Jokes are already being thrown around about the winter of 2015. Coffee cups have been made saying “I survived the winter of 2015″ and I am just waiting to see this slogan on t-shirts. I know I have been going on and on about this winter but for real, this past winter has been one of the worst winters in Iceland in years!
The cherry on top of this long winter in the non stop storms this poor island has been hit by. The other night I read an article saying that this winter is one of the stormiest winters of this century! I told you all I was not exaggerating about the bad weather.
One interesting thing I have learned from this terrible winter, (other than the fact that SAD is a real thing, people need sunshine!) I learned a new Icelandic tradition. Apparently is has been tradition to name particularly bad winters throughout Icelandic history with names to represent what the winter was like.
A few examples:
Winter of the Fallen Horse, 1313
The Spring of Ice, 1320
Winter of Torment, 1620
The Great Winter of Frost, 1918
You get the idea. Currently two names in the running for the 2015 winter: The Great Windy Winter and Windy Butthole. In case you couldn’t tell, it has been a bit windy around here!
As I have survived the winter of 2015 I feel like I should suggest a few of my own names for this past winter based off my own experience and thoughts.
The Year Winter Arrived in Fall
Seriously though, why did it need to snow in September, that was suppose to be our time to enjoy the beautiful colors of fall in Iceland! Oh well, it still looked beautiful. Next year though, I am really hoping for no snow.
Winter of the Frozen Trees
Not only did the trees in Iceland have to deal with major frostbite, but being hit with major winds every other day. We had the biggest wind storm of the winter last weekend and there are tree casualties all over town.
The Winter of the SAD Epidemic
With months of darkness and non stop storms us inhabitants of Iceland are definitely feeling the effects of SAD. It is to the point now where when we wake up to another storm we just laugh, because we have gone crazy, and we really need some sunshine.
The Winter the Sun Got Lost
Sunshine, did you forget about us crazy people who decided to make the arctic our home? In the month of February the amount of sunshine we saw in Iceland could be counted in hours, not days, hours. Yes, it was as painful as it sounds.
The Winter of the Flying People
Last weekend Iceland was hit with its biggest storm of the winter and those wind gusts were no joke, they swept people straight off their feet!
The Winter of 50 Shades of Blue
Thanks to days full of cloudy skies and daylight that never was brighter than dusk the skies were constantly colored in beautiful shades of blue. When the sun did manage to break through it looked like a sky full of cotton candy. If only we could have these colors and never the grey sky that brings the storms.
The Spring of Cabin Fever
When us individuals with cabin fever are let outside after months of being stuck inside we tend to get very exciting about anything and everything.
Okay these names don’t make the winter sound that bad, but positive thoughts are really all that has gotten me through this winter so I can’t change now! And on a truly positive note yesterday the sun finally found us in the Arctic and it was absolutely glorious!
Yesterday gave me hope that I may actually survive this winter. We are not going to talk about the fact that snow is on the forecast for today. In my mind Spring has finally arrived in Iceland.
Question of the Day?
What would you name your winter?
