Without darkness, we would not be able to see the light. The longer and darker the winter days are, the brighter and longer are the summer nights. Scandinavians know how to make the most out of the December darkness and turn it into prime time for advent “fika” and “hygge.”
It’s of course also prime time for wearing safety reflectors as the Scandinavian walks and bikes a lot, also in the winter. Copenhagen has the longest days of the Scandinavian capitals, and sun sets there at 3:45.
It’s a bit of a culture shock for Scandinavians to see Christmas trees behind living room windows already the day after Thanksgiving. Although Sweden is a quite secular country, the tradition of keeping advent separate from Christmas lives on. The first Sunday of advent, kicks off a flurry of activities to prepare for Christmas, but many also make time for “advents-fika”. Fika is sitting around with friends or colleagues drinking coffee, eating some sweet treats and having conversations. Advent-fika has more candles, glögg in addition to coffee and Christmas cookies and pastries and is more for weekends with friends at home.
The Danes and Norwegians know how to “fika”, but interestingly don’t have a word for it. On the other hand they have “hygge” for which the Swedes don’t have a word… Hygge is for any time of the year, but December is prime time for top-hygge. Hygge is easier to experience than explain, so welcome to Copenhagen!
