When the Sun Doesn't Rise

It's this time of the year again when people living within the arctic circle and its outskirts don't see the sun rise any higher than the horizon. As early as the first week of November,  snow started to fall copiously in this northern part of the country,  which heralded the onset of winter. The days became darker, colder and shorter. Darkness dominates the whole 24-hour day and night cycle.

On days when the clouds are impenetrably thick,  gloom covers the land, which can also be  illuminated by the whiteness of the snow.

On a cloudless day, when the pale blue sky promises the incoming of the smiling sun, the light of the day starts to glow over the horizon at about 7 or 8 in the morning.  A faint tangerine glow hovers above the trees. 

At about 9 a.m., the orange glow becomes more intense as the sun starts to peer through the foliage of pines and spruces.  

As soon as the sun crowns the tree tops, it doesn't rise any higher, but begins its horizontal journey across the skyline, moving swiftly to the right until it would come to a halt where it starts to sink slowly behind the trees.

 

And that makes the day so short, and darkness much longer. At past 2 in the afternoon, darkness sets in, and street lights come out.

But no matter how short the day is, it is certainly a day filled with colors when sun is out. Even when the day is gloomy, the charming beauty of the snow can fill the day with joy. 

And even when the sun doesn't rise, its slanted radiance gilds the trees, the buildings and the snows that blanket the ground.  Wonderful things still abound everywhere.