Tonight is the summer solstice and on Friday Sweden celebrates Midsummer’s Eve, the most important national holiday after Christmas.
Thing is, when you live in the northern end of the world summer is treasured like nothing else. Most of the year is a black hole of darkness and cold and we only have a few short months (or weeks some years) of sunshine and warmth – so when summer finally arrives everyone goes stark, raving mad.
From birth it’s been drilled into our heads that summer is SHORT and you should CHERISH every second of it! I never see as many stressed out people as during the summer. Like those mayflies who only live for 24 hours and have to find a mate and breed before sun sets or else they’ll die without having fulfilled their life’s purpose. People get like that in the summer here…
More ice creams at the beach! More soccer games with friends! Of course we can’t stay at home tonight – what if this is the last sunny day? We must go outside! We have to take advantage of this! We must arrange a barbecue party with the neighbours or something! We must go swimming in the lake!
And if it rains people sit in their homes muttering “No no no… I don’t have time for this. We still haven’t had a picnic in the park. We still haven’t gone out to the farm to see the cows”.
Ok, I’m exaggerating – but it’s honestly not that far from the truth. ;)
As someone who can’t stand heat and usually just pine away in the shadow all summer I find all that a bit tiring. I remember my mum getting slightly hysteric with me when I was a kid because I would rather stay inside and read a book than go outside.
I tried pointing out to her that I actually spend a lot of time outside during the rest of the year, and therefore I shouldn’t be required to go outside just because it’s warm and sunny. In fact, the warmth was the whole reason I wanted to stay inside! She didn’t get it at all. XD
As an adult I choose to spend most hot days indoors, waiting to go outside until late in the evening when it gets cooler (I’m practically nocturnal during the summer). But sometimes I can’t help but getting a little bit affected by society. Shouldn’t I go do something outside? In the sun? Shouldn’t I want to?
Oh well, at least it’s a short season. ;)
Do people get crazy in the summer in other parts of the world too? I imagine in a place with longer summers/better weather in general (Italy? California?) people might be less panic-y about these things?
I am a dark loving person. I hate the sun, too hot, too bright. So normally I won’t go outside until the sun is setting & is low. Heat makes me sick & so if it hits above 80F then I am trying my best to hide indoors with a fan. I would much rather be cold then be hot. The sun hurts my eyes & so I normally avoid it as much as possible. Plus the fact that I burn instead of tan doesn’t help, lol.
Jag är definitivt en av de du beskriver i ditt inlägg. Jag ÄLSKAR sommaren. Solen, värmen, grönskan, allt. I hela mitt liv har hösten och vintern gjort mig nedstämd och deprimerad så jag försöker verkligen ta vara på vartenda litet ögonblick av sol och värme under våren och sommaren. Det spelar ingen roll vad jag gör, bara jag gör det utomhus. Är det något jag avskyr med Sverige så är det klimatet. Den där hopplösa nedstämdheten och orkeslösheten som infinner sig i Oktober och inte lämnar mig förrän i mars är något jag gärna skulle leva utan.
De flesta är som du, det är ju det mest normala faktiskt. :) Du får flytta ännu längre söderut, eller börja fly till Thailand på vintrarna som en del gör.
I live in the southern part of the States. It gets REALLY hot and humid here in the summer, and the heat lasts about 5 months, sometimes longer. I like being outside in the beginning of summer, but by the end I’m sick of it and all I can think about is autumn and winter. I don’t really like being out in the scorching sun unless I’m in a pool or at the beach. :P
People get excited about the start of summer here, mainly because it’s when everybody takes their vacations, but there isn’t really any hysteria over it. Most people are ready for cooler weather by the end of summer when it’s been nearly 100°F for months on end.
Norwegians are just as crazy, your description is spot on! But we’re not exactly far away in another part of the world ;)
All northern countries are probably the same in that area. :P I think the Finnish get crazy too. And, I imagine, the Canadians and Russian.
I know what you mean about the summer. Summer in Canada can be pretty short too so if you have a day off of work and the sun in shining, you better be outside! I love the heat, but only if I have somewhere that I can cool off, like at the beach. Which is where I spent my day off today. :D
Haha, you are totally like my husband. He is always searching for that little piece of shade to hide in. I am the complete opposite. I LOVE the sun and hot weather. We have short summers here too and so I am one of those crazy people who try to get outside as much as I can when it’s nice. Haha. I get sunburned really easy and so I can’t spend as much time as I like outside. Oh well, it’s enough I suppose :D