Archive for 'Traditions'
Easter and crime? What a combo. Posted by kari on Apr 5, 2009
The sale of crime novels in Norway increases 500% in the week leading up to Easter. Norwegians simply love to read crime novels around Eastertime. When I first heard this, my first question was why Easter? Halloween seemed like the most reasonable holiday to be accompanied by a crime theme if I were to choose…
Who wants ‘hval’? Posted by kari on Jan 30, 2009
For those of you who don’t know what hval is, it is whale. Norway is one of the few countries in the world that still practices whaling. Prior to the mid 20th century, many nations practised whaling as it was an important source of income and employment. Norway has supported whaling since the beginning of its…
Godt nyttår! Posted by kari on Jan 1, 2009
Godt nyttår alle sammen! Did any of you dodge fyrverkeri (fireworks) last night? If you did not, I know that you were not in Norway. Most countries outside of the U.S. seem to celebrate the new year in much better fashion than we do. I know Brazil, in particular has an insane new year celebration. …
Rømmegrøt Posted by kari on Dec 30, 2008
Last night I returned from a weekend jul getaway to Florida where the sun shone every day and the mercury well surpassed freezing. There were just a couple things I missed about jul this year. You might think that as a born and bred Minnesotan, I would have missed having a white jul. Nei nei! Slett ikke…
Not so homogeneous a population after all Posted by kari on Dec 2, 2008
As I mentioned in several earlier blogs, the Norwegian population isn’t as homogeneous as it used to be nor as most people believe it is. Not everyone in Norway has blond hair and blue eyes. A good portion of the northernmost part of the country is inhabited by a minority, indigenous population, the Sami people. Samis inhabit…
Kveldsmat-a before bed-time snack Posted by kari on Nov 23, 2008
Kveldsmat literally means “evening food.” How many of you eat a late night snack soon before you fall asleep? For me it all depends on what time I ate dinner (middag) and how substantial it was. I ask myself, “Er jeg mett eller sulten?” (am I full or hungry?) It’s not a habit for me…
Kaffetime Posted by kari on Nov 13, 2008
At first glance, an English speaker would think kaffetime means coffee time. In a way, this is what Norwegians mean when they say kaffetime. However, literally translated, it means ‘coffee hour.’ You can say kaffetime or just kaffe and Norwegians will know what you mean. Growing up, I always had the impression that Americans were…