas lights up?! I do. Book bowling or pantomimes, a holiday. If you are broke in Jan, re think spending at Xmas. Beach walls, countryside walks.

Life can really really suck, horror that some could barely comprehend, coming out the other side, you kinda see the beauty everywhere. Patterns are difficult to break, but if you expect jan and feb to be depressing, they will be

My birthday is in February so I like that but I do agree about January. We like to go on holiday in jan/feb, maybe we can manage that again in 2023. Going away at the beginning of February is very effective as if you go for 2 weeks the month is practically over when you get back!

@mrsbyers sounds lovely! However, the sun in the U.K. isn’t strong enough to give you any vitamin D until around March so stay on supplements for now

I don't mind February as it's a short month, the nights are noticeably lighter and they're drawing out, plus March is spring so it's leading into spring and it has a feeling of optimism and hope about it. Plus, several years recently there has been the first warm weather of the year in February. Last year I actually caught the sun at the end of February from sitting outside.

However, I don't like January as it feels long and cold.

@FuzzyPuffling

I have a birthday in January. I hate it.

Everyone is really miserable and talks about it as you do...hence making it especially grotty for me.

I have two children born in January and I've always hated that other people's crappy attitude ruins things for them.

They would be excited for their special days and no one had money to buy them a gift or no one was motivated to come to our home for a birthday party because of the "festive comedown" and the constant chatter of "shit weather". Add to the fact that there was nothing in the shops for them to spend their birthday money and had to wait until sometime in February.

It's cold and dark, but I don't think that makes it weird at all. It's normal for the winter! I don't recognise this 'the shops have nothing in them' thing either

Oh I love January and February! Everything feels full of hope and optimism!! You've got loads of new stuff to enjoy from Christmas like a new perfume and new PJs for example that make the daily grind life more of a pleasure. You're trying to eat better and move more which is a mood booster too. I naturally turn quite reflective too, counting my blessings and celebrating my achievements of the previous year - and often read more books as my social life is quieter so I get more downtime. It's also a lovely feeling after the whirlwind of December to have a less packed to do list (as it's not full of Christmas to dos!) and so I feel I have less on my plate, plus it's seen as totally fine to just hunker down with your household to recover from Christmas which I see as lovely routine filled quality time. The house feels fresh and clean after taking down the Christmas decorations and getting a thorough clean. The kids are occupied with new toys from Christmas. Today is a lovely January day - blue skies, sunny, cold with frost on the ground this morning. I had a beautiful walk this morning with the dog and toddler and was thinking how much I love this time of year!!!