Part I: The Past
This is the second in a series of blog posts about wedding traditions and customs in Norway. Last time I looked at the way hens and bucks nights are celebrated in Norway, and this edition we take a brief look at older wedding traditions in Norway. …
An Introduction to Norwegian Wedding Traditions
I first began writing a blog post about wedding traditions in Norway back in May 2010, shortly before I attended my first Norwegian wedding. I researched so much about bachelor and bachelorette parties, traditions, statistics and such that I ended up overwhelming myself with the details and never finished writing the blog post. Now that I'm planning my own wedding (yes, wedding planning is why I've been too busy to blog for the last 10 months :D), I find myself looking again at Norwegian wedding customs and was excited again to write on this theme. To make the process easier I thought I might divide this topic into a series of blog posts, looking at a new aspect of weddings each time. So, here we go! (Pictured: Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit on their wedding day in 2001.) …
One thing I have immensely enjoyed, but didn’t anticipate when I began blogging about my observations of Norwegian culture, is getting questions from school students all over the world about Norway for their class assignments. And the topic their assignments most often touch on is Christmas in Norway.
As such I thought I would make it easy for everyone out there by combining my past observations of Norwegian Christmas traditions into one post. 💡 …
Like many cities, Norway’s capital Oslo is divided by a river. Running north to south, Akerselva (“elv” meaning river and “Aker” referring to the name of the area) forces an east and west bank through the city, before flowing out into the Oslo Fjord. And like many cities, the river divides more than just soil and property. Having heard much about "west-side people" and "east-side people" since arriving in Oslo, I thought it was high time I found out what all the geographical fuss is about… …
I hope everyone had a happy holiday season, and is (so far) sticking to their new year’s resolutions. In my previous blog post I mentioned the yuletide advertisement aired by NSB, the national railway service here, which makes many references to Norwegian Christmas traditions.
The advertisement shows a young man travelling home by train for Christmas, and seeing things around him that remind him of the season. I thought I’d take the opportunity to explain these little homages, to give my friends abroad and back home a little more insight into local Christmas traditions here (with links to the videos and all, for you to enjoy!). …
I must begin with an apology for the long absence from my blog. Around mid-year, I moved into a new apartment (which required much setting up) and I began a new job (which required much overtime during transition). I hope you haven’t suffered too much without me. :p Now that things have calmed down and the Christmas holidays are upon us, I find myself with a few spare hours to blog my little heart out – and what better a topic for this time of year than an obscure Christmas tradition here in Norway.
I speak of an old short film entitled Grevinnen og Hovmesteren ('The Duchess and the Butler'), which screens in Norway every December 23rd as part of the NRK1 channel’s 'Lillejuleaften' ('Little Christmas Eve', essentially Christmas Eve Eve) variety show. It's such a cultural fixture that it is referenced, along with many other Norwegian Christmas traditions, in the national railways' Christmas commercial. …
This year marks 70 years since the invasion of Norway by Nazi occupying forces in 1940. Even more significant, one week ago – 8 May – heralded the 65th anniversary of Norway's liberation at the end of the second World War.
I did not learn very much about World War II during school, and had no idea until I moved here that further-flung countries such as Norway had been involved. I won't pretend that I can cover much here in-depth, but in honour of this significant date I wanted to share some of the main points of Norway's experience during the war. (Right: German troops marching down the main street of Oslo, with the Norwegian parliament building in the background.) …
Interested in seeing the experiences of foreigners trying out life in Norway? Local television channel TV Norge is airing a reality series entitled Alt for Norge (All for Norway) which follows 10 Americans of Norwegian descent as they strive to prove who among them can become the most Norwegian, and compete to win the opportunity to meet their long-lost relatives. …
As I mentioned in a previous post, a reason for the gap in my recent blogging is that I returned home to Australia for a three-week jaunt over Christmas. This was my second trip home since moving back to Norway, but what made this trip remarkable is that not only did I bring my boyfriend home with me (for his second visit), but also brought his mother, and father, and little brother. My boyfriend and I had been together almost three years and thought it was high time our families met each other. And not only did we visit my parents, but we also zipped around the major tourist destinations down the east coast of the country. …
For two weeks in February, Olympic fever warmed up the chilly winter in Norway, as anxious Norwegians sat glued to their television sets, cheering on their sporting heroes in Vancouver. As you can imagine for a country that is buried under snow almost half the year, Norway is nigh-on obsessed with the Winter Games – as well as being highly talented at them. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal proclaimed that Norway had not received the global snaps deserved for its Winter Olympic triumphs, so as an adopted Norwegian I feel it is my sworn duty to draw the world's (or at least the blogosphere's) attention to our snowy achievements. …
From Oz to Oslo 