Something weird seems to happen as soon as it hits 1 December – people from the past start creeping out of the woodwork. First, flings I haven’t spoken to in six months start sliding into my DMs. Then, exes I’ve blocked are riding on the same Tube carriage. Soon, university friends I’ve drifted from are sidling over in the supermarket. I’ve barely opened my Advent calendar and everywhere I turn, the people of yesteryear are there, too.
Dating site eharmony – because there’s a buzzword for everything now – dubbed this phenomenon “Marleying” after Jacob Marley, the ghost of Ebeneezer Scrooge’s former business partner in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Originally, this term denoted only exes who were trying to get back in touch over the festive season. A common occurrence, due to our susceptibility to yuletide nostalgia. This trend hits us in a double whammy with cuffing season, the period during winter months when singletons find themselves seeking to be “cuffed” or “tied down” by a serious relationship.
