Norway starts the Christmas season in November with a series of Christmas parties at work, clubs, schools and every other organization. Every year, at the end of November many cities have a lighting of the City Lights ceremony, complete with parade and an honorary person pulling the big switch to light up the city streets.
Advent means “coming” and is a preparation time for Christians to celebrate Christmas. The Advent season starts on Advent Sunday, which marks four Sundays before Christmas.
Early December is a time for baking Christmas cookies (seven different kinds, at minimum), buying Christmas gifts and cleaning houses.
A variety of Christmas concerts are held in churches and concert halls all over the country, while the Santa Lucia Day is celebrated on the 13th of December every year in schools around Norway. A girl is chosen to represent St. Lucia, and wears a wreath of electric candles around her head. As the children sing the St. Lucia hymn, the girl leads the procession of children through the classroom handing out treats – special “Lussekatter” (Lucia sweet bread).
The most important day, however, is Christmas Eve (December 24). Most have a big family dinner, which usually consists of ribbe (pork ribs), white Christmas sausage, lutefisk, winter vegetables, sauerkraut, rich gravy and cranberry sauce or pinnekjøtt (lamb ribs) or in some parts of Norway, cod. Gløgg, (mulled wine with spices, nuts and fruit) is a common Christmas drink.
“Julenisse” (Santa Claus) comes to the home and the family sings a Christmas song to him before he hands out presents and treats to the children. The family opens presents, plays games, sings carols and spends the rest of the night enjoying one another’s company.
Norwegians prefer to use a real Christmas trees and the trees don’t go to waste. At the end of Christmas they are used for firewood. The most famous custom about Christmas in Norway is the big Christmas tree the country gives to the United Kingdom every year. The tree is given as a present to say “thank you” for the help it received during World War II. It stands in Trafalgar Square in the middle of London and hundreds of people come to watch when the lights are turned on.
Christmas Day (December 25) is a time for family and friends. Families attend services in churches, children play outside in the snow and friends and families gather together for a big Christmas feast.
The time until New Years Eve is called “Romjul” (Christmas Space), it is the quiet time of Christmas where the streets are bare and the shops have limited hours as people spend time with families.
“Julebukk” (yule goat) is a children’s activity that shares the joy of Christmas. In old Norse tradition julebukk is the symbol of the pagan goat and represents the ghosts of winter nights. Much of the elements of today’s Julenisse comes from the traditions of the julebukk, such as giving presents, receiving sweet treats, picking out who is naughty and nice and, of course, magic. When Christianity appeared, the pagan rituals of julebukk were replaced by children wearing masks to go from house to house to receive treats (similar to Halloween). Today children dress up and sing carols at doorsteps. They often give gifts as well as receive them.
Family and friends celebrate the New Year with fireworks and parties and many people celebrate out in the streets. The 6th of January is Three Kings Day, the day when the three wise men visited the baby Jesus in the manger. This day is often used as putting away Christmas decorations
and to taking down Christmas trees. After January 13th, Christmas is officially over for another year.
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