When is norway christmas

It is believed that the word Yule derives from the Proto-Germanic language, but the etymology of the word remains uncertain. To this day, Christmastime is still called juletid in Norway — and while it has preserved some Old Norse traditions, it is also influenced by hundreds of European and American Christian practices. Advent is a preparation period before December 25 which starts four Sundays before Christmas. Every Sunday up until Christmas Day is commemorated by lighting a four-candle candelabra.

On the first Sunday the first candle is lit, on the second Sunday the next two candles are lit, and so on. A nisse is a mythological creature from Scandinavian folklore, which could be compared to a garden gnome or a goblin.

According to tradition, they are present in farmhouses in which they act as guardians of those living there and even occasionally help with house chores. Nisser are a typical character from Old Norse culture and are also associated with the winter solstice.

Today, they have been assimilated into Christian culture in Scandinavia and appear in Christmas tales, decorations, and cards. Santa Claus, known in Norwegian as Julenisse , is himself a sort of nisse.

On December 23, Norwegians celebrate Lille Julaften, or Little Christmas Eve , a time when the family comes together to clean and decorate the house and tree. Ornaments include heart-shaped Christmas baskets filled with goodies, paper chains, and Norwegian flags. Family members also decorate their home with pepperkakehus , or gingerbread houses, which Norwegians refrain from eating before the end of the Christmas season.

The German television station Norddeutscher Rundfunk NDR recorded an minute black-and-white performance of the show in , which eventually became the most repeated TV program of all time. The sketch depicts the 90th birthday of Miss Sophie, who hosts a yearly dinner for her friends. Due to her old age, she has outlived them all, so her butler James impersonates and drinks instead of each of the guests.

Norwegian national television NRK has been broadcasting the minute Swiss version of the sketch every December 23rd since Today, families still come together every year on Little Christmas Eve to watch this sketch. Julaften , known as Christmas Eve in English, is the main day of celebration for Norwegians. After their traditional meal, people usually hold hands and dance around the Christmas tree while singing carols.

Unlike in many other countries, these presents are not delivered by Santa Claus, but rather a somewhat similar fairy tale creature known as Julenissen. This is a short bearded creature that tends to wear a red hat and goes from door to door distributing gifts on Christmas Eve. When it comes to Christmas Day, Norwegians tend to spend it inside with close friends and family members. It does not involve much except for the raising of the national flag in each home as well as consuming another traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner.

Speaking of traditional Norwegian Christmas dinners, there are a few key dishes that you can expect to find on every dinner table throughout Norway during the Christmas season. The lucky individual who finds the almond in their bowl is the winner of a prize, usually a marzipan pig. Of course, it wouldn't be a Norwegian Christmas without the presence of Akevitt, which is a distilled Scandinavian drink that contains 40 percent alcohol. This is rarely consumed outside of the Christmas season, which is the reason why it is a special part of holiday celebrations.

Together, these are the various traditions that make up a typical Norwegian Christmas and if you ever get to visit Norway during Christmas, then you can fully expect to participate in most, if not all, of these activities.

To find out how to truly experience Norway during Christmas, visit our page about Christmas in Norway. I grew up with a big family, and celebrating Christmas has become a synonym for love, chaos and memories. I am lucky enough to have experienced Christmas traditions in the UK, the US and Australia, and am incredibly grateful for those experiences.

But nothing beats a proper Norwegian Christmas. Have more questions about Norway? Check out my ultimate guide here! First things first. The main thing that makes Christmas in Norway special is that our main celebration is on Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day as in most other countries.

When I have celebrated Christmas abroad it has been quite strange for me to not participate in any Christmas traditions on Christmas Eve, and spend the day waiting for the next day.

Can you imagine Christmas in Norway for kids when they are expected to get up early, walk around in an excited state all day, and not be able to open presents until after dinner?

The whole of December is spent counting down the days using Advent Calendars, which have quite a special place in the hearts of Norwegians celebrating Christmas.

Our Advent Calendars have 24 days in them and can be quite different from what you might be used to in any English speaking countries. If you are visiting Norway in December, you might be hoping to see the Northern Lights. Alternatively, you can head this way to read my guide to the best times to visit Norway.

Here are some of my favourite Scandinavian sweaters. So many things that seem so normal to me have become the laughing stock of my group of friends when I have shared them abroad in a good way. There are some truly hilarious and weird Christmas traditions in Norway, and I have tried to include them all in this list.

However, I have tried to stick to the ones that actually stand out and are quite unique for Christmas in Norway, and so I have excluded traditions such as Christmas Markets and Christmas decorations. These Christmas traditions are some peculiar customs that only those who have grown up in Norway will completely understand.

Read more funny Norwegian customs here. If you are planning a trip to Norway, my custom made itineraries will help you in the planning process! As mentioned, we care about the time leading up to Christmas. Every Sunday of Advent you know, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas , we light candles — one for each Sunday. This is to mark that another week has passed and that we are waiting for Jesus presents. In addition to this, we have the best Advent calendars in the world in my unbiased opinion.

Of course, we have Advent calendars where you get a piece of chocolate every day. But we also have Advent calendars where you get a new present every day for 24 days. This is probably the reason why a whole generation of millennial Norwegians walks the earth telling people that they come from the richest country in the world.

We literally grew up getting a new pencil, eraser or piece of clothing for our Barbie dolls every single morning for almost the whole duration of December. Sorry about that. Another amazing version of the Norwegian Advent Calendars and probably the best is the televised one. Yep, as in on TV. Amongst all the great Norwegian holiday traditions, this has to be my favourite. And it may also prove to be the hardest to explain. Basically, there is a Czech movie from that has stolen the heart of the people of Norway seriously, all of us.

It was dubbed into Norwegian by a male actor, and his voice is the only! The only exception is that in the background you can hear a bit of the original Czech voices of the actual actors. The movie is based off a Bohemian version of the Cinderella fairy tale. For some reason, this movie has become incredibly popular in Norway, and it has been shown on our national broadcasting channel every Christmas Eve since But we have, and so Julebukk is a verb used to describe an important Christmas tradition in Norway.

By Christmas-themed characters, I mean angels, shepherds, Mary and Josef. They will then walk from door to door in their neighbourhood and sing Christmas carols, getting sweets and candy in return.