How Norway Made me Fall in Love with Winter

Hey Owlets,

For so many people, the nights drawing in and the temperature dropping is met with a feeling of dread. From as early as the end of August, I hear people talking about how they're not looking forward to the darker nights and shorter days. Honestly, I get it - the world just feels more alive in summer. There are festivals, weddings and social events every weekend, not to mention just feeling the sun on your skin is good for our mental health.

I think for a lot of people, the colder days and darker nights bring a feeling of loneliness, isolation, and maybe even a touch of cabin fever. I try to make the most of everyday, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't felt the same.

Until I went to Northern Norway in winter.

The sun sets in Tromsø for the last time at the end of November, and it doesn't rise again until mid-January. Each day brings a few hours of hazy blue light around lunch time before being plunged back into darkness again by early afternoon. For many people this would sound like a nightmare, but for the people living above the Arctic Circle line, it's just a fact of life. The world still turns, work still calls and nature is still there waiting to be explored. Instead of being constantly sad, the locals just get on with it.

You may have heard the Norwegian phrase "there's no bad weather, only bad clothes" and I feel like the people of Tromsø embody this entirely. Rather than being a season to hunker down, winter is a season of connection and enjoying the changing colours and the new landscape that this provides. Yes, it helps that there's an abundance of snow to provide new activities, but even in more southerly regions, like Bergen where locals experience an other-worldly amount of rain, the attitude is the same. 

The Norwegian attitude to winter is more than just putting a few extra layers on. There are several traditions and attitudes I've noticed that seem to make winter more bearable, even in the most Northerly regions where the winter comes with 24 hour darkness.

Hygge - 

A word most commonly associated with Danish culture, hygge actually originated in Norway. That sense of cosiness and bringing warmth and light to the darker months is a staple of everyday life in Northern Norway. Streets and cafes are adorned in fairy lights, anywhere with the facilities to have a fire will have one lit all day every day. Even Christmas decorations are understated and more about using natural materials and minimalist colours and designs, making the home feel cosy on the darkest of nights through the subtle glow of candles, rather than garish reds and greens. It all helps with that feeling of welcoming the darker nights, rather than resenting them.

Norwegian Clothing - 

Practical, warm, comfortable, with a little glimmer of personality; Norwegian clothing is all about taking care of the basics before taking care of the fun aspects. You'll see most Norwegians wearing darker coloured or plain waterproof winter coats - there are colourful Norwegian coats around, but they're not easy to come by as the focus is on practicality. There are coat shops everywhere - several are tourist traps, but you will also find an outdoors equipment shop in most towns, and that one is aimed at the locals. Those outdoor supply shops sell everything from high quality thermals to wool hats and socks. This abundance of practical clothing that's made for the colder months speaks to both how bad the weather gets and how little it stops Norwegians getting on with life. When your clothing is better and built to withstand the harshest of winters, it makes it easier to face the colder months without the feeling of dread. I think that dread is something that British people feel in particular as we're so used to ending up soaked through during an unexpected rainstorm that we weren't prepared for. Switch your mindset to be prepared for the just in case, and going outside might feel like less of a chore. 

Getting Outside in Winter and Appreciating Nature - 

In Norway, winter isn't a time to simply endure until the sunshine returns; it's an opportunity to explore a new landscape. The colder days, earlier nights and snowy weather change familiar spots into something more novelty. Instead of waiting for the landscape to return back to how it is in the warmer months, many Norwegians take this as an opportunity to embrace the changes and explore the different views. Nowhere does this feel more fitting than in Tromsø. In the warmer months the cable car leads you to a sprawling mountain-top forest, full of hiking trails through the trees that lead you to incredibly views down over the town and out to see. In winter, as the sunlight dips below the horizon for the final time, the mountain doesn't fall silent. Instead it comes alive with tourists and locals alike, all eager to explore the winter wonderland, hike along snowy paths and admire the views of the town illuminated below. Taking the time to marvel at what Mother Nature has done to transform the landscape, rather than grumble about it, helps to keep spirits high when there's been no sunlight for weeks on end.

Community over Isolation -

One of the things I've noticed time and again is how vitally important community is to locals. Having grown up in the UK, summer has always been the time to make plans, attend events and catch up with friends. While this is still the case in Norway, this becomes more of a focus in winter. While British people hunker down and wait for the change in seasons, Norwegians continue to see friends, foster connections and be part of the community. Coffee catch ups and lunches with friends are a part of life in winter, and this is something that British people could really do with embracing. 

I've been fortunate enough to visit Norway a few times in the colder months, but it wasn't until I spent December in the Arctic Circle that I learnt how to embrace winter and truly enjoy every season.

Starting with the obvious - the way I dress. There's at least one coat shop in every port and we always make the joke that tourists aren't allowed to leave Norway unless they've bought a coat, but there's a good reason for this. UK coats are made for UK winter, meaning that UK tourists are often woefully underprepared when they arrive in Norway. Having spoken to multiple locals, the key is layers, and having air between the layers. I now own wool thermals, a windproof and waterproof coat, thick socks and good quality accessories. I don't sit inside all day because it's too cold or wet - if the sun isn't shining and the temperature has dipped into single figures, I simply put on more clothing and go out anyway. This means I don't get cabin fever and there's rarely a time that I feel lethargic, because my routine hasn't changed.

I also embrace the idea of getting cosy - as the nights draw in I take time to prep the house for the darker months. Living in Somerset, I don't really have a need to batten down the hatches, but I spend a few hours putting up extra lighting, adding folded blankets in each room, tackling little DIY jobs that have been annoying me for a while and swapping lighter, more summer fabrics and decor to add a bit of hygge to my own home. I pack away all of my summer clothes and fill the newly emptied drawers with my cosier items - with a drawer full of items that I've not seen since last winter, I find myself excited to put on the clothes I missed, rather than wishing I could still wear the items that were occupying the space before. When I get home in the evening I immediately close the curtains, turn on the small lamp and fairy lights, light a candle and change into my pyjamas, setting the tone for a comfortable evening as soon as I get inside. 

I also wanted to mention something that I've not changed consciously, but more of a change that I've noticed in myself. By approaching winter with a more positive mindset, it's made me better placed to appreciate the small wins. Little things that often would have passed by unnoticed before suddenly become a small reason to smile. As the name suggests they're only little wins, but it's enough to keep a little spark lit on a dark evening. 

I know that winter is a hard time for a lot of people - until recently it was for me too - but I'm hoping that taking even a tiny bit of inspiration from the Norwegian way of life might help brighten your winter as it has mine. 

Love and Feathers, 

 The Owlet 💛 

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