Spring is coming, and I didn’t believe it anymore – My experience in Scandinavia

The sky is clear, birds are singing. Sitting outside, I am writing this article surrounded by multicolored flowers, buzzing insects, the perfect springtime scenery. Depending on where you live, this seasonal change might go almost unnoticed, as natural as day following night.

However, living in Scandinavia, the true arrival of Spring resembles the awakening of Sleeping Beauty’s world.

Why Spring is So Special in Scandinavia:

When I lived in France, particularly in the South, I mostly felt summer and the other seasons. That was it. Yes, there were blooming trees in spring, falling leaves in autumn, and a cold wind in winter, but nothing particularly remarkable.

Freshly arrived in Denmark, I remember asking many questions about winter, wanting to know what was going to happen to me. I recall a student’s response with a small smile, “In winter, the light comes around 10 a.m. and leaves around 3 p.m.” She tactfully emphasized “light” and not the sun! Because once winter arrives, the sun hides for what seems like an eternity.

Contrary to what I might have feared, my first winter in Denmark went very well. I was living in Copenhagen at the time, and I had so many things to discover that the long winter nights didn’t disturb me so much. However, when Spring finally arrived one day, I was shaken by this return to life, this energy that came back, buzzing throughout the city. Parks were filled with people baring their torsos, terraces crowded, endless lines in front of ice cream shops. Spring was here, and it was magical.

What I’ve Learned After Almost Eight Years:

• Winter is not my enemy; it is instead a gentle companion showing me the path of introspection.
• Darkness, the long black night, asks me to take my time, to slow down.
• Embracing this change in energy, in rhythm, is living in harmony with nature and accepting our very nature, our need to pause, just as much as our need to come back to life.
• Focusing on the return of light brings a note of hope.
• The sun is always there, behind the clouds.
• It’s normal to feel depressed when nature seems to plunge into an endless sleep. It simply asks us not to rush things, to take our time.
• When the sun is out, especially the first rays, nothing is more important than enjoying that moment. The dishes can wait.
• The return of colors, flowers, light, even if it all seems impossible, I promise you it comes back, all at once! And it’s magnificent!

Simple Rituals for the Equinox:

Because I am now able to let myself be carried away, a little more each year, by this change in rhythm and energy, I wanted to create a poster offering various small rituals, easily achievable by everyone. The purpose of these rituals is simple: to connect with the energy so particular to each season to mentally and physically prepare for this change.

The Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox are already available for sale. The Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox will follow. I indeed need to let myself be carried away by the season, by nature, to propose rituals that make sense and allow you to truly feel the moment in question.

A few words: for the end

I would like to end with this quote from The Lord of the Rings, a quote that I appreciate so much that I felt the need to share it during the Women’s Circle organized for the Winter Solstice. These are Sam’s words:

“I know… It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here… But we are… It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the ending, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come and when the sun shines it’ll shine out the clearer.”

So I encourage you to embrace this shadow; the light returns, and this return to life, this wonderful energy can only burst forth from us if we accept, consciously, this rhythm of the seasons. I wish you a wonderful Spring.