January is – on the whole – bleak. The snow hems me in. As the snow melts, a layer of ice keeps me from running. Rude.
Yet, the frigid sunrises over steaming rooftops never fail to amaze me. They start, like so much of winter, quietly. No heraldry of bird song. Not even the soft scampering of squirrels. Just the faintest, slightest hint of color at the furthest fringe of the horizon.
The slick ice on the ground during my morning coffee walk reminds me of my February 2019 trip to Finland. The Finns toss gravel down on the thick layer of ice and snow for traction. They know full well that ice won’t melt until late in the spring. Gone is the rock salt I am familiar with in America. You know the type. It’s often a lurid orange or bright blue. The kind that crusts on the floor in white splotches, little mold blooms that grow before my eyes as I journey from the frigid tundra inside.
These gravel pellets are many things, namely environmentally friendly. Yay! What they are not? Useful.
I am slipping and sliding all over the place here. The Finns, Winter Marvels that they are, don’t even flinch. Fueled, I’m pretty sure, by twice daily sauna sessions and pickled herring, the Finns stay upright and keep their dignity. Me? Not so much. I manage to not fall, but, with my arms splayed side to side, my feet braced at a respectable three-foot distance, my balance is pretty much the only thing I manage to cling to.
Finnish sunrises remind me of ours in Ohio this time of year, that is to say: stunning. These incandescent starts to the day look hot to the touch, but the arctic cold air would indicate otherwise. Reds, oranges, yellows light the sky. These colors evoke warmth but produce none.
I learned many things during my trip to Finland, namely how these hardy folk survive (and even thrive) through the coldest, darkest season of the year.
Here’s how the Finns defeat the winter. They give in.
There’s no defeating or changing the weather this time of year, a season that is a thick smear of gray on an otherwise colorful palate of seasonal change.
The Finns know what’s up. Like their Norwegian and Danish neighbors who popularized the concept of hygge, which is a quality of coziness that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being, the Finns have their own tactics to survive the long winters in Northern Europe. (I’d recommend all of them with the exception of their exceptionally high rate of alcohol consumption.)
So, give in!
How to survive the winter like the Finns
- Drink a hot beverage. The Finns consume the most coffee of any country in the world, per capita.
- Sleep a bit longer.
- Switch to warm, indoor activities. I love hot yoga this time of year.
- Indulge. Indulge in blankets, steam saunas, calming massages. You name it.
- Light all the candles you have.
- Stay inside and curl up with that book you’ve been meaning to read.
- For God’s sake, turn off your phone. (My thoughts on that here and here.)
- Unwind your tight shoulders and neck with some gentle yoga or stretching.
- Bake warm, chocolate lava cakes and top them with homemade whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder for good measure.
- Schedule regular hangouts with your friends so you have a recurring energizing outlet every week or so to look forward to.
- And … my personal crusade … Wear socks that cover your ankles. My random pet peeve is when people don’t wear long socks and it’s like -12ºF outside.