Estonians, who spend months every year battling the winter blues, are getting some relief from the gloom in the latest edition of their capital's annual Light Festival.
"If you live in a climate like Estonians do, any attempt to do at least something to cheer up the depression people feel from the shortage of daylight is highly welcome," organiser Epp Leikop told AFP Tuesday.
The festival is relatively young -- it was launched only in 2002 -- but draws on deep, pagan roots in this northernmost of the three Baltic states.
Events such as huge bonfires of used Christmas trees and the creation of fire sculptures tap into the age-old symbolism of flames as a weapon against the dark.
Around half of Estonia's 1.3 million people are thought to suffer from SAD syndrome -- seasonal affective disorder -- also nicknamed the "Winter Blues."
At this time of year, night falls at 3:52 pm (1352 GMT).
The sun doesn't rise again before 9:08 am (0708 GMT), and if the sky is overcast, people are left simply craving for light.
Leikop said it's not just the lack of light that leaves people down, also pointing to a lack of picturesque winters.
"You also get depressed from the lack of snow, which used to be common for most of our winter months. In recent years, probably due to global warming, we seldom see the snow, especially in towns," she explained.
The festival actually runs for a month, starting in late December, but its hub is in mid-January.
On Wednesday, organisers have invited the public to mark the ancient "taliharjapaev" -- "crest-of-winter" in Estonian -- with a sunrise-to-sunset hike along the Baltic coast.
Over the coming weekend, Tallinn's main bus station will be decorated with hundreds of lamps fashioned from plastic bottles by local youngsters. The city's medieval Old Town is already dotted with light sculptures by French artist Bernard Murigneux.
Finally, on January 24-25, Tallinn's Kadriorg park will host a China-themed fire and ice show, marking Chinese New Year.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
