Dec 07
26
In the far north the mention of seasons would include the solar season. During summer the sun will linger into the late evening and rise again long before breakfast. The winter however is the realm of darkness. Around the winter solstice it will be dark until near lunchtime and then only daylight for a brief few hours. This is what many people dread and the cause of the so called SAD (seasonal affective disorder). So many photographs I’ve seen of Iceland have a distinctive tone of colour that evokes an emotion that is hard to describe. The following quote from the Reykjavik Harbor Watch blog sums it up beautifully.
From “In a dim light: neither daylight”
December darkness is something that I once feared and that may seem like a terrifying thing to people from brighter places. Most Icelanders I’ve talked with find it to be something that one simply deals with, or in some cases, embraces.
On still days and nights when not a single branch twitches nor dead leaf rustles, it’s a time full of witching hours, these hours that stretch from black to sunup- the blueness of the pre-dawn that makes white blankets look aquatic, the white simplicity of light on cloudy winter days, the rich and magical navy of dusk, the purest black of nighttime. Even a clear full-day sky is deep glacial cobalt, and then the snowed mountains across the bay emanate the most perfect kind of frigidity I can imagine. Whenever I want to think of the coldest temperature imaginable, I am sure my mind will go to the black mountains to the north, etched with glowing snow and edged by Arctic sea waters.
Offsetting this chill is the delirium of lights that cover the city- every tree that can hold a bulb is draped, stores staple entire illuminated evergreens over the doors, and windows are festooned with candles. A Saturday stroll becomes a festivity of greetings, street caroling, pepper cookies and cocoa. It’s a tiny glowing oasis in the midst of the miles of darkness beyond, where one single car light over on Kjalarnes can be followed on its entire outbound journey around Esja, a dot of bright in deepest black.
I have seen lots of pictures of Iceland bathed in this kind of violet light… is that what you’re talking about?
I am in London and in deepest midwinter we get about 8 or 8.5 hrs daylight from approx 8am or slightly earlier to about 3:30 or just after. This is eminently depressing because it means you can quite easily leave for work in the dark and return in the dark. That is bad enough; let alone waiting till midday for daylight’s brief appearance!
The light skims round the horizon, never rising very high. And tends to shine along the streets, turning them into sheets of light which is v dangerous when trying to cross the road.
Can I ask you something: what on earth did people used to do all day in midwinter before the days of electric lights?
Stay in bed with an oil lamp reading? How did anyone work at manual labour/etc if they could barely see?
If you know the answer or know where I could find out I’d be fascinated to hear from you.
Take care and happy 2008~!
I recommend SAD lights. Truly – ours has made such a huge difference.
Oh, and I recognize that photo of the girl in your banner. Taken by a friend of mine.
Halo Alda! Thanks for stopping by my little wanna be in Niceland site. As for the banner pic, the banner rotates so it is different each time. I know the one you mean, lovely lass for sure. I wish I was there in a big way.
Greetings from the old stomping ground, Kanada.
wow, I’m flattered to be quoted here
I’m actually really enjoying the winter this month, and I think the reason I am is because I do not have to take the bus at all.
As for the question about what people did, I remember reading this article about peasant life in the winter that basically said that all they did was sleep, since doing too much activity would mean that they’d have to eat more. When food was scarce that’s not what they wanted to do, so they’d basically feed the animals and spend a lot of time just waiting, and using what little light there was for repairing tools and making clothes or whatnot.