The Arrival of the Oliebollen

Noticing and reveling in seasonal delights

This week is a new one for me: writing to you from one of the places in the world that truly does not experience winter.

I’m in Uganda this week, visiting friends-that-are-family, enjoying warm hospitality and warm weather. Kampala, Uganda’s capital, is 21.71 miles (34.94km) north of the equator. Every day of the year, they get about 12 hours of daylight. The average monthly highs range from 78-81ºF (25.5-27ºC), and the average monthly lows range from 65-67ºF (18-19ºC). Really, no winter.

However, Kampala does have a rainy season and a dry season, and this year’s rainy season started early. Every person I spoke to since arriving has remarked on, and apologized for, the rain. This is my most definitive test yet that people everywhere complain about the weather. This is also your reminder that taking a getaway break to somewhere warm does not negate a positive wintertime mindset: embracing winter is really about enjoying the unique pleasures of each season (and climate) while you’re in it, which is fully compatible with warm-weather vacations.

A rainy day in Kampala

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming: today in the U.S. officially marks the beginning of “the holiday season” (meaning, the winter holidays, also mostly meaning: Christmas). Whether or not you celebrate Christmas (or any winter holidays), this season is a festive time of year: Europe gets a bit of a jump on the U.S., and in London and Amsterdam lights displays and Christmas decorations have been accumulating for weeks. On Wednesday, I biked past a construction worker hanging lights in a tree and cat-called at him “Wooooo, lights!!!”; my feelings about this time of year are very clear.

Seasonal decor, winter lights, holiday cheer: all are ways of celebrating and embracing the darkening days; sparkly lights are enabled only by winter’s lengthening nights.

In Amsterdam, major streets have ornate displays, spelling out the street names in classy, luminous cursive, and sometimes you can see Sinterklaas roaming the streets (not to be confused with Santa Claus, aka “de Kerst man” (the Christmas man), but an entirely separate entity who just happens to look and dress very similarly but arrives not by sleigh from the North Pole but by steamboat from Spain). But the real herald of the season, to me, is the appearance of the Oliebollen.

Oliebollen literally translates to “oil balls,” an unappealing name for the most delicious, miraculous, fluffy donuts you’ve ever had. Some time between late October and early November, the Oliebollen appear around the city: in carnival-like caravans, they sprout like California poppies after winter rains. One on Haarlemmerplein. One at Sloterdijk train station. One at Leidseplein. One at the roundabout near our first apartment. Where foot traffic accumulates and crowds gather, the Oliebollen slingers bring the goods to the people.

Then, just as mysteriously, they disappear overnight, some time around the end of January. Yes, you can still get them at the occasional carnival, or maybe at a bakery, but it’s not the same, the stands no longer dot the city, lit-up beacons of fried, powdered-sugared delight.

I love the Oliebollen. I don’t even eat them that often, but they smell amazing and there is something so mystical and celebratory about their appearance and disappearance, the way they are limited only to the darkest days of the year. To me, each Oliebollen stand shouts: LOOK AT THE SPECIAL STUFF WINTER BRINGS!!!!

My dog, Zeus, truly does love Oliebollen.

That brings me to this week’s challenge:

What’s your Oliebollen?

Over the next two weeks, notice what special things are cropping up this time of year in your community. Maybe you start seeing winter lights in your neighborhood, or cozy decorations at local restaurants. Maybe it’s the seasonal decor in shop windows, or the special treats on offer at the bakery. Just take a moment to look and enjoy. Think to yourself “look at the special stuff winter brings!!!!” This noticing is powerful; we start to train our attention towards winter’s joys, rather than the season’s miseries, and start to give this time of year credit. Many of these delights are not in spite of winter’s cold and darkness: they exist because of it.

I want to hear what you do and how it goes. Share what your Oliebollen is in the comments below. You can also always reach me directly at kari@karileibowitz.com.

Stay cozy,

Kari

Notes from the slush pile:

• I recently made the seasonal switch to porridge for breakfast; it is extremely cozy and makes me feel wholesome and also kind of rustic? This is the recipe I use as my base, which is very customizable and, can confirm, can be made in a rice cooker/instant pot rather than on the stove.

• This week, I saw a Very Rare winter-positive New Yorker cartoon! It made me think of my sister-in-law, Ilana, who in recent years has become a winter-running convert and now loves to run in cold weather.

• I think a lot about the intersection of infrastructure and sustainability when it comes to winter: how can we protect the season through minimizing our impact on the environment and also help people stay comfortable and warm when it’s cold out? I learned about the potential of heat pumps, which might provide greener heating, from this article in The Guardian.