(Image courtesy of dcandau at Pixabay; no copyright.)

Mange ønsket seg en hvit jul i 2020. (Many people were wishing for a white Christmas in 2020.) Only this month, however, snøen (the snow) decided to grace large parts of Norge. Let’s get outside and have some fun!

Det er ikke så vanskelig å gå på skøyter [shoyter]. (Ice skating is not that hard.) You only need gode skøyter (good skates) and islagt vann (ice-covered water). Remember to check om isen er trygg (if the ice is safe). A perfectly glatt (slippery) surface is called stålis (’steel ice’) in Norwegian, and it needs a depth of at least 10 cm (4 inches) to safely carry an adult. 🙂 Be sure to bring friends or family, so you can help each other holde balansen (keep your balance). Quick tip: Bring a sparkstøtting (kicksled) as a mobile seat if your legs start hurting and you need a pause [pavseh].

Skøyting [shoyting] is even a skiing technique! You keep your feet and your ski [she] (skis) in a V shape as you move forward, putting your weight on alternatively your right and your left fot [foot] and sliding a little bit outwards to either side, as if you were skating on ice. If you’re running downhill or in preparerte løyper (prepared ski runs), you of course keep your skis neatly parallel and use your staver (ski sticks) to move on. 🙂 Brems (brake) by moving skituppene (the ”pointy ends” of your skis) towards each other or by quickly changing direction. Of course, if you’re not doing cross-country skiing (langrenn) and prefer å kjøre slalåm (slaloming) in a skisenter with an automatic skitrekk (ski lift), it’s a wholly different story! 🙂

A sparkstøtting is a perfect seat on the ice. (Free image from Pixabay; no copyright.)

For lazy people (such as this blogger), there are certainly less sweaty ways to enjoy snøen (the snow). Lie down on your back and fling your arms and legs about like Jonas Fjeld and Lynni Treekrem in their evergreen Engler i sneen (sne is an alternative spelling of snø; Wiki says Judy Collins made an English cover, ”Angels in the Snow”):

Engler i sneen har sin egen sang (Angels in the snow have their own song)

Når natta er som svartest (When the night is at its darkest)

Synger de om soloppgang (They’re singing about sunrise)

… (Quoted from the original lyrics by Ole Paus)

Listen to the song at YouTube. ❄️