|
A brief description of
a year in Oulu
 The people of Oulu have plenty of light and darkness, but in
varying quantities during the different seasons of the year.
In March, there is as much light as there is darkness, but
the light is already beginning to take over.
 The arrival of geese in April is a sign of spring’s
awakening. Birdwatchers, binoculars in hand, flock to the
shores and fields. Many city inhabitants spend their
weekends repairing their summer cottages in the surrounding
countryside or right in the heart of the city, in the
allotment areas.
 The boat harbour smells of paint and tar as boats are
readied for the short but lively summer. A Finnish proverb
suggests that when the lark arrives in Finland from the
shores of the Mediterranean, summer is only a month away.
Finally, when the swallows arrive in Oulu, summer begins.
Schools close their doors at the end of May and the
summer holiday period starts, during which it is said that
Finland is ‘closed’. The people of Oulu, who have gone
through the winter heavily dressed, unwind, and light,
colourful summer clothes emerge and illuminate the city
streets. At night, it simply doesn’t get dark; what’s more,
at midsummer the sun barely grazes the horizon.
 Rotuaari, the pedestrian street in the centre of the
city, is full of summer events and city folk, as well as
people from other places, visit the open market at the
harbour. As summer arrives, the face of Oulu assumes a fresh,
green expression: the leaves on the trees are out and the
grass starts to grow.
Around the middle of August, the people of Oulu return
home and the schools reopen. The days start getting shorter
people are already longing for the bright summer nights.
Street lamps are lit in the evenings. Vegetable and berry
crops are gathered, and people venture into the nearby
woodland to pick mushrooms and wild berries.
 As autumn advances and the starlings head south, the
northern nature bursts into its beautiful fall colours.
Nature sets a dazzling scene for the enthusiasts who go in
search of the golden cloudberries in marshes. These
sought-after berries are then stored in order to allow the
memories of summer and sunshine to be rekindled again and
again throughout the dark, cold winter.
At the end of September, darkness once again gradually
starts to overpower light. At the beginning of the month,
boats are lifted onto the shore. Only the fishermen, who
catch salmon and whitefish in the centre of the city, still
keep their boats in the water. Soon the shores will freeze
and darkness will swallow the light until the first snow
arrives to brighten the land.
 The dark period lasts until Christmas, but, as the new
year begins, people begin to notice the light increasing
once again. After the icy-cold, freezing days of January and
February pass, the people of Oulu head for the ski tracks,
skating rinks or the sea ice to skate or do some ice fishing. |
