Seeing the light is a bucket list-esque event. And no, I’m not referring to the kind of light you intend to see after completing the list. I’m taking about the magnificent light show of the North, referred to in Science as the Aurora Borealis, and in northern tourism as ‘easy money’.

The first time I saw the northern lights was over Iceland’s magnificent Jökulsárlón Glacier lagoon. The dancing stream of colour across the sky was breathtaking and I would be lying if I said I didn’t get unnecessarily emotional. These photos were taken by a girl with a much better camera and a lot less emotion than me. (I was not the only one crying, I swear).

The second time I saw the northern lights was on an intoxicated walk home after a night out in downtown Reykjavik. It was equally as emotional, but I think it was more I-shouldn’t-have-had-that-shot-of-Brennivín crying.

After a while I got used to the dancing sky. Although I wasn’t as bad as some locals who would rather order another beer than admire the northern lights, I did become more immune to the spectacular light show. But I would never miss a chance to admire them for a drink. Unless perhaps it was one of those fancy cocktails with fresh fruit and a miniature umbrella. (Quality fresh fruit is rarer than the auroras in Iceland).

Northern lights have mystified humanity for centuries. The Native American Inuit people call the aurora aqsarniit (football players), believing that the auroras were spirits in the sky are playing football with the head of a Walrus. The Eskimos of Nunivak Island had a similar explanation, except the walrus footballer spirits were the ones playing – with a human skull.

These days the Northern lights have a much more boring, complicated-sounding scientific explanation which doesn’t involve any human (or walrus) football matches. It does however, involve the suns electrically-charged particles colliding with the earth’s atmosphere at the magnetic north pole. Causing the sky to glow as the particles ‘excite’ the gases in our atmosphere.

…I prefer the walrus football match theory.

Iceland has seen a massive increase in winter tourism due to the phenomena of ‘Northern Light Tours’. Basically a ‘Northern Lights Hunt’ tour involves hopping on a bus at some ungodly hour and driving around aimlessly looking at the sky. (But if you do get a glimpse of the light it’s totally worth the 5400 krona…)

I recently discovered that in Chinese and Japanese cultures, it has been (and still is) believed that a child conceived under the northern lights will be blessed with good fortune and good looks. One popular way to ensure you have an attractive, lucky child is by cruising under the light. Yep, you can pay to be on a boat full of wanna-be parents of pretty babies having nooky.

Old Icelandic folklore says that northern lights would ease the pain of childbirth. As long as you don’t look at them before giving birth. Because it was also believed that pregnant women looking at the Aurora would have cross-eyed children. (Take note nooky-cruising mamma’s).

Many Sami people believed the lights were a sign of bad luck. They would hide their families and children inside their homes during the display. Alaskan Inuits had a similar belief, but they would throw dog excrement and urine towards the sky, in an attempt to make the lights go away.

If you do get the chance to see the lights don’t hide yo’ kids and hide yo’ wife. The Aurora Borealis is one of natures most magnificent wonders. Put down the poo and enjoy the show.

Some tips for seeing the lights:

1. Expect the worst but hope for the best.
2. Choose a destination not just to see the lights. (AKA Iceland. If you don’t get the emotional experience of watching the auroras, you can always have the emotional experience of trying Brennivín, which literally means ‘black death’, and only takes one taste to find out why.
3. Arctic weather changes quickly. Very quickly. That clear sky of 10 minutes ago is now a mass of sinister clouds. No Walrus footballers want to play on that kind of field.
4. Sometimes the auroras are white. Clouds are white. Hence, white things in the sky aren’t that exciting.
5. Give yourself time. A quick weekend trip doesn’t give you much of an opportunity to get a glimpse. Plan a trip where you will have plenty of opportunities to hunt.
6. Check the weather (or don’t). In Iceland you can check the aurora forecast here. Most Northern-light areas have similar websites. Keep in mind tip #3 though. Predicting auroras are even harder than predicting the weather in the arctic. These pictures where taken on a night that was predicted as 0…
7. If you see them, consider yourself lucky.