Hi, and welcome back to the Young Widow Podcast. I’m Britany, your host, and today we’re diving into something that I know many of you have been thinking about—or dreading—as the year comes to a close: the grief of a new year.

Today we are going to talk about the difference between Christmas Grief and New Years Grief, what is happening in our brain and why it feels different emotionally, and then some small recommendations as we move into the New Year grief period.

The holidays can feel like a storm of emotions—especially Christmas. It’s deeply personal. Christmas tends to revolve around family, traditions, and memories that are tied to intimacy and closeness. But New Year’s grief? That’s different. It doesn’t necessarily pull at the same strings. Instead, it pokes at timelines, milestones, and the relentless passage of time. New Year’s is about looking forward, setting goals, and planning ahead—and that can feel impossible when you’re grieving. It forces us to face the reality of time moving forward, with or without our person—highlighting a different kind of grief tied to fear of the unknown.