Why do Brits live in darkness except for December?

[Swedegirl48]

I am Swedish and at home if you walk down a street, most houses will have lamps in some of the windows, outside lights and usually people don’t draw curtains so you can see the lights from within the houses. I was asking British DH today why Brits tend to light up their houses so enthusiastically in December, but the rest of the year people draw their curtains and no one seems to put lamps in the windows (at least not where we live which is London). I am the only person in my street who has a lamp in every window of my house and leave some on overnight too. I think I am trying to overcompensate for my very dark street.

Ok, if I lived in an area like that I’d close my blinds too and forget about window lamps.

I like the way you think 😂

Lamps at windows and no curtains is a lovely thing OP, so nice to walk down a street and feel all the cosiness.

I love seeing my house from the outside at night with all the rooms lit, even better if there's a Christmas tree somewhere.
I live in the middle of nowhere, on Christmas Eve I always have a lit candle on the windowsill - for the proverbial weary traveler or something - seems the right thing to do 😊

Not sure if it's a Swedish thing or a him thing, but my Swedish husband would have all our blinds and curtains open fully 24/7 if he had his way (in fact he wouldn't bother with them in the first place). I prefer them closed at night for warmth / privacy / coziness.

Interesting to read about this cultural difference. I never knew that about Sweden, as I've never been there. They do the same thing in the Netherlands, in my experience. Love walking down the streets there peering into people's windows, admiring or tutting at their taste in interior decoration, and checking out how many books in English they have on their bookcases, haha. In Germany it's different though, and is like Britain. Germans are big on their privacy, as am I. I'd never in a million years leave my curtains open after dark with the lights on, much as I love peaking into other people's houses given the chance!

Fair enough. I am sorry all that has happened to you. I have been burgled three times (but not in this house), so know what it feels like. On one occasion someone came through an open window in broad daylight while my DH was in the house! Very scary.

And we pay the second highest council tax in the country! I dream of moving but cannot afford to do so. when i typed my reply to you i had forgotten just how bad it is where I live, you have to be tough and careful and I do think that living where I do has made me very suspicious of people. i also forgot to mention my child being mugged on the way home from school and their lap top with all their course work on it being stolen. And the time that the house three doors down run by the local homelessness charity was full of drug users/dealers and people would knock on my door looking to score! I think the average MNs person would really struggle with life round here!

I am sorry to hear that, it is very scary, for a spit second I honestly thought I was having a nightmare but sadly it was only too true.

Isnt it easier for serial killers to operate when people have their curtains shut?

@Swedegirl48 Isn't it easier for potential murders, rapists and burglars to see if there is a vulnerable looking person on their own if lights are on and curtains are open?

My house is too cold to leave curtains/blinds open. Currently I'm closing them at about 4pm!

Have a well lit street for pedestrians isn't "light pollution". It's essential for safety and for getting from A to B.

Why would you have lights on if you're not in the room? Waste of energy. It's probably something to do with the fact that we're not as far North and much more densely populated. We have plenty of street lights in urban areas, so we don't need outdoor lighting. I suppose if you're getting 2 hours of daylight a day you're going to do whatever you can to light things up a bit.

@lifeonmars100 It sounds really shit and I'm sorry you are stuck there. And the fact you are paying a premium to live there is crazy.

I have inside lamps on all year round so that I can see and it feels cosy. I only have outside lights on at Christmas aside from the motion detected outside lamp because it's unnecessary.

I don't like big lights or total darkness (except for sleeping) all lights turned off overnight apart from the kids lamp and the small bathroom one, can't be doing with bright light when I'm trying to sleep.

Yes, it must be awful in the winter with so little natural light.

I didn’t know this but it sounds rather lovely. I don’t think the glow from internal lights and a few window lanterns are going to cause a great deal of light pollution, certainly not as much as the ice white street lights that are being installed everywhere.

I think it’s a combination of economy, a desire for privacy, and the need to keep warm. Perhaps Swedish homes are better insulated.

This.

Plus, all of the electricity used by any electric light becomes heat. Not as cheap as gas, but still, 20W of light bulb consumption is 20W that your heating doesn't have to produce. Ditto for any other electrical appliance that you run when the heating is on. In fact if you're heating your house with electrical resistance heating (which of course not many people do any more), running any other appliance in winter is basically free.

Much as I love the sound of Robins singing, I don't love the fact that they sing at night at least in part due to constant light pollution.

I also love seeing the stars occasionally instead of the bloke over the back's light that's brighter than a thousand suns.

What I do dislike intensely is how artificial light, even if I'm so tired that my eyes are streaming, pings me instantly awake for the next five hours, which is a complete bastard when I have to get up for work in six.

Humans, like all animals, need a clear difference between day and night to avoid their body clocks going absolutely haywire - as presumably you'd know from how people can go a bit batshit around Midsummer (and how kids just won't go to sleep when it's gone 9pm and it's still light here). Even in the middle of winter you need periods of darkness for better sleep.

And I like the dark skies, when you can see the stars. Hate too many street lights.

Yea, the houses are way warmer and there is no cold air coming in through the windows like it does in the UK. We have double, triple or quadruple glazing and very sturdy wellbuild houses.

But in Finland the bedding doesn’t fit the beds, they have a really odd way of doing bedding! Like a single duvet spread (badly) across a double bed

No, you're supposed to have two single duvets. Not just one duvet on a double bed.

Because it's expensive?

They don't get that in some parts of Sweden though, in winter it's pretty much dark all day and in mid summer it's never dark.

My home is my safe haven, I wouldn't feel that way if passers by were having a nosy. As soon as it's dark my blinds are closed, the indoor lamps go on and candles are lit. I don't feel the need to provide my neighbours with light by having a lamp on the windowsill? Who are you doing it for?

Yes, I always keep the lighting dim in the house in the evenings. If I want to read I use a reading light I place round my neck. I find bright light in the evening to be harsh and it's not good for sleep either.

What the OP is describing sounds more like a Swedish thing than a British thing.