It’s that time of year again – when Norway is at its darkest, but also its most magical! I love Christmas in Norway, and I love how perfectly Norwegian Christmas here is. Even before I moved to Norway my family usually spent most of our Christmases in Norway, because all of my mother’s family lives here. So all of my childhood memories from Christmas are of Christmas in Norway.
In fact whenever we did spend Christmas in the US I would always be sad, because Christmas never felt truly like Christmas if I wasn’t in Norway! I just missed all of my Norwegian Christmas traditions so much.
Norwegian Christmas is just so reliable – there are some things that are guaranteed to happen here every holiday season.
The mountains are covered in sparkly snow
It’s not always snowy in the cities, but the mountains in Norway are pretty much guaranteed a white Christmas. So if you’re longing for a white Christmas, you know where to head! Living up in Rauland I think I get to enjoy the most beautiful Christmas of anywhere in the world, don’t you think?
There’s an entire section in the supermarket dedicated to Christmas marzipan
Christmas marzipan is serious business here! Personally I hate it, but there’s almost no avoiding it.
I’m sure you’ve heard of our tradition to hide an almond in the Christmas rice porridge that we eat on Christmas morning – and whoever finds the almond wins a marzipan pig. I have no idea why, but it’s a very big deal.
The sweet smell of lutefisk is in the air
Maybe sweet isn’t the word I was looking for there…
Actually, I’m a huge fan of lutefisk. It might sound gross – it’s essentially fish “cooked” in lye – but it’s very tasty.
All your friends are stressing over buying outfits for their julebord, or “Christmas table” dinner parties
You’ll have one with your work colleagues, you’ll have one with your friends, you’ll have a special girls one with those same friends, and you’ll even have one with the people you watch football with.
All the Christmas parties make for a very busy few weekends leading up to Christmas, but I love how festive it is, essentially extending the Norwegian Christmas celebrations into the entire month of December.
Your fingers are swollen from rolling so many piping hot krumkaker
Ugh seriously though, they’re so beautiful and so tasty, but so painful to make. Krumkaker are one of the most traditional Norwegian Christmas cookies that I make, though I’ve started to make my own modern versions of Christmas cookies as well. Norwegians love to bring their neighbors and friends boxes of Christmas cookies, so I always end up making so many!
The insides of houses are so brightly lit you’re a tiny bit worried they’ve caught on fire
Norwegians always use a lot of lights, but during Christmas the love of lighting goes to an extreme – and good thing too, since this is also the darkest time of the year. However foreigners might be surprised to find that not many people here decorate the outside of their homes with lights – it’s all about the cozy interiors!
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Everyone has deserted the cities for cabins in the mountains
As someone who lives in one of those mountain cabins year-round, Christmastime in the mountains is crazy – there are so many people.
And even though a lot of Norwegian cabins are quite simple – with outhouses instead of indoor toilets, and sometimes no showers, we still love to spend Christmas up there. There’s just something so special about Christmas in the mountains, especially when it’s super snowy.
Your cross-country skis are waxed and ready for a busy week in the snow
I think my family usually goes skiing at least once a day during Christmas week. We usually stick to cross-country skiing, but downhill skiing is also very popular where I live, and around Christmas the slopes will be covered in people. So festive!
Plus it’s good to have an excuse to get outside during the darkest time of the year, because it can be seriously tempting to stay inside with all the Christmas treats all day.
Everyone is buying tubs of a mysterious pink goop called medisterfarse
This one is still a mystery to me – I’m not even sure if it’s meant to be eaten or if people are using it to glue Christmas decorations together.
Update: I’ve figured it out! I made medisterkaker for the first time here:
You’re drinking bright red julebrus, or “Christmas soda,” with every meal
And you’re probably enjoying that julebrus with a nice Christmas sausage, or a Christmas apple if you’re trying to be healthy.
Seriously, it seems like every kind of food suddenly becomes Christmas food in December. You can buy Christmas potatoes, Christmas liverwurst, Christmas juice, and even Christmas milk. Like, what?
But somehow I swear Christmas milk tastes better than normal milk.
Everything is red
The color of pretty much every Norwegian Christmas ornament ever made.
All your neighbors have tied bundles of Christmas wheat outside their homes for the birdies to snack on
Edit: A reader just informed me that it’s actually oats!
Milk cartons are suddenly covered with little Christmas elves
Remember what I said about Christmas milk in Norway? I get excited each year to see what the new Christmas designs will be on the milk cartons.
All that ever seems to be on TV these days is those Christmas calendar talk shows
Seriously, how do they manage to be on every single channel all the time?! They usually feature Norwegian celebrities doing random Christmas activities, like making some Christmas ornaments or talking about their favorite Norwegian Christmas story.
In fact, if you’re interested in Norwegian pop culture these Christmas calendar shows are the best way to catch up on what’s going on with Norwegian celebrities. Try and see if you can find them to watch online!
Norwegians are adding the word “Christmas” before every noun
Christmas soda, Christmas table, Christmas wheat, Chrismas marzipan, Christmas calendar, Christmas sausage, Christmas elves, Christmas cookies, Christmas apples…
What do you think – have I missed anything?
God jul!
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Once a full-time nomad, I'm now trying to find a balance between continuing to explore off the beaten path places around the world while also building a home in Norway. Want to know more? Head to my
Mmmmmmm…. Julebrussss. I was very picky with my Julebrus actually. And I hated Marzipan, but every once in a while I could tolerate some of the sticks covered in chocolate with coconut ‘snowflakes’. When I lived in Bergen, Christmas didn’t start until Pepperkakebyen opened. I loved the work up of Christmas in Norway. Then I always traveled on the actual day and week after 😛
I don’t like marzipan either! It’s really sad. And my grandmother always buys the orange julebrus when I really love the red one, aaaah the frustrations of Christmas! Haha
but now you work where they sell the julebrus, right? this year, you get to take it into your won hands!
Oooh, I had the julebrus when I was in Norway in October! That stuff is really good, and I don’t even like soda.
I’m exactly the same! Julebrus is the only soda I drink, ha.
I adore the orange!!! I waa pregnant with my youngest son when we lived there and I existed on it!! And salt og pepper chips.. oh I deool just remembering!! The first snow and that peaceful quiet…. thw sweetness of heaven on earth!! And thw Norwegian people are the most polite on thw planet! I love you one amd all Norwegian peoples!!
Fresh made lefse!!
Yes! Lefse!
It’s funny, so many people have added lefse to this list! I always thought of lefse as a year-round thing, but now I’m thinking I need to added it to my Christmas baking list!
You’ve made a heaping batch of fattigman.
Ooooh yes, excellent addition! And so Norwegian.
The last picture looks a lot like my small home in Hudson, Wisconsin–the ground is white, my juleneg is hung outside, the tree is decorated with red and straw, and a couple of jule nisse are hiding out! Glade Jul alle sammen!
Oh wow that sounds so koselig! Christmas in Wisconsin must be beautiful (I have family in Madison but have only visited in the summer).
Lille Juleaften (The day before Christmas eve) was when the house was a total mess (on purpose) then they cleaned it all up for Juleaften (Christmas eve) the tree was lit, and then it was Juleaften. Not before. My sad memory of Canada is that they start already in late november. It all for the merchants. Christmas is not Xmas. It is a day to celebrate the birth of Christ. God Jul. Geir
Haha I hadn’t heard of having a messy house on lille juleaften! My family usually waits to put up our tree until then, instead of late November like a lot of people. Then again, we tend to leave our tree up way later than most people!
Christmas in Norway is a bit more than that. First off, there is no such thing as bundles of wheat being set out for the birds, but of oats. It is a big difference.
Second off, the Christmas foods. Traditional Christmas dinners vary from where you come from in Norway. On the coastal islands freshly caught cod, some times salted over night is the tradition. In Voss they serve mutton heads that are smoked. All along the west coast they serve salted and dried sheep’s ribs that later are soaked in water over night, then steamed, In some areas the sheep’s ribs are also smoked.
In the North the Lutefish is the big tradition, and in the south and east they either have spare ribs, or a Christmas ham, depending on how close you are to former Danish trading ports, or the border of Sweden.
Of course the traditions have spread all around the country as people have moved around, but they haven’t taken over for the local dishes in the new places where they are served.
Another reader actually already pointed out that it’s wheat, not oats, which is why I added the comment that it’s oats in the article. It’s really interesting to hear about the different regions! My family in Telemark always has lutefisk a little before Christmas, and then either pinnekjøtt or spare ribs on Christmas. Never heard of having smoked mutton heads though!
It’s oats that is sold in Bergen, hence why we can’t find it here in the states. Wheat is available but no oats. All the pictures depict oats.
I love the milk cartons. I wish they did that here.
Such a cute post Silvia!
I love the fact that everyone in Norway really gets involved. That’s also the reason that I prefer to celebrate Christmas in Germany (where I live) in comparison to Christmas in the UK (where I’m from), ‘cos Christmas in Northern Europe is just so much more wintry, colder, merrier and authentic! 😀
I’m allergic to marzipan so can’t usually have all the Christmas goodies on offer, but that certainly hasn’t stopped me from having wonderful Christmasses!
I totally agree – and next to Norway, Germany is my favorite place during Christmas. So magical!
The candles, candles EVERYWHERE. Tea lights are in every store, every cafe, even at my hair salon! Candles everywhere are a huge sign that Christmas is here!!
The Alf Prøysen songs!
Don’t forget that we celebrate on christmas eve(24th ). The day before we put up the christmas tree, and watch the same old ”grevinnen og hovmesteren». It’s an old film it black and white. But we don’t have a messy house. Hehe.
The julebrus comes in two different colors, and every one has their own favourite. Mine is the red one.
I can’t wait until desember 1, so that I can start dekorating my house, bake christmas cookies and listen to christmas music! And make homemade presents.
Christmas is all the things you listed, with variations on the food, i have eaten ribbe all my life for the christmas meal, with the crispy svor. Yum, but now i have switched to pinnekjøtt. Also yum! 😀 i especially love the lightly smoked kind 🙂 but what really makes the christmas spirit come along for me, is the shows on TV on the morning of christmas eve.. eating klementiner and watching «tre nøtter til askepott», ahh, suddenly ITS christmas.. a wierd b-class movie from east germany/Tsjekkoslovakia, horribily dubbed by only one voice. Thea trues to dubb IT better, but Therese was a nation Eide uproar.. petitions were signed, and christmas wouldent be the same if they had changed it. Last year one channel even made slow TV, «ribbe, grad for grad» (spare ribbs, degree by degree). IT was litterally a video of a slow cooking ribbe in the oven with comentators discussing the cooking.. Norwegians are weird 😀 cant wait for christmas..
My family also eats pinnekjøtt for Christmas – I much prefer it to ribbe.
You’ve maybe forget all the christmas TV shows around christmas eve. Kvelden før kvelden and Grevinnen og hovmesteren the 23rd Disney christmasmovies, Sonjas reise til julestjernen and cinderella on christmas morning the 24th.
And Flåklypa grand prix both the 23rd and the 31th.
And the usuall fight about christmas dinner and who’s the best. Is IT going to be pinnekjøtt (sheeps ribs) og ribbe (pork ribs).
(Norwegian with bad english spelling)
Fun fact: The words «med ister» translates to «with fat».
Medisterfarse is ground pork meat mixed with fat.
No wonder it’s delicious and should not be consumed all year round