LAND OF MIDNIGHT SUN

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 August 1935, Page 10

LAND OF MIDNIGHT SUN

LIFE BEYOND ARCTIC CIRCLE

.July "in Sweden, above the Arctic circle, yet no one shivers. For six weeks the midnight sun brings the warmth and joy of continuous sunshine. Miss Lindholm, a native of Sweden, now resident in Melbourne, writes of the wonder of the midnight sun and of life within the Arctic circle. In July, more than at any other time, the thoughts of the Scandinavian return homeward, to a land of strange contrasts, of midnight sun and Arctic night. The long, pitiless winter —eight months of it —has passed. Spring, too, has gone, a short season of slush underfoot and black soot on quickly melting snow. Then the sun gets, a chance. June is the time of fulfilment above the Arctic circle. For about six weeks in June and July thQ midnight sun calls worshippers who come from afar to witness the magic of a sun that does not set.

Low above the horizon it travels in a circle day after day, with no night to dim its lustre. Tourists from all parts of the world are there to-day, hiking in the mountains, and rowing on the rivers. From the great, wide streams the midnight sun is glorious. From my home town of Kiruna, a few hours’ 'travel north of the Arctic circle, where I grew up, we awaited eagerly this yearly pilgrimage. The midnight sun was hidden just behind the mountains near Kiruna. To see the phenomenon we had only to walk to the top of a hill. The sun was round the corner, so to speak. Our

interest was divided between the sun and the flowers and trees. After the long winter. Nature at this time of the year above the Arctic circle

seems to be in a breathless hurry. The buds of stunted mountain birch-

es open with incredible swifltness;' one can almost see them bursting. Overnight the colour of trees changes to a fresh light green. Wild flowers and wild berries grow' in profusion. The country is very mountainous. So, as the sun goes round the horizon, it disappears for a while behind the peaks. At midnight the sun is due north; everything is still, for. although it is broad daylight, the birds can distinguish between day and

night. Moon and stars are not visible during the six weeks, and for

weeks afterward twilight lingers until 10 or 11 p.m. Spring is short, so is autumn. The wise birds set out early on their annual migration to warmer islands. In flocks they Wing across Scandanavia to Europe and to the Mediterranean Sea. and thence to Egypt. Each year they follow a well-defined route. They follow the rivers' as far as the Gulf of Bothnia, and, always finding the shortest track over the seas, they fly across several countries of Europe toward their objective. This migration of bird life is occasioned not by the coldness of northern climes, but by the impossibility of getting food when tho_snow is many feet deep on the caith.

Tlircughout the long months of win-

ter the firs, pines, and mountain birches, having taken on their snowy garments, stand like white ghosts. In the forest hardly a sound is heard except the whispering pines—the mystic silence of the north! Snow has covered the ground with aston-

ishing swiftness, always with the promise of more to come. As Nature changes colour, so do the animals. The mountain fox, red in summer, now has a fur coat of pure white. Just as the sun refuses to set dur-

ing the wonderful six weeks in the mid-year, when Christmas is at hand the sun does not rise above the horizon for six weeks. Now and then we

had a glimpse of the sun's rays just to show us that it was still there. iDaylight lasts but a few hours: the snow is dazzlingly white: the moon is like polished steel; the stars are scintillating; and across the sky sweeps the Aurora Borealis, a flaming band of colour, so vivid that the night never seems to be pitch dark. Now the Swede or Norwegian is at his happiest; ski-ing far into the hills and down the mountain slopes. Not far from Kiruna is the large tourist station of Abisko. the Buffalo of Sweden, where thousands of tourists go to ski. Before snow has covered the lakes too thickly the skaters, too, make the most of the ice. THE LAPLANDER'S HOME. The Laplander is the native of these far-northern islands. This tentdwelling nomad is small in stature, with straight, black hair and high cheekbones in u rather broad face. Dressed in a coat of reindeer skin, which finishes at the knee for men and a little lower for women, he is a constant source of interest. Male and female both wear a broad leather belt, often studded with silver buttons. Skin breeches are tucked into reindeerskill boots with soft, moccasin-like sole, but with a Turk-

irh slipper finish at the toe. These shoes are- tied around the ankle with brightly coloured, hand-woven wool bands to prevent the snow from entering. The women wear bright shawls and a red facecloth bonnet-, with pipings in other colours, and a narrow lace round the face: the men sport" a bright red facecloth cap, often peaked, hut always with a red pom-pom made of wool. It is on important occasions that the Lapp's love of colour is most appaieut. I attended a Lapp wedding. What a blaze < f colour in the village church that day! The kilts worn by the bride and groom were of light blue cloth, with .many bright bindings. and the silk shawls worn by both were held together with silver brooches. The bride wore several shawls, arranged cunningly so that the largest was nearest the frock and the smallest on the outside. The effect from the back was stunning, and ii was mctfhl to be. Haud-kuitted mittens in Fair isle design set off the cu.-emble. Pure "bite reindeer beets >\ere vein by both parties.

The gentle reindeer is the friend of tli>j Lapp. u;- the horse is the friend ef other men. Indeed, the Lapp depends for his existence ou the reindeer. and counts his wealth according to the number in his possession. Ho uses its flesh for food, its >kiu lor (Tithing. and he drinks its mill. — it tastes something like goat s milk. Its horns are used to make knife handles and for the making of various other implement. s Further, he barters 'ho smoked reindeer meat it nd dried blood in the villages for coffee, flour, salt, ami matches. The animal also ads Ji, th< means of transport, for it drawn. th<- Laplander- tin' ■.ledge, f.i--hi"ited ■ '•iii'-t hma Ilk-- a i anno (ini' on<> «• in is u-'d. ,ind this !. thrown troni ■ s«>« to -dd>- of tile animal's I'.o-i, to guide ji Tin Lapp i.- an expert skier, using only one stave. In the summer lie travels i>-. boat on the numerous rivers, or walk A baby is carried on its np’thor's Hark m n thin wooden frame

covered with skin. In this the baby is strapped, and travels snugly and comfortably in the coldest weather. When the winter begins the Lapps take their reindeer farther down to the coast because the animals find the snow too thick to allow them to reach their food, which consists chiefly of moss. During the dark winter nights a sentry with a couple of dogs is posted on guard, for it is then that the Laplander’s oldest enemy, the wolf, stalks his prey. The reindeer is not defenceless against a single wolf. Fencing and sparring with its crowned head, it can hold the wolf off until daylight, when the enemy retires discomfited, unsatisfied. But when the wolf decides to hunt in packs, the reindeers are no match. “Shot-money" is paid for each wolf skin by the Government. INFANTS AND INVALIDS FIRST. The. .people of the north depend largely on the southern areas for their supplies of food. The severity of the climate makes it impossible to grow vegetables -and fruits. Only a few cows are kept, and their milk is reserved for infants and invalids. The chief supply of milk arrives daily .by train after a journey of nine or ten hours, and more often than not in these winter months it is frozen in the milkcans. Despite the shortage of food, the few varieties of birds which stay'at home during the winter are not forgotten. The people leave sheaves of corn on rooftops for their sustenance; and when Christmas comes they place in the stable bowls of rice pc;;luge iw.' “tomten,” the gnomes who watch over the home throughout the year. The porridge always disappears. Probably the house cat has seen to that, although the children Refuse to believe it.

Until the beginning of this century the Lapps were in undisputed possession of the country north of the Arctic circle. The discovery of mountains of almost pure iron led to the establishment of numerous townships. It was not a "rush.” for the iron mountains were exploited by Governmental and organised private enterprise. These towns, of which Kiruna is the largest, still flourish, for the iron resources seem to be unfathomable. It is hardly necessary to dig underground; the ore is taken from the top and sides of the mountains. Most of the inhabitants get their living from the mines.