Finland becomes a hibernating heaven with sunrises at 9:23 and sunsets at 15:12; the total length of a day exactly 5h 49m (in the Helsinki area). Even when the sun does peak through thick snow (or rain) clouds, it rests idly on the horizon, rarely rising above the tree line. Without snow, this can become quite a desolate little place. (Thankfully, snow was in the forecast before my trip.)
While darkness can be debilitating (unless of course you get hours worth of vitamin D from the various artificial sunlight emitting contraptions, pill form or milk) candles make it oh-so hygge and bearable!
This household, like most in Scandinavia, following the Chinese proverb - 'Don't curse the darkness - light a candle.' (Which was incorporated by Adlai Stevenson praising Eleanor Roosevelt in an address to the United Nations General Assembly in 1962 - 'She would rather light candles than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world.') Light your lanterns, tea candles, candles...!
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