Lights on

I saw my first neighborhood Christmas light display a couple of nights ago. The folks who live in a tiny house down the road had decorated their backyard shed, complete with lights, to usher in the holiday season.

Never mind that it's 65 degrees in our part of upstate New York at the moment. These folks are ready to party.

Given how dark it was at 5:15 p.m. yesterday, I can hardly blame them -- even though I usually don't unpack our Christmas lights until the first of December. This time of year, we need all the light we can get.

Which brings me to Iceland, a remarkable place I visited for a week in August. Come this Friday, the sun won't rise there until 10 a.m. I've read that on Dec. 21, the stars will still be shining at that hour of the morning.

The sun is setting in Iceland at roughly the same time it sets here -- for now. Before long, though, Icelanders will be down to just a few hours of daylight a day. I hear they party a lot to ward off depression.

I try to think of Iceland when I find myself grousing about the annual descent into darkness. Sort of puts things in perspective.