The Killing Moon Is Over

Today is the 1st day of December meaning that November is officially over. I have gathered from my conversations with the locals that it is a widely held belief that November is the worst month to be in Finland. Thus, its demise is cause for celebration, no?

November occurs in an awkward time of the year. It is flanked between the day light savings switch and the winter solstice (i.e. shortest day of the year), which is a devilish recipe resulting in very short, dark days. Due to global climate change (probably) southern Finland receives very little snow during this time of year. Sure the occasional snow flurry occurs, but it never persists for more than a few days, if that. Thus, once the temperature rises above zero again, you are left with one unappetizing snow cone. Either that or it's just a muddy mess.

The deciduous trees have long since lost their leaves and the bushes resemble tumble weeds frozen in time. There are still patches of greenish grass, but the days of frolicking in the meadows are over. If one were to try, they would need the type of heavy-duty footwear that Southern Californians wouldn't be caught dead wearing.

Unlike in the States, there are really no November holidays to speak of, or ones that I am aware of. Americans in the similarly dark higher latitudes have at least Thanksgiving to look forward to, a week off from their obligations where they can gorge themselves on roasted birds and fend off that cruel fiend known as sobriety without catching judgement from their peers. It's Thanksgiving damnit! I am going to have a few beers, some red wine, a glass of muscat and then your finest brandies, cognacs and whiskeys blended together and served in a pint glass...because at that point, who gives a shit!

December in Finland, while having similar characteristics as November, at least has a few holidays. Finnish Independence Day is this sunday and then there is that other one. Also the high concentration of "Little Christmases" during this time makes the darkness pill a little easier to swallow. I have also learned that there is no need to belong to an organization to have a "little christmas". You can just invite two or three people over and use "little christmas" as an excuse to get obliterated.

In Finnish, the word for November is "Marraskuu". "Marras" is an archaic word that really isn't in use anymore, but it means "death". "Kuu" means "moon". So, the literal translation of the Finnish word for November is "Death-Moon". So calling it the "The Killing Moon" is not entirely accurate. But I couldn't resist the pop-culture reference and I thought "Death Star" was a bit of a stretch.