First Sunrise in a Month Buoys Arctic Residents

Jubilant residents of Canada’s Arctic set off fireworks, danced and ate caribou in celebration of their first fleeting glimpse of the sun last week after more than a month of frigid darkness.

The sun peeked above the horizon for just a few minutes Friday at Inuvik, but it was reason enough for a party in this rugged outpost of about 3,000 people at the northern extreme of North America.

“After the period of darkness, people are happy and feeling good to know the sun is back. It’s a relief and a time for a new beginning,” said Eddie Kolausok, an Inuvik teacher.

Local residents last saw the sun in the first week of December, although indirect rays have given the sky an orange glow in recent days.

Due to the Earth’s tilt as it rotates, the sun disappears from view above the Arctic Circle around the winter solstice Dec. 21. The exact length of this dark period varies from place to place because of the Earth’s pronounced curvature in the far north.

Once the sun reappears, the period of daylight lengthens each day until the summer solstice in June, when the sun never sets and Inuvik becomes the capital of the land of the midnight sun.

To cheer the return of daylight to this remote area, the town for the eighth year in a row put on a festival called Sunrise Celebration.

It began Thursday night with a feast of caribou and Arctic char fish, native singing, dancing, drum-playing and then fireworks and bonfires. Despite temperatures of minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 Fahrenheit), most of the town turned out on a frozen lake for the festivities.

“This revives the spirit. It can get pretty bleak in the dead of winter here, so we came up with this idea to liven things up,” fire chief Ian Orbell said.

But the main event came Friday. Happy townspeople converged on a nearby hilltop on foot and in sleds, snowmobiles and cars for the sunrise at 1:38 p.m. They cheered and applauded as the sun crested, painting the sky a vibrant orange, red and lavender.

“The sunrises here are the most beautiful on Earth. If you can take the cold, this is a wonderful place to be,” local resident Esther Gessner said.

The sun was above the horizon for less than half an hour, but the festive mood continued into the weekend with square dancing and other activities.