{"id":799,"date":"2011-01-25T04:50:57","date_gmt":"2011-01-25T04:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=799"},"modified":"2014-08-22T14:33:24","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T14:33:24","slug":"soldagen-%c2%b4sun-day%c2%b4in-norway-marks-the-end-of-m%c3%b8rketid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/soldagen-%c2%b4sun-day%c2%b4in-norway-marks-the-end-of-m%c3%b8rketid\/","title":{"rendered":"Soldagen-\u00b4Sun-day\u00b4in Norway marks the end of M\u00f8rketid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is now s\u00f8ndag<\/strong>, the 23rd of januar<\/strong>. \u00a0Just 3 days ago, northern Norway celebrated Soldagen<\/strong>, the end of m\u00f8rketid<\/strong>, or the dark time in the north. \u00a0It\u00b4s sounds strange when you first hear it, doesn\u00b4t it? \u00a0When you think about not seeing the sun for 2 months out of the year, you quickly understand the need to celebrate it\u00b4s return. \u00a0Although the sun is technically above the horizon before Jan. 21, because of the mountains, you can\u00b4t see it until later.<\/p>\n

In northern Norway, and anywhere north of the arctic circle, the last glimpse of the sun is on Nov. 21 and it doesn\u00b4t return again until Jan. 21. \u00a0While there are a couple of ours of twilight for some of those 60 days, the sun never appears. \u00a0People that I have talked to that have lived in the north all of their lives, or if they grew up there and moved south, say that they are just used to it. \u00a0It\u00b4s no big deal, it just happens every year and then the sun comes back. \u00a0I clearly did not get the full range of opinions on the issue though, because I understand that suicide rates go up during the winter and people become depressed more easily.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here in MN in the dead of winter, it gets dark at 4 or 4:30pm and doesn\u00b4t get light again until about 8am. \u00a0I find this hard to live with even though I\u00b4ve lived here my whole life. \u00a0When the workday ends at 5 and it\u00b4s dark, I feel like it\u00b4s 8pm. \u00a0Sometimes it\u00b4s hard to get out of bed in the morning when it\u00b4s completely dark outside and you know that it\u00b4s likely subzero temperatures. \u00a0Just a note, it was -29 degrees here the other morning!!<\/p>\n

I must say, part of me is relieved that I came home from Troms\u00f8 before m\u00f8rketid<\/strong> set in. \u00a0I left on Oct. 6 and I had noticed the days were getting significantly shorter at a very fast pace. \u00a0I could feel it coming. \u00a0Maybe someday I\u00b4ll have the occasion to experience it. \u00a0Even those who admit that it can be very depressing, say that it is a time when friends come together and spend quality time sitting around eating and drinking and chatting away.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whether one struggles through m\u00f8rketid<\/strong> or not, Soldagen<\/strong> is always a happy day. \u00a0Northerners typically celebrate Soldagen<\/strong> with kakao<\/strong> (hot chocolate) and solboller<\/strong> (a berliner-doughnut). \u00a0I would love to see the looks on people\u00b4s faces when they finally see the sun again after such a long hibernation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

It is now s\u00f8ndag, the 23rd of januar. \u00a0Just 3 days ago, northern Norway celebrated Soldagen, the end of m\u00f8rketid, or the dark time in the north. \u00a0It\u00b4s sounds strange when you first hear it, doesn\u00b4t it? \u00a0When you think about not seeing the sun for 2 months out of the year, you quickly understand…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,913],"tags":[13442,13443,13441],"class_list":["post-799","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-traditions","tag-mrketid","tag-solboller","tag-soldagen"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t