Can't Handle Winter? Norwegians Can Help

How Norwegians thrive during months of darkness

Winter sucks. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Ask Norwegians.

Norway doesn’t have much of a problem with winter, though—it has a problem with night.

The Polar Night, to be exact, which lasts from November to January.

Yes, this means what you think it means: the sun doesn’t rise for months.

It isn’t dark this whole time. During much of the Polar Night, Norway will get teased with sunlight—giving the sky the look of a sunrise or sunset. But the sun never fully shows itself.

To most south of the Arctic and north of the Antarctic, these months may seem hellish. It’s hard to expect anything other than extreme seasonal depression.

But the Polar Night isn’t much of a problem for Norwegians. It’s actually a relished time of year.

Norway doesn’t treat winter the same way we do in America. While the six-week holiday season is full of outdoor festivals and family time, winter is viewed as that “bleh” time of year.

Winter is when we lock ourselves inside for ~four months and mark off the days before the birds start chirping again.

But what does counting down the days until spring give us? A bunch of wasted days.

In Norway, waiting for brighter days would mean waiting a long time: there is hardly a spring and fall. The country’s “snowy period” lasts for six months. These long winters can bleed into spring, leaving little time between winter and summer.

Norwegians don’t view winter as a sad and wasteful time of year. They view it as a chance to light some candles, enjoy the beautifully colored skies, and get some good skiing in.

So what’s the difference between the winter haters and the Norwegians? Mindset.

When psychologists Kari Leibowitz and Joar Vitterso surveyed 238 Norweigan citizens about their thoughts towards wintertime and their general wellbeing, they found that the more the surveyors embraced winter, the happier they tended to be.

There are different levels to Norway, however. The survey included citizens of Svalbard, a Norweigan archipelago located between Norway’s mainland and the North Pole, which is one of the northern-most inhabited places in the world.

Svalbard citizens tended to have a more winter-friendly mindset than those in Northern Norway while those in Northern Norway tended to have a more winter-friendly mindset than those in Southern Norway.

You would surely find similar results in any place. Those in Michigan are likely to have a more winter-friendly mindset compared to those in Florida. Why? They simply deal with winter more.

But the point remains: Norwegians know that they cannot avoid winter or darkness, so they simply embrace it and try to find the positive aspects.

Winter becomes inevitable once you reach a certain latitude. If you find yourself at one of those higher (or lower) latitudes, would it hurt to look for some positives when the cold and dark days come?

Norway’s positive winter mindset can be seen in this simple message on one of its travel blogs: “There is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.”

Winter is inevitable for many of us. How does it help to complain about it?

Instead of complaining so much this winter, take some extra Vitamin D, grab a winter coat and gloves and embrace the suck.

Then maybe it won’t suck so much!

---

Dylan Hughes is a 24-year-old freelance writer covering self-development and business. You can read his writing on Medium and check out his two books on Amazon.