Midwinter Rituals 2024/25

This winter, join us for a 3-part learning experience to rethink how we celebrate Christmas, New Year, and other winter rituals…

Overview

This winter, join us to rethink how we celebrate Christmas, New Year, and other winter rituals – crafting new traditions that are kinder to nature, others and ourselves.

We’ll explore how our current celebrations, often rooted in consumerism, impact the world around us. We’ll sit with the discomfort of confronting the hidden violence behind modern rituals, while also tapping into the possibility for change.

In a supportive and inclusive space, we will each craft a new midwinter ritual, drawing inspiration from forgotten traditions and nature’s cycles. You’ll have the time and guidance to bring your creation to life during the holiday season, at your own pace and depth of engagement.

In the new year, we will reunite to reflect on how it felt to celebrate differently, share our experiences, and explore what comes next.

This is a chance to reimagine what the holiday season can be – creating something more connecting, creative, joyful and liberating.

The experience will take place on Zoom, over three lunchtime sessions, with an optional midwinter check-in:

Session 1: Thursday 21st November, 12pm – 1:30pm (GMT)
Session 2: Thursday 5th December, 12pm – 1:30pm (GMT)
Midwinter check-in: Thursday 19th December (time TBC)
Session 3: Thursday 16 January, 12pm – 1:30pm (GMT)

Applications are now closed.

“This was a gentle, reflective, provocative and soulful learning experience. I felt able to engage at my own pace and depth with the journey we were invited to go on, and the results were subtly and surprisingly transformative for just three sessions…

Highly recommended!”

2023 participant

What you get from this experience:

An experience that encourages deeper understanding and connection with yourself, others, and the planet
Engage with the overlooked violence embedded in modern Christmas and New Year celebrations, and rediscover forgotten traditions
Craft and bring to life your own midwinter ritual
Connect with others that may share similar feelings around the consumerist nature of Christmas and New Year celebrations in the UK

This experience is for you if:

You sense that the way we currently celebrate Christmas and New Year in the UK could be more connecting, creative, joyful, and liberating!
You are concerned about the environmental and social impacts of holiday celebrations
You feel pressure during the holiday season to participate in traditions or behaviours that don’t align with your values or comfort
You value the opportunity to experiment with different ways of celebrating and to learn from the collective wisdom of a group
You’re eager to engage in meaningful reflection and discussion with others, sharing experiences and insights as you develop your own new midwinter ritual

“A challenging and eye-opening dive into the environmental toll of the festive period. I found it confronting and uncomfortable at times, but it definitely inspired positive reflection, as well as actionable change.

Recommended for anyone who wants to think more deeply about the impact of their current rituals, and implement ones that are less harmful to the planet.”

2023 participant

Apply to join Midwinter Rituals 2024/25

We ask that you complete the short application form below at your earliest convenience and by no later than Monday 11th November 2024 – we will review applications as we receive them and fill places until we’re full.

The purpose of the application form is to help us bring together a group of learners that are committed to partaking in the experience.

How much does this learning experience cost?

The Midwinter Rituals learning experience is free to join.

For those who would like to support our work, we are inviting participants to make an optional donation to help LearnJam as we transition to becoming a Community Interest Company (CIC). We suggest a sliding scale donation between £10 and £50, but any amount is appreciated. This donation is completely voluntary, and your participation is not dependent on contributing.

LearnJam derives income from a variety of sources. These experiments are not designed to sustain the company financially, but they help us explore new ideas, connect with new people, and contribute to our mission. While that model may evolve over time, your participation in this experience helps us experiment and grow.

Thank you for being part of this journey!