Alike probably all other nations, also Finns have a love-hate relationship with winter, with the difference that people in Finland are more likely to abide with snow and all, but also society and infrastructure don’t crash which make the entire winterthing a lot more pleasant.
Winter in Helsinki is late this year, we passed the middle of December and so far the city has only twice been covered in a soft coverlet of white which disappeared as quickly as it had come. Not only are most of the winter activities put on hold for now, everything seems much darker without the snow brightening up the city (which ultimately leads to wanting to sleep all the time, but that’s a different story).
Most people I talked with were somewhat glad that we didn’t drown in snow at the end of October already, but now that Helsinki even had a so-called Black Christmas and the Egyptians being the ones with our snow, even the fiercest snow haters wish for some white and everyone is utterly confused. 
“Snow” in Helsinki
About a year ago I wrote a little short-story after I had been confronted with a series of odd events after a night out in the middle of the darkest, deepest Finnish winter. That night, I felt a strange and new connection to the country I live in and despite it not having been entirely cheerful, it gave me some new understanding. This sounds all so very meaningful and deep, yet mainly I wonder about what new revelations this forthcoming winter brings.
It’s been a while since I spent the majority of winter elsewhere than Helsinki, so I am not even sure anymore up to what extent this whole winter behaviour makes me wonder. Which brings my thoughts back to the snow issue: is it the darkness? The cold? Or the snow? With snow not really being an option now, it must be the dark and cold that make people seemingly miserable.
The combination of the three probably make it worse, although, despite people loving the snow and all, I think it is so much feared because we all know it will be around until May. Which means that winter is still somewhat around and with it come the deep dark memories of it’s depressing remorselessness and the neverending nights. Is that it? As long as there is snow, the association of winter lingers with us.
Maybe we should just all overdose on Vitamin D and have a sauna, back to the roots of clichés.