{"id":2591,"date":"2019-11-30T17:05:09","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T17:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=2591"},"modified":"2019-11-30T17:05:09","modified_gmt":"2019-11-30T17:05:09","slug":"christmas-countdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/christmas-countdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Countdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Julem\u00e5neden er nesten her. <\/strong>(The Xmas month [= December] is almost here.) Like many Norwegian shops, your blogger kan ikke vente med \u00e5 pynte til jul <\/strong>(can\u2019t wait decorating for Christmas). Here\u2019s a typical November pre-launch of a julekalender <\/strong>(Xmas calender) with 24 sweets, one for each day until julaften<\/strong>. But don\u2019t click the first one until tomorrow! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"\"

(Free image from Pixabay<\/a>; no copyright.)<\/p><\/div>\n

1\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
An adventskrans <\/strong>is a wreath with 4 lys<\/strong> (candles). On each of the 4 pre-Christmas Sundays (this period is known as advent<\/strong><\/a>), a new candle is lit (1 candle in total on the first Sunday, 2 on the second etc.).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

2\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Most Norwegians hope for julesn\u00f8<\/strong> (Xmas snow), and while there are no guarantees, in many places in Norway you can still experience a hvit jul<\/strong> (white Xmas)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

3\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Julestria <\/strong>is the busy time of preparing<\/a> everything for Xmas, such as buying gaver<\/strong> (gifts) and decorating your home.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

4\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Kos <\/strong>(cosyness<\/a>) is an important ingredient of the\u00a0 julem\u00e5ned. <\/strong>When Norwegians get home from work or school, it\u2019s already dark in most of the country, and people do their best to enjoy life indoors.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

5\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
A julestjerne <\/strong>is a Christmas star, on the sky or as a decoration. A classic Norwegian Xmas movie is called Reisen til julestjernen <\/strong>(The Journey to the Christmas Star).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

6\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Nisser<\/strong> are important creatures of Norwegian folklore. They don\u2019t quite exist in English-speaking countries, but can maybe be thought of as pixies. They wear red luer<\/strong> (caps), and the Xmas ones are called julenisser<\/strong> (of course!)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

7\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Traditionally, Norwegian housewives were aiming to bake syv sorter<\/strong> (seven kinds)<\/a> of Xmas cookies. Today, many try to keep the tradition alive, and both women, men and children participate.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

8\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
During December, many people visit julemarkeder<\/strong> (Xmas markets). In Oslo, the Norwegian capital, there are several, and they usually sell hot gl\u00f8gg<\/strong><\/a> (a kind of mulled wine with raisins \u2013 often without alcohol) for people to keep warm.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

9\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Has your family bought a juletre<\/strong> (Xmas tree) yet? Most Norwegian homes have one, and it\u2019s placed in the sitting room. It\u2019s mostly a gran<\/strong> (spruce), but in some parts of Western Norway<\/a> it can also be a furu<\/strong> (fir-tree).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

10\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Typical Norwegian julepynt<\/strong> (Xmas decorations) include grangreiner<\/strong> (spruce boughs), hjerter<\/strong> (hearts), stjerner<\/strong> (stars) and lys<\/strong> (candles).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

11\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Christmas is celebrated by the majority of people in Norway, and far from all of them are active Christians. (The word jul<\/strong> is older than the Christian religion in Norway; for the Vikings, Yule was a celebration of light.) Still, the religious link is important to a lot of people, who decorate their homes with things like engler<\/strong> (angels) and julekrybber<\/strong> (nativity scenes).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

12\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Many workplaces organize Xmas parties called julebord<\/strong><\/a>. Bord<\/strong> means \u201dtable\u201d \u2013 but the participants certainly care more about the food and drinks that are on<\/em> the table. \ud83d\ude42 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

13\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Lusekatter <\/strong>(Lucy cats) are special yellow raisin buns eaten on this day, Luciadagen<\/strong> (Saint Lucy\u2019s day<\/a>).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

14\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Har du husket \u00e5 sende<\/strong> julekort? <\/strong>(Did you remember to send Xmas cards?) Norway is a long country, and posten<\/strong> (the post\/mail service) takes its time!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

15\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
S\u00e5 tenner vi tre lys i kveld, for lengsel, h\u00e5p og glede.<\/strong> (Then we light three candlees tonight, for yearning, hope and joy. \u2013 Part of a well-known Norwegian Advent poem<\/a>.) <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

16\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Julenissen<\/strong> is the Norwegian version of Santa Claus. No matter what the Finns say, he certainly lives somewhere in Northern Norway. \ud83d\ude09 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

17\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
In the pre-Christmas period, some Norwegians make fancy pepperkakehus<\/strong> (gingerbread houses) and even gain medals in competitions. (After Xmas the sweet buildings, of course, are eaten.)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

18\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Julehefter<\/strong><\/a> are a Norwegian speciality. They\u2019re special Christmas editions of popular comics, and can be bought in supermarkets. <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

19\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Gr\u00f8t<\/strong> (porridge) plays a huge role in Norwegian Christmas. At festive events risgr\u00f8t<\/strong> med sm\u00f8r, sukker og kanel<\/strong> (rice porridge with butter, sugar and cinnamon) is enjoyed. In the countryside, some people still place a bowl of porridge outside for\u00a0nissen<\/strong> (the pixie).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

20\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
A typical Norwegian tradition is to hide a mandel<\/strong> (almond) in either porridge or riskrem<\/strong> (sweet rice porridge mixed with cream). The lucky eater who can show the almond to the others gets a mandelgave<\/strong> (\u201dalmond gift\u201d). This is very often a marsipangris<\/strong> (marzipan pig).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

21\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
Many barn<\/strong> (children) gleder seg til jul<\/strong> (look very much forward to Xmas). To shorten the wait, Norwegian\u00a0tv<\/strong> broadcasts a special\u00a0julekalender<\/strong> (Xmas calendar<\/a>) with 24 small episodes, 1 each day. <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

22\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
For julaften<\/strong> (Xmas eve) on the 24th, a lot of mat<\/strong> (food) has to be prepared. What Norwegians eat for Christmas varies from region to region, but ribbe <\/strong>(a kind of pork) and pinnekj\u00f8t<\/strong> (a kind of mutton) are very common<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

23\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
The day before Xmas is called lille julaften<\/strong> (little Xmas eve), and this is the time to make the last preparations: Buying that missing gave<\/strong> (gift), pynte treet<\/strong> (decorating the tree)\u2026<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

24\u2026<\/a><\/h4>\n
God jul!<\/strong> (Merry Christmas!)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Julem\u00e5neden er nesten her. (The Xmas month [= December] is almost here.) Like many Norwegian shops, your blogger kan ikke vente med \u00e5 pynte til jul (can\u2019t wait decorating for Christmas). Here\u2019s a typical November pre-launch of a julekalender (Xmas calender) with 24 sweets, one for each day until julaften. But don\u2019t click the first…<\/p>\n

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