The Seasons

Before Easter, I was talking to a co-worker about her upcoming vacation in Spain. She described how they were going to fly into Malaga and drive northwards, stopping at different sites before going to their vacation home in Alicante. There was the usual small talk on the challenges of learning Spanish, the Catholic festivals, the multitude of Norwegian retirees who live in Spain and, of course, the weather. She, like everyone else, agrees that Spain has a lovely warm climate. Then she said that curious thing Norwegians say about their own climate: “But at least Norway has four seasons.”

I used to politely gloss over this amazingly absurd statement. It is essentially a prop, a lie (livsløgn) that Norwegians tell themselves. “Yes, yes; Spain may have better weather than Norway, but at least we have four seasons.” If I mention that Philadelphia happens to have four seasons, they are rather suspicious about the quality of the difference in seasons. It’s as if they don’t believe that there’s enough of a difference between summer and spring to really count as a “season”. Sarcastic statements clamber at the tip of my tongue and I fear they will be unleashed the next time some poor ‘Weegie utters

“…but least Norway has four seasons.”
So Vivaldi travelled all the way to Norway to get his inspiration, then?

“…but least Norway has four seasons.”
That must be a strong selling point in the real estate market here.

“…but least Norway has four seasons.”
Yeah, and three of them suck.

Since nothing in this world is as simple as a stupid statement and sarcastic reply, I am reminded of a conversation I had with my dentist. He hails from Scotland and he first moved to Tromsø and then after a few years, he set up shop in Oslo. I asked him why he moved to Norway in the first place and without hesitation he jovially replied, “The weather.” My sun-loving brain almost imploded when I comprehended that there are worse climates than Tromsø’s three months of complete darkness and six months of winter. In comparison with a year-long forecast of rain and overcast skies, the Norwegian climate would indeed be a step up.

Still, I have to ask: Does Scotland have four seasons, too?