The Swedish Way of Winter Turns into Spring
In the end of Mars/beginning of April spring comes to Sweden. It gets warmer and the daylight stays longer. On the 29th of Mars we change to Daylight saving time/Summertime. This means that we adjust the clock forward one hour. This way we get one hour of extra daylight in the afternoon, and one hour less in the morning.
When this day is about to come, Swedes all over the country worry about that we get one hour less of sleep that night. And many people also feel more tired the day after, because they went to bed the same time as usual, but the next day they wake up one hour earlier.
However, changing to summertime really feels great. It tells us summer-hungry Swedes that summer is on its way and finally it’s daylight much longer. In the middle of June the sun goes down about 9:00 PM and comes up again at about 3:00 AM. In Mars the sun went down 5:00 or 6:00 PM maybe.
What happens to our mood when winter turns into spring?
When winter turns into spring Swedes get very happy. They start rake their gardens and everyone is outdoor in the nice weather. People throw off their jackets that they’ve worn for eight months and finally they only wear a t-shirt. This is also when people often get a cold. We think that it’s warmer than it actually is, because the sun is tricking us with its burning sunbeams.
This is the time when people are reborn. They make all kinds of plans, plans for the weekends, summer plans. And we simply just enjoy ourselves much more than in winter.
This time really feels good, and you can see in peoples’ faces that it is spring. People sit down by a lake or a stream with an ice-cream in one hand and a loved one next to them. Kids play in the garden and teenagers play football on the fields. Soon someone will have their first barbeque on the balcony.
Yes, spring is a lovely time of year. And what makes it even better, is that we know that summer is on its way.
