Key Points
- During winter, Finland experiences less sunlight during the day, with some places staying dark for about 50 days.
- Australia’s summer solstice falls on 21 December at the same time the Northern Hemisphere has its winter solstice.
- By law, Finland requires pedestrians to wear a personal safety reflector when going out in the dark.
Australians may be basking in the sunshine these days as we experience the longest stretch of daylight for the year, but on the other side of the world, in Finland, parts of the country are partway through 50 days without daylight.
Anu Besson has become used to December days full of sunshine since moving to Australia more than a decade ago after arriving as a backpacker.
However, she still remembers how dark it was during this time of year in her hometown of Oulu in Finland, which is just below the Arctic Circle.
“From November to late January, it’s like four to five hours of daylight per day,” she said.
With so much daytime darkness, Finns need to ensure they are visible when walking around their towns and cities.
And to do that, they’ve got wearable reflectors.
Anu Besson has a collection of pedestrian safety reflectors in her spare drawer in her home in Perth, including one shaped like a reindeer. Source: Supplied
Winter and summer solstices
Of all days in the year, the southern hemisphere will be the most tilted towards the sun on Saturday, 21 December, making it the longest day in the year.
That tilt creates the maximum difference between daylight and nighttime hours, known as a solstice.
While the southern hemisphere experiences the summer solstice on this date, for countries in the northern hemisphere, it is the winter solstice — the shortest day.
In Finland, depending upon which part of the country they are in, the Finns will see only between zero and six hours of daylight during the winter solstice.
While Besson’s family in Finland will experience sunrise at 10.29am and sunset at 2.03pm on what is the winter solstice for them, in Perth, she will get about 14 hours of sunshine.
Hobart will experience the longest stretch of daylight on Saturday, with sunrise at 4.28am and the sun setting at 8.49pm, according to Geoscience Australia.
Hobart will experience the longest stretch of daylight on Saturday, according to Geoscience Australia. Source: SBS News
Why are reflectors important in Finland?
To ensure pedestrians are visible to drivers in vehicles during winter in Finland, it is a common practice for people to attach a safety reflector to their clothing before venturing out.
These plastic objects are about the size of an egg and have a chain or device to attach them.
The Finnish Road Safety Council monitors the use of reflectors.
Based on data from 2021, the council estimated that a little more than half (52 per cent) of all pedestrians in Finland wore reflectors when going outside after dark.
A person driving along a dark road with the high-beam lights of their car on can see a pedestrian without a reflector from a distance of about 150m, whereas they would be able to see a pedestrian wearing a reflector from a distance of more than 600m, according to the council.
A car’s high beams can reveal a pedestrian without a safety reflector from 150m, but with a reflector, the distance increases to over 600m. Source: SBS News
With low beam lights on, it is understood a driver might notice a pedestrian without a reflector approximately 50m away as compared to a pedestrian wearing a reflector, 350m away.
The council found that of the nine pedestrian deaths in the country in 2021 that occurred at dusk or in the dark, in eight of those cases, the pedestrian had not been wearing a safety reflector.
An investigations team evaluated seven of the cases and according to their estimate, the use of a reflector could have prevented four of those deaths.
Almost a part of Finnish culture
The first pedestrian safety reflectors were produced in Finland in the 1960s and their popularity picked up in the 1970s when they got redesigned in the shape of a snowflake, reflecting the mood of the season during which they are put to use.
The first Finnish laws on wearing reflectors in dark areas were introduced in the early 1980s.
These shiny wearable objects have since become an inseparable part of life in Finland.
“I never actually thought about whether it was the law or not, it was just sort of a custom,” Besson, who grew up in Finland, said.
She said police officers do not fine people for not wearing them but instead give them a verbal reminder, as most people not wearing them likely just forgot.
The reflectors are usually designed to attach to a person’s clothing, and people may wear one or more on different parts of their body.
“Back in the day when I was a kid, the shapes were snowflakes or just a disc but these days there’s all sorts of shapes,” Besson said.
“In Australia, if somebody goes to a business conference you get a pen. In Finland, you’d get a reflector, that’s how commonplace they are.”
If Besson’s stash of reflectors in her home in Perth is any indication, it is likely people living in Finland have a large number of them, where the population is 5.5 million.
That could put their popularity in Finland right up there with the .
Due to their success, these reflectors have now become popular in other parts of Scandinavia as well as further out in Europe in countries like Estonia, which experience extreme winter and darkness.
