White Nights in St. Petersburg
Freezing cold and dark for three months of the year, St Petersburg enjoys six weeks of sweltering heat when the sun barely dips below the horizon – its famous Byele Nochy, or White Nights. Children are banished to “dachas” (country house) with grandparents, leaving parents free to enjoy themselves. Life becomes a sequence of “tsusovki” (gatherings), as people encounter long-lost friends strolling on Nevsky prospekt or feasting in the Summer Garden at midnight.
The phenomenon of White Nights occurs not only in St. Petersburg, but also in other regions around 60 degrees north latitude. But St. Petersburg – the magnificent city of Russian czars offers a unique setting for this fascinating play of colors. During “White Nights”- typically from the second week of June through the first week of July – the magical dusky hour never fades to black and the city is held in a spell that lasts all night.
The weather is warm and the streets are alive with light-hearted locals who have recently emerged from hibernation. This is the time when city residents shrug off endless months of winter gloom and party all night long. Everyone converges on the Neva River embankments to watch, while bottles are passed from person to person, and strangers join impromptu sing ballads or “songs from the Gulag” around anyone with a guitar or harmonium. The streets throng with people toting guitars and bottles of champagne or vodka; naval cadets and their girlfriends walking arm in arm, and pensioners performing impromptu tea-dances on the riverbank.
The “bridge opening” ritual signals the end of a very long day. At 3am, when it’s finally truly dark, St Petersburg takes a short rest. In three hours, another day will begin.
White Nights in St. Petersburg
Freezing cold and dark for three months of the year, St Petersburg enjoys six weeks of sweltering heat when the sun barely dips below the horizon – its famous Byele Nochy, or White Nights. Children are banished to “dachas” (country house) with grandparents, leaving parents free to enjoy themselves. Life becomes a sequence of “tsusovki” (gatherings), as people encounter long-lost friends strolling on Nevsky prospekt or feasting in the Summer Garden at midnight.
The phenomenon of White Nights occurs not only in St. Petersburg, but also in other regions around 60 degrees north latitude. But St. Petersburg – the magnificent city of Russian czars offers a unique setting for this fascinating play of colors. During “White Nights”- typically from the second week of June through the first week of July – the magical dusky hour never fades to black and the city is held in a spell that lasts all night.
The weather is warm and the streets are alive with light-hearted locals who have recently emerged from hibernation. This is the time when city residents shrug off endless months of winter gloom and party all night long. Everyone converges on the Neva River embankments to watch, while bottles are passed from person to person, and strangers join impromptu sing ballads or “songs from the Gulag” around anyone with a guitar or harmonium. The streets throng with people toting guitars and bottles of champagne or vodka; naval cadets and their girlfriends walking arm in arm, and pensioners performing impromptu tea-dances on the riverbank.
The “bridge opening” ritual signals the end of a very long day. At 3am, when it’s finally truly dark, St Petersburg takes a short rest. In three hours, another day will begin.
