Key to the story is the far northern latitude, which causes nearly endless sunshine in the summer and almost total darkness in the winter, during which the famed Northern Lights dance in the sky. The balance of summer and winter is essential to survival; without summer there will be nothing to harvest to sustain life during the harsh, cold, dark winter. Among the animals that can survive the extreme temperatures are reindeer, which have played an important role in Nordic communities for centuries providing labour, food, and clothing.

The extremes of day and night experienced by Nordic people for millennia have naturally inspired rich outdoor and indoor cultural traditions. One of the latter is encapsulated by the Danish word hygge (also used in Norway), which is loosely translated as “cosy” and applies to any indoor activities that bring warmth and happiness, often shared with family and friends. Song and dance also form an important part of Nordic folk traditions. The songs of the Saami people, who today live across the far northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and even Russia – well above the Arctic Circle – are rooted in a unique vocal style called joiking, which is featured in FROZEN.