(Photo by Bjørn A. Bojesen.)
Det snør, det snør! (It’s snowing, it’s snowing!) For many Norwegians, januar has been a lot colder than desember. Many places around the country are still dekket av snø (covered by snow). Here’s a handful of snow words. Catch!
• nysnø (new snow) is the fresh snow that has just fallen… If there’s already a snølag (layer of snow) på bakken (on the ground), conditions are perfect for a quick skitur [SHEEtoor] (ski trip).
• snøball. Children throw snøballer at each other, and some voksne (adults) do, too. (Especially after being hit!) Other snow leker (games) include building snømenn (snow men; snømann in the singular) and snøborger (snow castles). If you lie down on your back and use your armer og bein (arms and legs) to trace a circle on the snow surface, and then get back on your feet, you’ll be looking down at an engel i snøen (angel in the snow)…
• snøskuter (snow scooter). This wheelless vehicle is used often used in the Norwegian countryside, for example to make spor (tracks) in skiområder (ski areas).
• snøras (avalanche). Every year there’s at least one major snøras somewhere in Norway. In a country with gravity, plenty of snø, steep fjell (mountains) and deep daler (valleys), that’s pretty inevitable. Heldigvis (fortunately), it’s very rare that someone omkommer (perishes, loses their life). I’ve heard several historier (stories) of people having been miraculously found and dug out of snøen (the snow) i live (alive).
• Would you like to make a snølykt (snow lamp)? You’ll need some solid snø and a stearinlys (candle), maybe a telys (tealights). Make a small circle of snøballer. Place the candle in the middle. Add a smaller circle of snow balls on top. Make sure to light the candle before you legger på ”taket” (put on the ”roof”)! Now, come back when it’s mørkt (dark) and enjoy your little flickering fire in the starry snø…
A snølykt (Photo by Mattias Jansson at Flickr.)
