“Frosty the Snowman was a jolly happy soul,” is the opening line of the classic holiday song, “Frosty the Snowman.”
This song introduces us to a cheerful snowman whose inevitable fate is to melt. While lighthearted on the surface, this story carries a deeper message about the impermanence of the holidays and their bittersweet nature. Revisiting the warmth of tradition and the memories of holidays past can bring a sense of longing for moments that can never be fully recaptured.
“Frosty the Snowman” serves as a metaphor for how we handle nostalgia during the holidays. Much like Frosty, who knew his time was short, we must find ways to appreciate the present.
During the fall and winter seasons, as we jump from holiday to holiday, it is essential to prioritize mental health. Seasonal depression can become a serious issue if one falls down the rabbit holes of old memories and exacerbated emotions.
THE PRICE OF GROWING UP
As a kid, the school days before winter break consisted of holiday-themed class parties and festive activities. Teachers decorated classrooms with paper snowflakes in celebration of the season. Erin Masters, a third-grade teacher at Tremont Elementary School, always finds a way to include her students’ holiday traditions in her classroom. Masters set up holiday parties that consist of crafts and activities, allowing her students to relish this time of year.
“Kids would make reindeer food to put out on the lawn… we just call them winter parties… It’s just a celebration of the season,” Masters noted.
When school festivities start, the snow begins to fall and the calendar finally reads “December,” elementary school students find it difficult to contain their emotions.
“[Elementary school students] have a lot of energy. As we get closer to the holidays, they get super ramped up with excitement about everything that’s going on,” Masters said.
As the years go on, kids will continue to experience the joy of the holiday season. Eventually, what school is like during the holidays will change and reflecting on what it was like as a kid can become bittersweet. Senior Ben Stamm has experienced both the old and the new traditions of school during the holidays and reminisced on what his experiences were like as a kid.
“My teachers would put up decorations all around the school, and we would do worksheets that were themed around the holidays,” Stamm said.
The inevitability of growing up is being forced to leave childhood behind and watch beloved childhood holiday parties become a part of the past. Stamm reflected on how the festive atmosphere around him has changed over time—especially in school—and how that shift of holiday spirit has affected his view of the season.
“Every single holiday felt way more like a holiday in elementary school… in high school, it feels like holidays kinda come and go,” Stamm stated.
The absence of holiday spirit is a feeling many students become acquainted with as they grow older. Junior Hannah Sutton, grieves the loss of what the holidays felt like as a child.
“I used to look forward to [the holidays] so much. And now when it’s not as exciting, it just makes you sad because you miss when you did look forward to it so much as a kid,” Sutton said.
A big change between elementary school and high school is the academic pressure in the early months of winter. The “holiday season” becomes the dreaded midterm stretch when students get to high school, and focus shifts to academics. Students stop looking forward to the holidays and instead start stressing about upcoming midterm exams.
“There was so much to look forward to as a kid… Now, because of exams, we just get a couple of days of Christmas, then we’re back in school. It’s a lot more stressful, and Christmas isn’t the first thing on your mind,” Sutton said.
Pressure builds and expectations are raised as a student goes through high school, especially during midterm exam season. Students begin to crave a break from school, dreading the next few weeks of midterm exam-based studies. Mckayla McVey, an AP World History teacher at UAHS, has noticed the mindset many of her students share during the holidays.
“I think [students] are very exam-centered. I don’t hear, ‘Oh, I’m excited for break because I’m excited for Christmas.’ I hear, ‘I’m excited for break because I’m done with school,’” Mcvey said.
During the last few weeks of first semester, it is common for students to become exhausted from the pressure and anxiety. This being said, teachers take on the responsibility of alleviating stress in class when school becomes difficult.
“It is harder to keep up the energy and make it a fun environment when the kids are struggling, which is understandable, but it’s a tough time of year,” McVey said.
The stress of school can become overwhelming to students. Often behavioral changes are seen in students as a result of the pressures they face.
“There’s a sacrifice for just the funniness and the goofiness [of a student] in pursuit of grades and everything,” McVey said, “I’ll tell my students, ‘You can have fun, you don’t have to be so hard on yourself,’ and then the answer that I always get is, ‘Well, I grew up.’”
UNDERSTANDING THE WINTER BLUES
One of the harsh realities of being a high school student is the pressure to prioritize school over anything else, including self-care. UAHS students attend school from August to May, and after winter break students go to school for three consecutive months: January, February and March.
“Those are the worst months,” Sutton said.
The three-month stretch is often when school is the most difficult and exhausting for students.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, “seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression. It happens during certain seasons of the year, most often fall or winter. It is thought that shorter days and less daylight may set off a chemical change in the brain leading to symptoms of depression.”
While this is an overarching definition, seasonal depression can manifest itself in unique ways. There can be a variety of reasons why individuals, specifically adolescents, may battle these feelings of depression during the seasonal changes. It may be the pure feeling of nostalgia, helping a sibling keep the holiday spirit alive or simply navigating the process of growing up and maturing.
Dr. Nadine Schwartz, Associate Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Nationwide Children’s Hospital gave her definition of seasonal depression.
“Seasonal depression typically is depression that comes on as the days start to get shorter, the available light, really starts to get shorter because our days are always the exact same length, but the available light in the day begins to get shorter,” she said.
Seasonal depression is not an immediate result of daylight shortening and can be delayed from person to person depending on a few factors.
“For some people, [their emotions are] truly just based on the available light. For other people, [their mental health] really can just be set off by the fact that their sleep cycle is changing. Some people are super sensitive to the adjustment and sleep,” Dr. Schwartz said.
Not only is it hard on students’ mental health when the days begin to feel shorter, but students also struggle with energy levels due to a lack of balance between school, extracurriculars and rest. During stressful times in the school year, the shift in students’ energy levels can become a serious struggle students face.
“We do a poor job of handling adolescent schedules and accommodating adolescents’ bodies and biological brain needs in terms of sleep. This means adolescents, naturally, if [they] were left alone to do what their bodies and brains want [them] to do, [they] would be staying up later and waking up later than our society gives [them] the opportunity to do,” Dr. Schwartz said.
An extra strain is placed on students who lack sleep, which can contribute to developing seasonal depression. Responsibilities and activities pile up, and sometimes that pressure may become too much.
“The number one thing [contributing to student burnout] is that students a lot of times don’t get enough rest…People with depression a lot of times have difficulty sleeping or they sleep way too much. A lot of kids don’t go to bed until very late and in terms of waking up, [they’re] getting up very early and not getting enough sleep,” Psychology teacher Doug Rinehart said.
Along with changes in holiday seasons and energy levels, many students are forced to balance family, friends, school life, sports and jobs. Toward the end of the year, semester exams are a major part of a student’s grade and actively studying is a necessity.
Sutton agreed students can have a difficult time balancing schoolwork and time for themselves.
“The most stressful times are right near midterms. [In the] winter, I procrastinate so much. I take forever to do my assignments and do the bare minimum and [I] just [put in] a lot less effort,” she said.
During midterm season, many students are faced with an intensified workload while motivation decreases.
“Exams are just another log to the fire, right? So we’ve already set you up for having things be difficult enough as it is because we’re dragging you into school very early compared to what your bodies and brains would like to do. And then we’re doing this time change, which is yet another complicating factor,” Dr. Schwartz said.
Many students at UAHS tend to put an intense amount of pressure on themselves, especially when exams are around the corner.
“Everybody experiences things like stress differently… Unfortunately, some students put a lot of pressure on themselves to do well and succeed. It’s good to have goals, but if those goals are things that stress you out to the point where you are overly anxious, and if your belief is that you have to get an ‘A,’ that’s not generally a healthy way of approaching school. Learning is critically important but it should not come at the cost of mental health,” Rinehart said.
During this time – although it is often overlooked – taking care of mental and physical health is even more vital.
ACTIVISM AND AWARENESS
The stressors of winter, like exams and daylight changes, bring repressed emotions to the surface, making professional or peer help valuable. Clubs like the Hope Squad offer support year-round, though demand increases during certain times.
Junior and Hope Squad Leader Elena Zhu noticed an increase in requests for help during the winter. She attributed the increase to both exam stress and nostalgia for earlier school years when holidays felt more celebrated.
“We’re growing up, and holidays may not feel as fun as they once did, but we’ll get through it together,” she said.
The counselors in the school building are also an excellent resource for all students, particularly those seeking someone with professional experience to talk to.
Counselor Heather Peebles explained a phenomenon she observed among many of her students who have discovered effective ways to cope with nostalgia and depressed emotions.
“There’s a huge kind of paradigm shift when you’re talking about something that you’re nostalgic about. Celebrate the fact that it happened, and kind of get yourself out of the grieving that’s no longer there,” she said.
Nostalgia of the past can contribute to depressed feelings, but so can comparison to others. The saying “comparison is the thief of joy” is often directed at students who struggle with high emotions. Peebles explained what she suggests to students who struggle with comparison to others and feelings of depression.
“You can set boundaries and just make sure that you understand that what you’re seeing in social media is very filtered and not very authentic… Everybody has different expectations and different traditions. If you’re starting to feel a little low, maybe get out of your bubble,” she said.
One of Peeble’s students ran a turkey trot with their friends as a way to mix things up. Another student simply decided to start taking any excuse to spend time outside.
“Get out and create your own event, you can even create a new tradition that [involves]something you might be interested in, instead of going through the motions and making it seem like everybody else has it all figured out or this perfect cookie-cutter life,” Peebles said.
Some fond memories students have of their past holidays may be different from the experiences of others. Zhu emphasized the importance of being mindful of others’ struggles.
“An element of the holidays that gets left behind is for people who suffer with eating disorders. There are a lot of food-based traditions around the holidays. These can all be very difficult, [and] that’s important to bring to light because something that may be comforting to you may be something that is upsetting for others,” Zhu said.
Keeping both of these perspectives and the numerous causes of seasonal depression in mind, Peebles emphasized one statistic.
“In January or December, you start to see this lull of ‘now what?’ That’s where you do see the seasonal depression spike and the risk of people self-harming or suicide,” she said.
There is a high correlation between seasonal depression, depressive emotions and suicide. With proper coping strategies, including sports and outdoor activities, students can better manage their emotions. However, even within athletics, it is common to see a difference in excitement between seasons.
Athletic Trainer Tom Evans spoke on his observations of student athlete’s opinions of the winter seasons
“Sports are ramping up, a lot of the outdoor stuff is ramping up. A lot of people are excited about that. [It’s not] like winter sports aren’t exciting. It’s just that the weather starts to turn dreary,” he said.
Overall, the students Evans interacts with prefer the warm seasons over the winter seasons. He has noticed that while factors like being outside and spending time with teammates increase in the spring, the excitement of spring sports can be dampened by school stress.
“You probably see it sometimes in the spring too because of burnout. Especially near the end of the spring, kids are tired. There’s a reason we don’t go to school 12 months a year. Especially in [an environment] like this where some class loads can get quite stressful,” he said.
Evans reflected on the significant role that sunlight plays in combating seasonal depression.
“Sunlight is always a good disinfectant… You don’t wanna fry yourself with it, but sunlight is good,” he said.
While environmental changes contribute significantly to seasonal depression, students often can’t adjust their surroundings to avoid these impacts. In such cases, a student can find valuable support systems in school programs.
“It’s just about showing up. We’re always gonna be there for you. You can depend on us. That’s the most important thing. If anybody would like to talk, we are always open,” Zhu concluded.
Hope Squad and counseling can be accessed at any point in the year. If anyone is struggling, the school counselors can be found on all floors of the building, and the Hope Squad can be contacted through supervisor Liz Hughes.
…
The key to managing depressive emotions during the holiday season is not to suppress them, but to accept their presence and find ways to navigate through them.
As the holiday season blends with academic pressures, especially during midterm exams, it’s crucial to prioritize self-care and mental health. Whether it’s through engaging in cherished traditions, seeking support from school resources or simply creating new memories, savoring the present, even amidst challenges can help brighten the darker days of winter.
