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In January 2021, a time when many of us were returning from halfhearted outdoor hangouts with freezing fingers, my colleague Marina Koren revealed herself as a lover of winter. Well, within reason: “I do not ski. I believe a ‘polar plunge’ is appropriate only when you’re trying to outrun a bear. I was born in Russia, but I moved to warmer climes as a toddler,” Koren writes. “I’m just a kindly winter evangelist, standing in front of your outdoor restaurant table, asking you to put on a hat.”

One of the secrets to embracing winter is deceptively simple, Koren argues: Dress the part. “As the Scandinavians say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes,” she writes. Beyond the proper dress code, much of one’s outlook on winter is psychological—but some of it might also be genetic. Today’s newsletter will walk you through the art and the science of loving winter, and some unorthodox techniques for dealing with the season.

On Winter

The Secret to Loving Winter

By Taylor Kay Phillips

First accept it, then enjoy it.

Why So Many People Hate Winter

By Olga Khazan

Science suggests that there are two types of people who tolerate the cold well. Sadly, I’m neither.

The Boys Who Wear Shorts All Winter

By Ashley Fetters

The kid who refuses to wear pants is a familiar sight to parents, students, and educators—and a mystifying one. What’s so great about being underdressed?

Still Curious?

The Norwegian town where the sun doesn’t rise: In Tromsø, Norway, the “Polar Night” lasts all winter—and rates of seasonal depression are remarkably low. (From 2015)
To survive, these animals must lose their camouflage: How can the snowshoe hare and the Arctic fox thrive in a climate-changed world, where there’s less snow to blend in with? (From 2018)

Other Diversions