TTStoryTime! #9: Legends of the Northern Lights

Do we really need to define and describe the northern lights? :) 

It is no coincidence that the keyword northern lights/aurora borealis has become the most searched travel experience in recent decades.

All the colorful ribbons dancing in the night sky, chasing each other on the sparkling galaxy, or hidden under the pine trees, must have been one of the items to cross on our bucket list. 

Modern science has already explained how Aurora was formed, nevertheless, for the ancients, the magic of the stripes of light appearing in the mysterious dark night is indeed a legend. So many different stories were told from East to West to find an explanation for these magical phenomena.

1. The Firefox (Revontuli)

Unlike any other language, which often translates the literal “northern lights” to their own words, or calls it “aurora borealis”, the Finns gave a name related to a legendary animal: the fox.

Revontuli comes from revon (an archaic word meaning “fox’s”) +‎ tuli (“fire”).

Together it is fox’s fire.

Careful when swishing with your tail, you may set the world on fire!

The name comes from a rather beautiful myth, of course. 

Once upon a time, there was an Arctic fox whose tail twinkles fire. The fox lives far away in hideouts in the woods, or in the north, which every few people claim to see. The firefox could run so fast that its large furry tail sweeps against the snowy hills, creating magical sparkles that lit up the sky.

Hunters dream of this Fire fox since it was believed that the hunter who caught it would become wealthy for the rest of his life.

As fur can be charged with static energy, which produces sparks, Indigenous Canadians also had similar ideas about the fur of their reindeer.

2. Danger in the lights?

On the other hand, Sami people in Lapland have a different belief in the appearance of the northern lights. The Sami word for aurora borealis is guovssahas, meaning “the light you can hear”. Scary? There are stories about people having heard the northern lights and they describe the sound as faint crackling.

Thought to be the souls of the dead, the northern lights were not something to be admired but rather to be feared in Sami culture. They believed that it was dangerous to wave, whistle, or sing under them since it would draw the lights’ attention to them. It would carry them away or cut off their head! 

Hence, to this day, some of the Sami elders will stay indoors when the northern lights are dancing in the sky, just to be on the safe side.

But this is controversial. North American Indians often whistled at the northern lights to send messages to the dead. They believed that the dead souls of their beloved were trying to communicate with them.

3. Aurora in the sky? Time to go fishing! 

In ancient Sweden, it was believed that the northern lights were a good omen from the Gods. The lights were created by huge schools of herring in the northern seas, so a spectacular aurora show meant abundant catches.

4. Magical medicine to ease the pain of childbirth

In Icelandic folklore, they believed the northern lights helped to ease the pain of childbirth. Nevertheless, they must not look directly at the lights or their child would be born cross-eyed.

5. If they turn red. Just. run.

If you go more to the South, the chance to see northern lights are quite rare. Only when the solar wind is super strong with no light pollution, then the citizens in France, England, and Italy... could witness it. With such strong energy, the lights were usually red which brought a terrifying feeling, which made people see it as a sign of war and bloodshed to come.

There was a story told that just weeks before the French revolution broke out, dramatic red northern lights were seen in Scotland and England.

6. Do the northern lights appear in Asia?

Yes, but it's totally rare as it must be caused by a significant solar storm. Therefore, the ancient in Asia were totally in awe of the lights that illuminated the night sky. Chinese myths told, northern lights were the fires in battles between good and evil dragons across the firmament. 

Whereas in Japanese culture, they believe that a child conceived underneath the northern lights will be blessed with good looks, intellect, and good fortune. No wonder why Lapland attracts so many Japanese to come for the aurora, and the statistics are shown in numbers.

Well, here’s a short definition of northern lights for the science team:

Northern lights are a natural phenomenon, when “a solar wind that sends charged particles towards the Earth, and upon colliding with its atmosphere they produce energy given off as light.” 

Myths and legends give a much cooler explanation, don’t you think?

Northern lights hunting 

Where?

Only a few special places in the world where the aurora can be seen. So for most people, it's surely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was not an exception.

Funnily, I have seen my first aurora in Porvoo - where I left my university youth. Somewhere in October 2014, it was all over the news. But of course, that was the last time I went northern lights hunting in the south of Finland. It's just simply because I want to see stronger lights, so I did an extreme move to Lapland for 3 months! 

Anyway, the name already gave you an answer. If you want to hunt northern lights, you better pack your stuff to travel to the North and pass by the Arctic Circle. In Finnish Lapland, it’s located in Rovaniemi. A line was drawn in the Santa Claus village, worth an Instagram check-in.

Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi - Arctic Circle - 66.5459° N, 25.8505° E

Further north of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Russia, Canada, Alaska as well as southern Greenland are ideal places to hunt the lights.

Why can't you see the lights everywhere?

I will need to write a few pages reports for this if I try to go into it. So see you in another post... Just kidding! The reason is just simple: The earth's magnetic field typically deflects those solar-charged particles. However, near the North and South poles of the planet, the magnetic field is the weakest, making it much easier for these particles to enter the atmosphere. In other places around the world, the stronger magnetic field prevents electrons from entering the atmosphere.

For rather obvious reasons, the lights in the South, for example, Australia or New Zealand, are known as Southern Lights - aurora australis, opposing to its kind - northern lights - aurora borealis.

When?

Technically, northern lights usually happen from September until the first days of April. From my own experience, the best aurora I have seen was from February to the end of March when I was working in Enöntekiö a few years ago. If you follow our last blog about 8 seasons in Lapland, do you remember the “snowdrift season”? It’s around the end of February - beginning of April when the sky is the clearest in the whole year. Therefore, the chance to see aurora also increases!

At this time, the days are getting longer as well, so you could combine your night hunt with other daytime activities such as husky rides, reindeer farm visits, snowshoes, or snowmobile safari. 

So may the focus of your trip NOT be only the northern lights. The north is very exotic and it can offer a lot! And of course, if you’re lucky to spot aurora, take this as a gift from Mother Nature.

Statistically, the northern lights are visible 200 days per year. If there is a clear and cold night, the chance of seeing the northern lights is very high. As such, the chance to spot the northern light depends on its intensity and sky cloudiness, therefore, there is no 100% chance to see it. If you are lucky, aurora can stay in the sky for a few minutes up to several hours. 

During a 5-night-trip in Lapland, usually travellers can spot the northern lights for at least 1 night. So it is recommended to stay at least a minimum of 4 nights in Lapland to increase the chance to see them!

Ending

How many times is enough to see the aurora?

For some, one or two times. 

For some, never enough. 

I am on the latter one. :)

What about you? Have you ever seen the Northern lights? 

For more ideas on how to travel to Lapland, feel free to check our itinerary here.

If you would like to know more about Lapland, check out our monthly magazine here: