I always look forward to this time of year when the days get longer and I venture out of the office at the end of the day and actually see sunlight. The short days during the winter months can take their toll as it's easy to feel as though you never actually see real daylight. However, at least there is the comfort of knowing that all you have to do is step outside during a lunch break or bask in the (sort-of) glow of your office window.

That's not a luxury residents of Longyearbyen, Norway have. In November, when the sun goes down in this town - located 600 miles from the North Pole - it stays down for a long time, until March to be exact. It's no wonder that the scheduled full re-appearance of the sun on March 8 calls for a public holiday. Already residents are writing odes and songs dedicated to the sun and the townspeople stare in awe at the slivers of sunlight currently being bestowed on the area. For the entire four-month period between November and March, the town is bathed in continuous darkness.

Despite the complete lack of natural light, the town still boasts thriving tourism and mining industries, as well as a university. Residents say energy levels are significantly lower during the blackout period, causing graduate students to use their desks for nap time. Understandably, as the sun returns, so does motivation and a sense of liveliness. That's good news considering that from April through September the exact opposite occurs and the town experiences perpetual day. Even so, some locals actually say they will miss the lack of light.

“Winter is so nice, you have all these things you want to do,” said Birgit Brekken, who moved here as a nurse 30 years ago and now works in a boutique that is getting its first trickle of tourists. “You write long letters instead of making a phone call. It’s a time when you can slow down and read.”

Now, those unfinished projects will have to wait until next year. “Suddenly it is late February,” she said, “and the sun is coming back, and you have to get busy again.”

Meanwhile I think I've officially lost all rights to complain about the sun disappearing before 5 p.m. in my city during December.

» The New York Times