Norwegian Christmas: A Different Tradition

I have close family in Norway, and celebrating Christmas over there is a different experience then in the States. In Norway Christmas "starts" on the last Sunday in November, or the last Sunday that gives us four Sundays before the 24^th.

Almost everyone have a four armed chandelier with four candles in. Every Sunday one more candle is lit, while they say a little verse as they light it. This is what really gets Norwegians into Christmas spirits early.

Then from December 1^st until the 24^th there are Christmas Calendars on the TV. These shows have 24 episodes, and there are shows both for children and adults. Every day of Christmas another space in the "calendar" is opened as another episode airs. The finale is on December 24^th, Christmas day.

On the 23^rd the Christmas tree is brought in and gets decorated. The presents are then put in front of the tree for opening the following day. A stocking is hung up for the kids as they wake up on the 24^th, and usually they also get one small present on Christmas morning.

Many people go to church early on the 24^th, and there are children's choirs and schools singing and playing instruments. Then lunch is usually around noon, and the menu varies as to where in the country you're from.

Some people have porridge with an almond in it; whoever gets the almond in their portion gets a marzipan pig as prize. Others such as my family have "Mølje", a traditional dish only served once a year. As meat is cooked and prepared for Christmas, all the broth is kept. When the 24^th comes this broth is salted and added with allspice. It's always served with traditional "flat bread", very thin crispy bread that gets crumbled in the plate before adding the "Mølje" over it. Additional allspice is added after taste.

A must is the Norwegian Liquor Aquavit. This is extremely strong, but Christmas wouldn't be the same without it, and a couple of shots of Aquavit are a necessity for every meal on Christmas (it's not shot straight down, only sipped during the meals).

In between lunch and dinner the table gets filled with cookies. Norwegians usually make 7 different sorts of cookies and pastries for the holiday, so there are plenty of sweets. Most of these cookies are very traditional, such as the "poor man", a cookie that is very cheap to make and has a history of being the only cake poor people could afford in the old days. These recipes of these traditional pastries are well kept until this day, and taste excellent.

Around 6 P.M. dinner is served. On the menu is pork with lots of crispy fat on the top, potatoes, sausages, meatballs, and lots of other good stuff next to. This dinner usually takes a few hours, and of course more Aquavit is served.

After dinner it's time to open presents. Most kids have gone the whole day just waiting for this moment, so it's a time for happiness for the whole family, or possibly stress for those not so interested in what his sister-in-law receives. After presents its time for coffee and more cookies, and the evening lasts long into the night.

The next morning, on the 25^th there's a big Christmas breakfast. There will be extreme amounts of food, and leftovers from the night before are a must.

Since the 25^th and the 26^th are national holidays in Norway family usually gather together on these days, to celebrate and rejoice the holiday.

Christmas ends on the 13^th day after Christmas, when the tree is taken down. By that time most people are more than happy to see the tree and Santa's go, and are well fed up of cookies and Christmas food.