I recently hosted the Winter Community Mulling evening in which I shared a Scandinavian tradition of infusing alcohol with spices to use in winter drinks, which I learned while traveling abroad. The evening had a dozen community members come together to hear travel stories and learn the process that I was taught. The infusion is preparation for the spiced alcohol be used in winter, so the alcohol must sit for weeks to properly be ready for consumption. We also enjoyed warm mulled wine and a bonfire together as part of the evening. The demographic of the group varied in ages and backgrounds, and it was very special to see everyone come together in this cozy environment, to make a communal tiny preparation for the upcoming winter months. We all talked about holiday traditions, and what we are looking forward to this winter season, as we prepared the spices and infused the alcohol together. The feedback, and what I learned from making this project happen, was that people love gathering together with a shared activity or common purpose, and that simple events such as this should happen more frequently!
A challenge that was presented was that some people who had RSVP’ed to attend ended up having to cancel last minute due to illness, as a new wave of COVID and cold/flu symptoms are happening at the moment.
