It's The Dreary Time

It’s winter time and heavy clouds hide the sun. Snow covers the ground and it’s too cold to remain outside for any length of time. Christmas is over and nothing much to look forward to for some time.

Aliens overflying Earth might be astonished as they gaze upon our fine planet. Torrents of rain have caused mudslides in the Western US while our Southern communities are being rebuilt after hurricanes, storms and   tornadoes raged from Florida to the North.The year 2015 has been cited as

having been the warmest year since weather records have been complied. What is happening? “El Nino! is the cause” according to some believers while other scoff, replying “ It’s just the law of averages.”
Whatever the reason, our air currents seem to be changing and when the normally north cold airflow sags southward and mixes with the warmer air flow, ‘things happen’.

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Digging out in Washington

Our North Eastern area is still shoveling out from a snowstorm that delivered as much snow in three days as residents normally experience in their entire winter! 2016 has only begun.

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Overseas, warmer than usual conditions in Norway has caused mountain snowcover to be unstable. An avalanche thundered down a    mountainside in Norway’s northernmost archipelago of Svalbard during  a December weekend in Svalbard’s main island of Spitsbergen 

Avalanche in Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen

destroying ten homes, leaving one man dead and two children critically injured.This avalanche was caused by  shifting temperatures and hurricane-strength winds. "Nearly 200 homes have been built at the foot of the mountains surrounding Longyearbyen, a remote Arctic settlement. " reported a Norwegian Broadcasting spokesman, but some geologists said they would likely never have been built today, given the avalanche danger that has grown in line with milder winters and climate changes.

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 An American, John Longyear, started an Arctic Coal company and set up a mining operation for around 500 people in 1906. The settlement was naturally called "Longyear City." Today, it is known as Longyearbyen to all Norwegians and  the world’s northernmost settlement with a population greater that 1,000 permanent residents. Major mining operations have moved away, but this settlement is currently known for tourism, the location of a University Center,as well as the site of one of the World Seed Vault and an prominent weather satellite station as well as for several other reasons.

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 The ground in Svalbard is permafrost, which means the soil is permanently frozen year round. In

Longyearbyen on a clear day.

Longyearbyen, the permafrost ranges from 10 to 40 meters deep, with an active layer that melts each summer as the temperatures rise above freezing. Houses are built on pilings, or stilts to prevent flooding and sinking as the top layer melts!

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In Longyear, the sun ‘sets’ each year for the very last time around   October 25th and is not fully visible above the horizon again for four months.   

Midday at The Arctic Circle

The sun officially reappears on March 8th, when it is finally high enough above the horizon to illuminate buildings in the area . People in this area of the Arctic Circle  are accustomed to this semi-darkness and learn to ‘live with it’. This time of the year is called the Murky Season or “Morkitiden”. Due to location in the mountains, this dark period varies from village to village, but the sun is mostly under the horizon until around March. Midday is  “most illuminated “ as the sun approaches the horizon,  but the sunlight is feeble.

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Watching for the sun's return

These days of ‘No sun’ are known as “The Polar Night”. At the end of these long four months, residents can look forward to a week-long celebration known as Solfestuka- the return of the sun. Children are dismissed from their schools to see the happy day of the sun’s first arrival over the horizon.

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Michael Emberley

 Michael Emberley is a prominent author and illustrator of many

children’s books since 1979. Born in Massachusetts, Emberley now lives in Ireland, but one book written about the Norwegian winter became a favorite of Norwegian children, as his subject, a young Norwegian girl child became overwhelmed with the prolonged darkness and yearned for sunshine. The story became nationally popular.

In his story....

A book by Michael  Emberley

The youngster lived in a small Norwegian village hidden deep between

mountains and it was the “Murky Time”. The little Norwegian  girl, her
parents and friends grew weary of the darkness and as the time dragged on, the little girl convinced her parents to  journey up the great mountain while encouraging many others to join them on their upward climb to  “Welcome the sun!”. This story is probably read and enjoyed by Norwegian children every winter “Polar Night”in Scandinavia.

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Norwegians in the Arctic have earned to enjoy this time of perpetual   darkness as the twilight reflects off the snow and the northern lights flash around the skiers often seen on lighted slopes. After returning

Koselig

next to the fire, they enjoy the warmth they call “koselig”- a feeling of coziness, candlelight, fellowship and fuzzy socks.
  These people are content to live in their environment.
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No one even dies in Longyearbyen. It is against the law! This is because of the permafrost in the ground. Death is forbidden. Longyearbyen has

only  a small graveyard that stopped accepting new burials over 70 years ago. The reason? Bodies never decompose. Scientists found that bodies remain perfectly preserved because of the permafrost.So if one is about to die, they are required to go somewhere else. It’s the law!       (Cremation doesn’t seem to be acceptable).

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These people have learned to accept these harsh conditions. They are able to find the positive side, adapt to their country's conditions and use their creativity to their advantage with a different mindset.

 They look forward to their Polar Nights.

Santa Has left The Area

A famous 'person of interest' has departed a very important calendar-time of our year, but his celebratory appearance has once again brought up issues. Mr. Santa Claus, a very beloved 'real' man appeared by journeying to our lives and leaving in a vehicle pulled by a mythical team of  'Hreinin', which in old Norse translates to 'horned animals' or reindeer!

 "On Dancer, On Prancer...!"

This animal actually exists today. As Santa leaves, he calls out his team's names, ending with  "Donner and Blitzen". However, those two confused Dutch deer are really named Dunder and Blixim, named by the 

Sami Santa?

Dutch-American who wrote the famous story about St. Nicholas. So, what's right and what's wrong with this picture? Maybe, Santa is really Sami! One more thing: Both sexes of reindeer grow horns, but the adult male sheds his in the early winter, while the female keeps hers! So, the sleigh is being pulled by a  team of female deer   ( they all have antlers) that has the ability to fly!

 No wonder our children are confused!

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Reindeer were once viewed as mysterious creatures living in lands in the northern part of the world. Their population was widespread in Scandinavian and Eastern

European countries where, during the 18th century, they were domesticated. They are often used in transportation, pulling sleds and sleighs, and are still an important part of some northern European cultures, particularly to the Sámi people (commonly known as Laplanders to non-Europeans).

 The Sami are one of the oldest indigenous groups in Europe. Two thousand years ago, they inhabited all of present-day Finland. They have also lived  in the inland of Sweden and all the way to the Atlan­tic Ocean, from central Norway north to the White Sea, in what is now Russia. The Sami have a variety of livelihoods, including coastal fishing, fur trapping, and sheep herding. Their best-known means of livelihood is semi-nomadic reindeer herding. Currently about ten percent of the Sami are connected to reindeer herding, while the deer provide them with meat, fur, and transportation.

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   The Sami people have depended on the reindeer for food, transportation and their livelihood. The reindeer are free ranging to find their own food and survive the winter cold as well as summer heat, pests and wolves. In a year, reindeer may travel as much as 3,100 miles  each year. To avoid the winter weather of the tundra, reindeer travel back towards the forest to seek shelter from the severity of winter. Winter is a difficult time for the reindeer, therefore, movements are erratic as they forage for sufficient food to sustain themselves through the long, cold and dark eight months of winter.Reindeer migrations are simply a means of survival and during the winter, it migrates to the forested areas where it is easier to dig in the snow where they find  reindeer lichen on which  to graze.

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 To keep up to the reindeer, Sami herders must be able to move often. Their temporary dwelling is called a lavvu  (pronounced “LAA-voo”).Its simplicity enables the Sami to move quickly with their semi-domesticated reindeer herds at a moment's notice. Similar to an 'Indian tepee', the Sami home is more centered to the ground, and better able to endure the fierce winds of the Scandinavian tundra, a design that dates back many hundreds if not thousands of years.

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It's winter, and Christmas really is over! Dunder and Blixim

as well as thousands of reindeer will  cross Scandinavia for their annual two-month migration from Norway to Finland. It's a matter of survival and instinct. Sami herders will pack up their lavvus and family for their  journey which can take two months, covering hundreds of miles.Around 3,500 reindeer and dozens of Sami make the annual trip across the snow from Karasjok, the Sami capital of Norway, over the snowy plains of northern Scandinavia, and across the Finnish border.

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 The "stay-at-home" Scandinavians can only wonder what that trip would be like and  how it must appear. Winter nights are long and entertainment must be scarce. TV watchers have become content to watch TV productions of long duration. During one Yul, Norwegian TV aired "Yule Log" that did nothing but flicker all night. Another "Slow TV"  epic event was of a  'knitting marathon' in real time. These productions are well-liked by Norwegian viewers and these reindeer have caught their interest. By popular demand,  the reindeer migration will be aired on TV!

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" Coming soon, Reindeer Migrate to Their Winter Grounds"

NRK TV will air reindeer being herded across the country. The project leader Thomas Hellum, an NRK producer. says" it's going to be hard-core, but will only last a week. Anything more", he says," would be too slow, even for slow TV. It might be boring at times, but live reindeer migration is hardcore slow TV.” “It’s an opportunity to give the rest of the country a greater understanding of our culture,” said Ole Rune Hatta, of NRK Sami . Slow TV has been a big hit in Norway since 2009.

Ready...Action!

This large herd of reindeer are following their instincts and ready for the long journey.

10,000 to up to 100,000 animals band together for their journey.

As Sami herders keep them together, they travel to more favorable winter grounds.

The long journey continues until  winter food and shelter from the cold is found.

The Sami reindeer herders follow their animals all the way across the plains of Sapmi, an annual task of herding thousands of reindeer many miles in order to survive the tundra winter.As the season changes, The herd will retrace their path and return to warm and fertile home. Dunder and Blixim were unable to fly on their journey, but the annual event goes on.

Have a good trip. We'll see you on TV!