Land of the Midnight Sun

 

The Midnight Sun is a natural phenomenon experienced by those in the Arctic Circle. On around the twenty-first of June every year, the sun shines for a full twenty-four hour day, never once dipping below the horizon and it is known as the Midnight Sun. Due to the fact that over 70% of the people who experience the Midnight Sun are in Finland, the country has gained the name "The Land of the Midnight Sun.”

Even though the actual Midnight Sun can only be seen in the Arctic Circle, “white nights” are experienced by those all around the country, even as far down as those in Helsinki on the country’s south coast. This is when the sun dips below the horizon for a couple of ours during the night but it does not get dark.

There is a lot of tradition surrounding the night of the Midnight Sun. A popular story is that if a young woman collects seven flowers and puts them under her pillow on the night of June 21^st then her future husband will appear in her dreams. Midsummers parties are held all around the country and there is also The Midnight Sun Film Festival which is held in Finnish Lapland every year and is known to be a great way of experiencing the Midnight Sun and Finnish culture, all at the same time.

This is a photo of the Midnight Sun which I found on the website www.visitfinland.com

 

 Sources:

http://www.visitfinland.com/article/land-of-the-midnight-sun/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_sun