Starship Asterisk*

Ann wrote: ↑Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:26 am Good point about the "dreary days", Mark. November, December, January, February and sometimes March are often overcast, gray and dreary where I live. And when it clears up it gets cold, which I am also unhappy about.

Ann

MarkBour wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:53 pm

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:18 pm

neufer wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm
Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?

I was born in Luleå, but we moved to Malmö when I was nine. So we moved some 1,500 kilometers away, mostly to the south.

I found the cold in Luleå harder to deal with than the darkness, and I remember often being cold. The darkness didn't bother me as much. The way I remember it, the Sun rose at about 10 a.m. and set around 1.30 p.m. around the time of the winter solstice.

Now, though, due to the climate change, it's a lot milder in Luleå, and there's a lot less snow. But due to the relative lack of snow, it is darker in Luleå than it used to be, because the white snow does a splendid job of reflecting whatever light there is.

I find it hard enough to deal with the darkness here in Malmö. At its darkest, the Sun rises at around 8.39 a.m. and sets around 3.32 p.m.

Ann

That's an interesting experience. I have not studied it, but it seems like people who get depressed from winter darkness are also being affected by "dreary days" as opposed to simply "short days". If you live in a place that regularly gets 4-5 hours of bright sun, it might not be as bad as it is if your place gets 8-9 hours of a gray blanket most of the winter.

But as you approach the Arctic Circle, it does get extreme. I enjoyed looking at the Wikipedia page for Luleå. It has a mean length of daylight in December of just 3 hours, and surely the Sun never gets very high, either. Constant cold is definitely not fun, either, and can be dangerous. Then there's deep snow to contend with. Yet somehow, the Swedes and Norwegians seem to be polite, industrious, and even cheerful people, for those that I've had the pleasure to get to know.

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:18 pm

neufer wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle,

Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?

I was born in Luleå, but we moved to Malmö when I was nine. So we moved some 1,500 kilometers away, mostly to the south.

I found the cold in Luleå harder to deal with than the darkness, and I remember often being cold. The darkness didn't bother me as much. The way I remember it, the Sun rose at about 10 a.m. and set around 1.30 p.m. around the time of the winter solstice.

Now, though, due to the climate change, it's a lot milder in Luleå, and there's a lot less snow. But due to the relative lack of snow, it is darker in Luleå than it used to be, because the white snow does a splendid job of reflecting whatever light there is.

I find it hard enough to deal with the darkness here in Malmö. At its darkest, the Sun rises at around 8.39 a.m. and sets around 3.32 p.m.

Ann

neufer wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am
I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle,

Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am
I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle,