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| Vaasa, Finland in November |
According to nearly all the Finns I know, November is the least enjoyed
month of the year. All the daylight
we once had has now virtually gone, yet it is still too warm for snow to really
settle and reflect what little light remains.
With the Finns, it is always during November that you really notice that the very last remnants of summer joy
and happiness have finally been smothered under a national wet blanket of gloom and depression.
By the end of November, even the clothes worn by the public
are almost always jet black, in harmony, I suppose, with the sadness of the surroundings and the general mood of the nation.
Here, in Finland, it has been said that November is the one time of the year when everyone becomes either a sociopath or a psychopath; the sociopaths ignore you when you say hello, while the psychopaths are the ones doing all the talking.
Nevertheless, I can admit to quite liking November
despite the bad reputation it has over here. I suppose this may have a lot to do with the fact that a Finnish November is just like the typical British winters I grew up with. I find that November is a wonderful time for relaxation
before the Christmas mayhem begins, and what’s more, since nobody is expected
to actually do anything in November, anything that gets done is always a bonus.
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| A Finnish winter wheel |
Here in Finland it is important to remember that November is the time of year when black ice and
snow can appear at any time. As such the one thing that actually needs to be done in November is to change the wheels on cars. Most car owners will have put winter
wheels on their vehicles by now, which are actually studded tyres, even though the law says they are not needed before December 1st. You always know that
winter is fast approaching by the distinct flamenco-like takka-takka sound those
metal studs make on the asphalt.
And so with Advent just around the corner, and
the explosion of Christmas lights that will come with it, let me wish you all a
gloomy November Friday, on what will undoubtedly be the final dark and dismal weekend of
the year.
