Want to know why the sun refuses to set sometimes? Here’s all you need to know about the Nightless Night & how you can experience it yourself in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
As summer approaches in the north, something truly magical happens. Nights grow shorter and shorter until one day … they’re gone. This phenomenon is known as the Midnight Sun, Polar Day or Nightless Night, and the effect it has on the Arctic is stunning. 24 hours of sunlight opens the gateways for late night adventures and near-mystical memories. Read on for more info on the Nightless Night, how you can enjoy it and capture it, only in Lapland, Finland, the Land of the Midnight Sun.
What is the Midnight Sun?
Because almost all of Lapland lies above the Arctic Circle, summer means that the sun (or more accurately daylight) doesn’t go away for between two and four months, depending on how north you venture. In northernmost Finland, the sun just circles in the sky all day and all night. Farther south, the sun may dip behind the fells or trees, but the sky remains bright.
How long does Midnight Sunlight last?
In true scientific terms, the Midnight Sun appears only as far south as the Arctic Circle. One day a year (the summer solstice), the sun will rise and not set until the next night. However, in practical terms, nighttime vanishes on the Arctic Circle about a month before. It’s a phenomenon known only to Arctic countries, like Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark (Greenland), Iceland, Russia, the United States (Alaska), and Canada.
In Finnish Lapland, even the towns and villages south of the Arctic Circle benefit from impossibly long summer days.
Land of the midnight sun
From mid-May until mid-August, nighttime is but a memory, and in place of the stars and moon, there is the gentle, golden light. That’s why Finland is called the Land of the Midnight Sun.
On the Arctic Circle, the Sun That Never Sets promises night-time adventures from mid-May to mid-August. In the northernmost village in Finland, true night ends in late March and doesn’t come back until mid-September.
What is polar night (and polar day)?
Other names for the Midnight Sun are Nightless Night and polar day. Which begs the question then … what is polar night? Polar night is on the opposite side of the year, when the sun keeps hitting the snooze button for a few months straight. Instead of sunrise and daylight, the horizon simply glows in all the pastel colors. Polar night combined with heavy snowfall creates one of Lapland’s most stunning views—the Blue Moment—as the dark blue sky, pristine white snow and glowing horizon turns the world magic for a few minutes.
