Northern Lights – Old Beliefs of Lapland

Long ago, before electric lights and the glow of cities, winter nights in Lapland were truly dark.

When the sun disappeared behind the fells and the frost grew colder, people gathered around the fire. Outside, the forest stood silent beneath the snow, while a sky filled with stars stretched high above the North.

Then something happened in the sky.

At first, a faint green light appeared on the horizon. Slowly, it grew brighter, climbed higher and began to move like a great, silent curtain. Soon, the whole sky seemed to be dancing.

Today, we know how the Northern Lights are created. But long ago, people had no scientific explanation for these mysterious lights in the sky. And so, stories, beliefs and warnings grew around them.

The Lights of the Sky Were Respected

The Northern Lights were not simply a beautiful sight. They were treated with respect and sometimes even with fear.

In old Finnish beliefs, people were warned not to disturb or mock the Northern Lights. It was said that you should not shout or whistle at them, nor behave disrespectfully beneath their glow.

Even children learned to be quiet when the lights appeared in the sky.

Imagine standing in the middle of a dark forest hundreds of years ago. There are no streetlights, no cars and no glowing windows from nearby houses.

There is only snow, stars and silence.

And suddenly, the entire sky begins to move.

It is easy to understand why such a sight once felt supernatural.

The Fire Fox

One of Finland's best-known stories connected with the Northern Lights tells of a magical fox.

The Finnish word for the Northern Lights is revontulet, which literally means “fox fires.”

According to an old tale, a magical fox ran across the snowy fells of the North. As it raced through the winter landscape, its great tail swept across the snow, sending sparkling snow and fiery sparks high into the sky.

The sparks became lights.

And so, the northern sky began to glow.

Perhaps, long ago, someone watched the green lights flickering above the horizon and imagined that somewhere beyond the distant fells, the magical fox was running through the snow.

A Silent Winter Night

The old stories have travelled from one generation to another, even as the world around them has changed.

Today, science explains the Northern Lights through charged particles from the Sun interacting with Earth's atmosphere.

Yet on a dark winter night in Lapland, it is easy to understand why people once believed there was something more behind them.

When you stand in a snow-covered forest and green lights slowly begin to dance above you, science can tell you how they are created.

But the old stories remind us of how they once made people feel. 

Perhaps that is why the Northern Lights still carry a little of Lapland's ancient magic.

And if, on a quiet frosty night, you see a sudden glow beyond the fell, you might imagine, just for a moment, a little fox racing through the snow — its tail scattering sparks beneath the stars.