Sunday marks the winter solstice in Finland and the rest of the northern hemisphere.
On 22 December the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator. In practical terms it means Sunday will have the shortest amount of sunlight of the year.
On Sunday, Helsinki will see five hours and 40 minutes of daylight, Jyväskylä five hours and four minutes, whereas Utsjoki in the far north will have no daylight at all.
Sunday is overcast and rainy in much of the country.
“This year’s winter solstice is perhaps turning out to be the dreariest day of the year,” said Yle meteorologist Kerttu Kotakorpi.
If all of this darkness seems depressing, fear not. The worst of it is over.
Starting Monday, the days will gradually become longer once again as the northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun.
“A week from now the days will be around five minutes longer,” Kotakorpi explained.
By the spring solstice, on 21 March, nights and days in Finland will be of roughly equal length. From then on, Finland will see more light than darkness, with the amount of sunshine peaking during the summer solstice, also known as Midsummer.