The Northern Lights are a natural light display in the night sky, officially known as the Aurora Borealis. They are caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere, which creates vibrant, dancing colors like green, pink, and blue. The lights appear in the Northern Hemisphere, while the same phenomenon in the Southern Hemisphere is called the Southern Lights or Aurora Australis. The Northern Lights occur regularly, visible nightly in the polar regions during the dark season (late August to mid-April), but their visibility is not guaranteed due to factors such as cloud cover. The frequency and strength of displays are influenced by the sun's activity, which follows an approximately 11-year cycle, meaning activity is currently at a high point.
Although in some cultures the Northern Lights symbolize a variety of things, Many Indigenous cultures, such as the Inuit and Algonquin, believed the lights were the spirits of the dead dancing or playing games, guiding the living, or even the souls of hunted animals. In Finnish folklore, a mystical fox was said to have created them, messages from the afterlife. Some groups, like the Fox Indians of Wisconsin, viewed the lights as restless spirits of their enemies, an omen of war or pestilence. In Norse mythology, it was seen as a celestial bridge to the divine realm. The Bifröst was believed to be the reflection of the Valkyries' armor and shields, guiding heroes to Valhalla, as well as a connection between the mortal and spirit worlds.
They can represent both benevolent and ominous forces, depending on the culture, signifying a connection to the spiritual world, bravery, honor, or a reminder of divine power. For many, they are a symbol of wonder, awe, and the beauty of the natural world. However, a more contemporary view holds that the Northern Lights are often seen as a powerful symbol of nature's beauty, wonder, and transformative power.