Winter

I've heard a lot about the cold, dark Stockholm winters, but I never really believed that it could be much different than Chicago and Boston. Well, it's only early November, but I'm already a little horrified by how cold and dark it is. The cold, everyone is quick to assure me, is unseasonably severe and early (not like the unusually balmy weather back in the two places I call home... insult to injury, I call it). The dark, however, is normal.
Today, the sun rose at 7:20 AM and set at 3:42 pm, just 8 hours, 45 minutes of light. By December 21st, the shortest day of the year, it will be a whopping 6 hours, 4 minutes. The damp cold, wind, rain, snow, etc. aren't so different from a normal winter in Chicago or Boston, but the darkness is something else entirely. Long before I leave work every day, I sit in the lab and watch the sun go down. By 5 o'clock, it feels like the middle of the night, like I should have been home hours ago, even though the department is still as lively and crowded as ever. And while I've spent many evenings exploring Stockholm by bike, the darkness now isn't exactly conducive to sightseeing.
The Swedes take it in stride, even embrace it as a reason to spend the evening curled up with a book and a cup of tea, surrounded by candles and house plants. I, like many non-Swedes, waver between absolute horror and dread of the looming darkness, and a curious appreciation for the increased warmth and coziness in buildings and between people.
Though not especially religious, Sweden does the Christmas season well. Cheerful lights have already been strung through the streets of Stockholm, adorable tomte have been popping up everywhere, and Christmas treats have been added to the already extensive selection of pastries in each bakery. I've made a reservation for the Michelin-starred Operakallären's julbord (a splurge I'm still questioning, but the beautiful, historical setting and reputation as being the best meal you'll ever have is rather alluring), which is certainly good motivation to make it through the next few excessively dark weeks.
So I'm a little undecided about this long, dark winter. Some days are so gray and dreary that I feel like no amount of coffee will ever wake me up. Others, I think maybe I could learn to be a bit more like the Swedes: make the most of those rare sunny days, but also the prohibitively cold and dark ones, by relying on other people or maybe just a good book - not sunshine - for warmth.