Norway-land of the midnight sun.  Midnattsol is one of those words that is really two words smushed together that is pretty easy to figure out if you know what sol means from another romance language and if you can figure that midnatt means midnight…  I have only experienced the midnattsol in one place-Norway.  Anywhere north of polarsirkelen (arctic circle) or nearby it and south of the antarctic circle experiences the midnattsol for a period of time during the year.  Since there really aren’t people who live south of the antarctic circle, the only people who actually experience this phenomenon are those who live in the far north-people in Canada, the United States (only Alaska) Norway, Sweden, Denmark (Greenland-an autonomous country within the kingdom of Denmark) Finland, and Russia.  And there aren’t many people who live in these far north regions, so there is a small portion of the world’s population that get to really enjoy this awesome midnattsol. 

The farther north you are above the arctic circle, the longer the sun will be out and the longer the duration of days the sun will remain out as long as it does.  So, in way northern Norway, in Tromsø for example, there are many days in the summer when the sun never truly sets.  This is great for parties and outdoor activities of course, but sleeping becomes difficult.  Many people break out their black shades or curtains to block the sunlight so they can catch some sleep.  Of course the midnattsol affects visitors and foreigners moreso than natives who have become used to it.  Jews, in particular, are affected for a reason other than bodily consequences (although of course may be affected bodily as well), and that is religion.  This is true because practicing Jews have religious rites based on the 24 hr day/night cycle.  This issue was cause for a Jewish body of law in the polar regions.  Climatic conditions have affects even on religion.

The first time I went to Norway I was with my dad visiting some relatives.  We were staying at one of their houses on a fjord north of Bergen.  They had a huge party down by the water and everyone was having a blast.  It wasn’t until about 3 am that my dad and I looked at our watches and our jaws dropped.  Did someone mess with our watches?  How could it possibly be that late?  Why aren’t we tired?  It was definitely the middle of the night and we weren’t tired because we were having so much fun and when it’s light out, even if it stays light for longer than your body is used to, you kind of just go with it until you reach a point (3 am that night) when you start to feel tired and wonder what’s going on.�

In Norway, the time to experience the midnattsol is between June 12 and July 1 (at the arctic circle).  This duration of time increases as you move north. 

It is quite a treat.  If you are in Norway during this time period, I highly suggest traveling northward to experience this phenomenon.  Just don’t plan to get a whole lot of sleep. 

�