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After a day filled with fun in the snow, you can heat up in the spa and swimming pool at Savalen Fjellhotel. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the town arranges fun holiday activities at weekends. And once the new year is here, Santas from around the world gather in Savalen to compete in the annual Santa Claus Winter Games. In Norwegian Happy/Merry Christmas is 'God Jul' or 'Gledelig Jul'. In North-Sami, spoken in northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, it's 'Buorit Juovllat'. Happy/Merry Christmas in lots more languages. According to the legends, it is the Fjøs nisse (fjøs = barn) that takes care of the animals on the farm, ensuring that they do not get ill in the winter. As a token of appreciation for this, it is expected that the farmer leaves a bowl of Julegrøt (Christmas porridge) on the steps of his house for the elf to enjoy for Christmas.
Hotels and other businesses with seasonal workers and temporary employees do of course need housing at the same time that tourists need places to stay. Many seasonal workers rent apartments and houses short-term, on the same platforms as tourists.
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At Nappstraumen, they have what we class as a mini Moskenstraumen, an area where two tides collide, creating an impressive tide rip and whirlpool. Despite not being as famous as the one we witness at Å, the largest in the world, with no signs of the weather improving there, there was a risk we may not get to see it. So with this in mind, I suggested to the crew we gather some footage and explore the one offshore in Nappstraumen – which is what we did. Seeing Paul and Bob’s faces behind me, grinning from ear to ear as we negotiated the turbulent water, was a special moment and one that will always live with me. The footage we gathered on this day will be very impressive, especially the drone footage which followed us as we steamed through the strong tidal current which had Paul and Bob giggling like children. A small part of the Norwegian population eat a dish called Lutefisk on Christmas eve. Those that do not, often get together with friends to eat it at some time during December. My parents have an annual “lutefisk night” with their friends, for example.
December 25 is usually considered a very private holiday, when one sees only family. On December 26, it is fairly common to invite close friends over to help eat up what is left of the food from Christmas Eve.
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The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is usually a Norwegian spruce (Picea abies) over 20 metres high and 50 to 60 years old. It is selected from the forests surrounding Oslo with great care several months, even years, in advance. The Norwegian foresters who look after it describe it fondly as 'the queen of the forest'. The old tradition of brewing Yule ale and drinking in honor of the Æsir, friends, and kinfolk also remained in the time following Christianization, with the law demanding people to brew enough as well as strong enough. However, people were now to drink in honor of Christ and the virgin Mary instead. [3] [4] In fact, the Norwegian word for Christmas, Jul (Yule), literally means "wheel," referring to the sun as it turns toward spring. Only in the 10th century did King Haakon I move the Jul winter-solstice pagan drinking festival to December 25 to honor the birth of Jesus. Christmas in Norway is a festival of light, seeming to promise longer days and the return of the sun. Norwegians miss the sun intensely, and they need a spirit boost during those weeks when noon feels like twilight and it's dark by 4 p.m. Nissehuset (Santa’s house) has a gift-wrapping machine, a fairy tale throne and, of course, a post office. Although Nissehuset is open year round, almost every day, including holidays, the most magical time to visit is of course during the beautiful winter months.
Julaften (Christmas Eve) is the day when presents are exchanged and the whole family gets together for the main Christmas meal. Christmas Day is a much quieter affair and often quite private. Imagine the raucous time as medieval Norwegians celebrated the ebb of darkness. Carnivores were in hog heaven, enjoying an abundance of fresh meat. Jul was the time when animals were slaughtered — which made more sense in that subsistence economy than feeding them through the winter. Culinary traditions vary regionally. In Northern and Western Norway, pinnekjøtt (ribs of mutton which are salted and dried, and some places also smoked, and then steamed) is a common dish, whereas lutefisk and cod are popular in Southern Norway. In Eastern Norway and Central Norway, pork rib roast is common, usually served with medisterkaker and medisterpølser (meatballs and sausages made of minced pork meat with suet). Turkey has recently made its way into the variety of cuisines enjoyed during jul. Are you ready for a Christmas experience under the northern lights? In the beautiful city of Henningsvær in Lofoten, the pre-Christmas fun starts at the beginning of November. This authentic fishing village has many quaint niche shops, and local artisans who have mastered the arts of glassblowing, candle making, and wool hat design.All hunting, but not fishing, is prohibited on these days; during julefred ("Christmas Peace") there is a closed season on all wild animals.
A highlight of the season is December 13, the feast day of Santa Lucia. She was a fourth-century Sicilian woman who (according to the lore) wore a head wreath adorned with candles to light the way as she helped persecuted Christians hiding in tunnels. The 13th was traditionally considered the longest night of the year. (Actually, the solstice — on the 21st or 22nd, depending on the year — is the longest night, but the 13th is the day when the sun sets earliest at Norwegian latitudes.) The trip’s final day was set aside for Paul and Bob to finish the programme. They decorated their cabin at Å with a Christmas tree and all the trimmings before cooking a Christmas dinner and chatting about the trip they’d experienced. The perfect way to end the filming and our trip away.This day had been set aside for shore fishing with our guide Zac Harrow-Deitz and was one I was looking forward to as I’d yet to witness our shore fishing trip in action – I was curious to see how it all unfolded. After church, we head home, and it’s time for Christmas dinner. My dad is the chef of the family, and the whole house usually smells of “pinnekjøtt” when we get home. I’ve covered this in detail below.
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