How can people live so far north where the winter temperatures are way below the freezing point of beer and the winter sun rarely shows it face (too cold, of course)? Or how can anything grow properly when the summer is so short? If you think about it, there’s some sort of strange balance to living so far north.
The months of December and January have short days and long nights, but it is in November, weeks before the Winter Solstice, that the shortening of the days is most felt. In Finland, I think the main reason is that it is overcast and there’s no snow. Once it snows, even the long nights aren’t that bad. The snow adds to the brightness, even after dark (especially in the cities). And with snow on the ground, December and January fly by. February and March can be really bright, as the days are rapidly getting longer and there is still plenty of snow around.
Then, in the summer, it takes a while for the green to come alive, but when it does, it is sudden. While the summer might be short, June and July feel like one long day.
So in a way the wierd balance is that the snow helps on the short days, and the long days compensate for the short summer.
Of course this could all just be rationalizing why people live in Lapland.
