Reindeer lanterns: A warm fairy tale that lights up the winter night

Every winter, when the Arctic Circle enters a long polar night, the Sami people in Lapland, Finland, hang light sculptures in the shape of reindeer in their courtyards. The Outlines of the reindeer outlined by LED lights emit a soft glow in the thick snow, becoming the warmest presence in the dark winter.

These seemingly simple lighting installations actually carry the nomadic memories of the Sami people for hundreds of years. In the days when electricity was not yet widespread, the Sami people relied on reindeer to pull sleds and carried oil lamps as they migrated across the snowfields. Today’s reindeer lanterns are not only a tender look back at this period of history but also a wonderful combination of tradition and modernity.

I once saw an old craftsman making reindeer lanterns in Rovaniemi. He told me that the antler arc of each lamp is different because “just as there are no two identical snowflakes in the world, every reindeer has its own personality.” He insisted on bending each lamp tube by hand, allowing the cold technological materials to radiate the warmth of life.

These reindeer lanterns scattered throughout the Arctic Circle are not only decorations but also a silent companion. When tourists shiver in the cold wind of minus thirty degrees Celsius, they can’t help but smile when they see these glowing little deer. A local once said it well: “Although the polar night is long, as long as there is still light, spring will surely come.”

In this era filled with blue light from screens, reindeer lanterns remind us that the most touching light is always the one connected to life, memory and the land. They not only illuminate the winter nights of the Arctic, but also light up the deep longing for innocence and warmth in our hearts.