Pioneer Press - Louise in Estonia - Article 20

That Low-Down Sun (click here for PDF Version)

The other day I prepared to go to a meeting at the Estonian National Library. It was a rare clear morning. At 10am I walked out of my flat and looked down my street at the sun, which was just rising. I had my camera with me so I took a picture down my street and directly into it. When it was developed, the picture came out with only a slight darkening of the film. Just think, taking a photograph directly into the sun at 10am and it didn’t blind the camera.

It’s not a special lens, it’s that low-down sun.

My Estonian students say when I enter a classroom it’s like a ray of sunshine brightens the room. They used to look around at all of those serious Estonian faces, but now people are smiling and talking and laughing. They would ask, “What is wrong with Estonians, always so glum and serious? So unlike that American woman with her smile and funny ways.”

But it isn’t their fault, it’s that low-down sun.

Now, just before winter solstice, that low-down sun barely clears the horizon during it’s short appearance. It rides low in the sky and by 1:30pm it is already setting. And this is on a sunny day. If it’s cloudy and raining, which is the usual way, the day never gets light. Street lights go off for a few hours and then on again. The electric light bill must be phenomenal! You’d be glum and serious too if you had to pay that bill.

They’re not cheap, it’s that low-down sun.

Even sleep patterns, which are affected by circadian rhythms, change during the dark time. If I sleep in until I am no longer tired in Bemidji, for example, I can sleep until 8am. But in Tallinn, I’m still snoozing at 9:30am.

I’m not lazy, it’s that low-down sun.

The suicide rate in Estonia is as high as the Scandinavian countries, nearly twice the rate of the US. People are glum and serious because they are suffering from seasonal affective disorder.

They’re not crazy, it’s that low-down sun.

And the drinking in the dark time increases exponentially. Vodka is being consumed by the liter and vodka production has doubled in recent years.

They’re not alcoholics, it’s that low-down sun.

We wonder why there have been all of those pagan rituals during the time of winter solstice. Rituals that have been borrowed by religious groups and turned into Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Chanukah.

It’s no coincidence, it’s that low-down sun.

I’ve lived lots of places in the north, midwest, east and west, but no where have I ever seen so little sunlight as I am seeing these days in Tallinn Estonia. It is a force of nature so powerful it disrupts mental health, health, sleep patterns, economic conditions, and life in general.

It’s not the end of the world, it’s that low-down sun.

(People say that by January 8th the dark time is over for another year and spirits begin to rise with the sun.)