Winters Without Any Sun on the Horizon

Living months and months without any sun can be really tough on people, but is the reality for many people in the northernmost areas of the world. I once spent a few years in the Arctic Circle in Norway, and living by the Barents Sea during the colder months of the year is an experience that has put memories in me that will never be forgotten.

As summer turns to fall up north, the sun gradually disappear from the horizon. The hours when the sky peeks out from behind the clouds get fewer and fewer. Then one day the sun doesn't come out anymore, and people have to adjust to the phenomena of the Arctic.

Whether it's nine in the morning or three in the afternoon it's always bleak and grey. You tend to look up towards where the sun once was, hoping that maybe you'll see a light but it's all in vain. The night has settled in even before you get out of bed in the morning, and when you get off from work at four, it's as if you just worked the graveyard shift.

Many people I knew struggled hard in this time, it was difficult getting up and to maintain any energy throughout the day. The sun has such a profound impact on humans, and is something it's easy to forget. When street lights are the only source of light as you walk to and from work, it's a fast process to become depressed and experience melancholy.

During WWII when the German soldiers were stationed up north, they had to take unusual measures in order to fight the high suicide rate. Old fashioned tanning equipments were sent up, and powerful lamps would show itself a good aid when it came to the soldiers' mental health.

Even when I was there I would sometimes find myself staring up at lamp trying to suck the energy right into my body. Sun is so vital to human survival, and living without it even for a few months can be very tough. When the dark time is over however, and you first get to see the sun after what feels like years without it, nothing could be better. School children celebrate the first day of sun as if it was a national day, and parades of thankful people celebrate throughout the streets.

The lifestyle I experienced in Northern Norway is so different from my way of life now, and as I looked out the window this morning I couldn't help but smile when the sun started to peak up over the horizon. It's so different and in a way exotic, but to feel dark times with no sun is no matter what an experience I wouldn't be without.