How to deal with the dark time of the year

When the days get shorter even a little snow helps

Dealing with the winter darkness

In our northern latitudes (Finland), it gets really dark round about the beginning of November. The number of daylight hours keeps diminishing until winter solstice, to then start increasing slowly towards the spring. In the south around Christmas we have less than 6 hours of daylight as opposed to 19 hours around midsummer. In the north of the country the sun sets at the end of November and doesn’t rise until after the middle of January, the exact dates depending a bit on how far north you are.

In the northern parts of the country the snow helps. It reflects any available light and brightens the view so even if the sun isn’t rising you still get a kind of magic blue glow during the day. In the south, especially in more recent years, there’s no guarantee of snow. What we do get is lots of rain and sleet, so everything turns into a wet, muddy, light absorbing abyss. To a lot of people this period of darkness is a real problem. It can cause depression and even physical symptoms but mostly it can be just really boring. So, how do you get through this period of cold, dark days? Here are some thoughts.

Around the fall equinox we still carry the memory of summer - and maybe a really colourful start to the autumn (ruska) - still in our minds. The ever darkening evenings actually present a nice opportunity to light up some candles and sit by the fireplace which is something we always enjoy.

Then, despite the inconvenience of an increasing amount of rainy days, Christmas preparation kicks in and starts to fill the days with anticipation of the upcoming holidays. Even with no snow, cosy day hikes and hunting trips with food and coffee around a warm campfire bring great alternative ways to spend your free time.

If you own a dog, you will be out on lots of walks no matter what the weather is like, which also prevents you from gathering moss while moping around in the house waiting for spring.

The hard part of winter for us has always been the time between February and April. It’s a time in southern Finland where the winter (if there was a proper one) starts to wane and although the days are getting longer, the sun tends to stay away.

It’s still cold, wet and your anticipation of the slowly approaching spring grows stronger every day. This is also the time of year when hunting season is over, lakes and most of the coastal bays are still frozen so fishing is pretty much out of the question, unless you enjoy fishing through a hole in the ice, something that never really inspired me.

One of the challenges living this far north is that you grow up getting used to a constant change in weather conditions. Four very different times of the year result in a change so rapid that it is almost impossible to find any two week period that the same as the one before or after. The change brings about a basic level of expectation and can (at least with me) lead to impatience when the expected or desired change isn’t happening fast enough. For me this is an annual occurrence in the early spring. I want spring to turn into summer much faster than it usually does and long, delayed springs can feel very frustrating.

I have always drawn my strength from nature and the outdoors and cold, wet spring days are no different. Even if it’s a bit wet spending time outdoors in the spring has one great advantage. You can actually witness the change slowly taking place outside and this usually helps getting rid of the frustration as you actually see spring progressing before your very eyes.

When daylight finally conquers darkness and spring starts turning into summer, experiencing the explosive change in nature when all the colours, birds, flowers and warm days reappear makes it all worthwhile.

Having a dog helps keeping you active, even in bad weather

Cosy moments by the fire are life savers

The autumn offers lots of action for hunters and fishermen