All Of the Lights (That I’ll Miss) in pictures

Dark night time, a bright streetlight and trees full of bright purple fairy lights — Photo: Reuben/ A magical streetscape in Helsingsborg

Written by Lusanda

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A woman holding a cheese board and in the blurry background you see people and lights — Photo: Tina Stafrén/imagebank.sweden.se

Bye, bye Winter

I did it! I survived my second dark and gloomy Swedish winter! I didn’t expect to, but I really kinda miss winter now that Spring is slowly slipping in. WHAT? Just a year ago I wrote a blog about how difficult the darkness is and wrote a love letter to the sun! You might have read similar blogs by Sara about the horrifying, unbearable, terrible Swedish Winter or Ngyuen’s very handy tips on 3 essential things that will help you survive winter. While we may sound dramatic, experiencing it in real life is much more intense than words can describe. So what changed?

Snowed-over forest path, tall black trees covered with snow and a person in the foreground walking on the path, wearing black winter clothes — Photo: Lusanda / Let it snow, all over the forest paths in Borås

Snow, Baby!

Winter 2021 brought MUCH MORE snow to Borås than Winter 2020 and snow is magical, not only because it’s pretty and fluffy and fun to play in, BUT it also makes the sky brighter. Many friends told me to hang in there because the snow would save the day and reflect the sunlight (as little as it was) and make everything less gloomy. My first winter was full of dark gloomy clouds and constant rain 😥 but this winter, instead of shades of grey, sometimes the sky was whiter and brighter. It also meant less clouds ☁ = more sunlight🌞 = a much happier Lusanda 😁

A bench surrounded by trees covered in snow, facing a frozen riverbank — Photo: Lusanda / Snow on a sunny day is so stunning

The Bright Side

To cope with the darkness, you use a lot of candles and extra lighting to make spaces feel cozy. Around Christmas time, incredible light displays pop up all over 🎆 – outside people’s houses and apartments, around city building and even art installations. So you can feel a little brighter wandering around the city when there’s some magical sparkling lights. You also celebrate Lucia or St Lucy’s Day in December – a Swedish festival of lights, where girls wear candles in their hair and celebrate with song or Diwali, the Indian festival of lights honored in October to November. Now that Spring is coming and there’s more hours of sunlight, these lights are starting to disappear. So that’s making me a little sad. It reminds me that I only have a few months left in Sweden before my programme ends and I don’t know when next I’ll be around for a Swedish Winter😔 (I’m not crying, you’re crying!😭)

A light sculpture of swans around a spiral of fairy lights — Photo: Lusanda/ Swans, in Stockholm, you say?

Let’s walk down memory lane

So scroll through and join my short stroll through some incredible lights (and memories). I’ve had some special help from fellow Digital Ambassadors, Lara in Stockholm and Reuben in Mälmo. They’ve shared some beautiful photos of lights on buildings, on trees, on the street, on sculptures (you get the idea, there’s a lot of lights😉)

Photo: Lusanda / Lights hanging overhead in Gamla Stan, Stockholm

Dark evening, a wet glistening street in front of a building with bright red lights — Photo: Reuben/ a gorgeous glistening street and red glowing building in Helsingsborg

A tall tower building lit fully in red lights onto a shiny, black and white triangle designed pavement, behind a bridge reflecting scattered lights. Pedestrians walking under the bridge and a car parked in front. — Photo: Lara / Rainy weather and glistening floors makes some beautiful light reflections in Stockholm

lights reflecting on a glistening street, with a lit up ferris wheel and tree light scuplture in the background — Photo: Lusanda / Lights in Gothenburg on the Gothia Towers building and the Ferris wheel and light sculpture at Liseberg theme park

Hanging fairy lights on a row of streetlamps — Photo: Lusanda / Streetlights are decorated with *even more* sparkly lights

Large historical building with bright lights facing a canal bank, with fairy lights along the canal border — Photo: Lusanda / It’s all about the details, like the lights along the canal bank in front of the Stockholm Opera House

It took me a loooong while to get used to the rain but my mind changed as soon as I saw the streets glisten and reflect all the beautiful lights displayed😍

Festive Lights🎊

Light display around arched hedges, with bright red hearts and a tree full of lights in the background — Photo: Lusanda / Festive light sculptures brighten your winter mood in Borås

Christmas light decorations shaped as balls of rope — Photo: Lusanda / Light decorations around the city centre in Borås

Light display around arched hedges, with a golden star in the centre — Photo: Lusanda / Twinkle twinkle in Borås

Light Sculptures

Are those lights? Is that art? Is it both???
✨Yes, and they’re extra sparkly as a bonus✨

blue lights on a light sculpture in front of a large building — Photo: Lara / Light sculptures can even be found (almost) everywhere in Stockholm

golden light sculptures of giant moose — Photo: Lusanda / An epic massive moose light sculpture in Stockholm

Two sculptures of deer, made from white and yellowish fairy lights, illuminated as photo was taken in the dark during the evening. A glass front building and shop window are visible in the the background — Photo: Lusanda / Deer sculptures in Stockholm

Hollow sculpture of a body sitting cross-legged, made out of cut-out shapes and letters — Photo: Lusanda/ “The House Of Knowledge” sculpture outside the Textile Fashion Centre in Borås lights up at night

A light sculpture of a unicorn with white lights and a golden tail, mane and horn — Photo: Reuben / An incredible light sculpture of a Unicorn in Helsingsborg

See you soon, Spring!

So while I’m sad to see these lights disappear, it’s all for a good reason! The sun is slowly springing back and that’s still my favourite light of them all. Spring will have some tricks up its sleeve though – like a random snow storm in the morning, bright sun in the afternoon and rain in the evening😅 BUT once it kicks into full gear, you’ll see just how magical Spring can be!

Until then, stay flexible!

A swing set in between two tall apartment buildings with clouds overhead passing to reveal the sun — Photo: Lusanda / Clouds are clearing overhead and the sun is slowing springing back

silhouette of a large tree in front of a colourful sunset in rainbow colours of blue, purple, pinks, orange, red and yellow — Photo: Lusanda/ We’re blessed with some rare gorgeous sunsets on the countdown to warmer weather