Make it a Sparkly November

My guess is that if you asked a million Finns which was their least favourite month of the year, the vast majority of them would come back with one answer. November.

I remember once many years ago when I still lived in England and decided to visit Finland with a friend in November. The response I got was the same everywhere we went. "WHY on earth did you come in November? The summer/winter/spring is so much nicer...."

Finns are generally very proud of their heritage and of their country. But in November it is as though they hope that no-one will see Finland or even remember that it exists. November in Finland is like a nasty little secret that they hope will never be revealed to the rest of the world.

This is almost all due to the weather. The summer is quite definitely only a memory. The beautiful colours of autumn have all been raked up and the trees are now bare. It's not winter yet so there is still no skiing or snowmen or stunning winter scenery. Instead the days are short (and still getting shorter) there is too little light, too much slush and almost everything looks grey. And Christmas is not quite close enough to make up for anything yet.

However, as the month draws to a close, the Finns gradually start to get their fighting spirit back. One by one they start decorating the outside of their houses with lights and candles appear in all the windows. Christmas trees are put up later over here than in the UK (except in our house, where our tree will be up next weekend...) but sparkly lights appear all over the place which brighten up the otherwise dull evenings. Before you know it, the countdown to Christmas has begun, and by January at the latest the snow is here properly, the days start getting longer and everyone has cheered up again.

This evening Niko and I took our dog Nisha for a walk. Niko had his new flashing boots on (he is so proud of them he wouldn't go to sleep this evening without having them next to his bed) and I was instructed to watch each time they flashed. I did.  Lots of the neighbours had put lights in the trees and in their gardens and it was all starting to look very pretty. It's about freezing at the moment with only a tiny bit of snow left on the ground from the downfall last week. As we walked, there was a light smattering of rain and the smell of burning wood from people lighting log fires and warming up the sauna.

It was one of the nicest walks I have had in a long time. It also reminded me that there are so many things we can't control in life that there is really little point in letting them get us down. The months, the seasons and the weather all fall into that category. We have no choice as to what they do or when. What we can do however, is to enjoy the good bits, look forward to what's ahead and to make what we have look as pretty as we can. It's funny how just a few sparkly lights can transform an entire neighbourhooda and make everyone feel happier. I thought maybe I should try and hold on to this same attitude next time it feels like a bad day. Enjoy the good bits, look forward to better times ahead, and light up the neighbourhood with a smile, despite everything. Happy November everyone!