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LIFE IN NORWAY

How to celebrate Christmas like a Norwegian

Norway’s Christmas traditions can seem peculiar if you aren't used to them. Follow these nine steps to do it right.

Published: 20 December 2019 16:50 CET
Updated: 23 December 2023 08:21 CET
Pictured is a Christmas tree adorned in decorations.
These are the traditions that will help you celebrate Christmas like a true Norwegian! Pictured is a Christmas tree adorned in decorations.

1. Wake up and smell the Christmas stocking

On the morning of December 24th, the big Christmas day in Norway, most Norwegian children get a sock filled with edible goodies that they devour in front of the telly before breakfast. As you may know Norwegians tend to be relatively obsessed with healthy breakfasts (sugary toppings are frowned upon), so for a kid, getting to stuff your face full of chocolate as soon as you wake up renders the the 24th even more magical.


Photo: Depositphotos

2. Watch a poorly dubbed Czech film

While you eat your chocolate, remember to switch on national broadcaster NRK in time to watch the ultimate Christmas movie, Tre nøtter til Askepott (‘Three nuts for Cinderella’). Believe it or not, watching a Czech film about Cinderella is one of the most important Norwegian Christmas traditions there is. Every year since 1996, families have cuddled up on the couch to watch Cinderella dressing up in the outfits she finds in her magical nuts.

While the norm in Norway is to subtitle foreign films, Tre nøtter til Askepott is dubbed. Not only is it dubbed, one single man does all the voices –  from the high-pitched stepmom’s ‘Askepooooooott’ (‘Cinderellaaaaa’) to the deep-set voice of the King. It all sounds quite absurd, but Knut Risan, the man behind the voices, may be the most famous voice of Christmas in Norway.

READ ALSO: How does the remake of Tre Nøtter til Askepott compare to the original?

3. Choose your Christmas meal: pinnekjøtt or ribbe

There are two main Norwegian traditional Christmas dinners. Pinnekjøtt (‘stick meat’) is a dish where salted meat, mostly sheep, is dried and salted, then served with boiled potatoes and mashed turnip. Traditionally, pinnekjøtt was the most popular dish for those living on the Norwegian west coast, but the lines have become blurred and most people eat it sometime during the Christmas holidays. 

The second option, ribbestek (rib steak) is the number one Norwegian Christmas dinner classic. It’s a huge pork steak covered with crispy crackling. It’s heavy, drizzling with fat, and often served with stewed red cabbage, Brussels sprouts and potatoes

4. Did you chose ribbe? If so you should have started making it hours ago!

As any self-respecting Norwegian Christmas chef knows, making the ribbe is an art. The key is getting a sprø svor, a crispy crackling. Really, the crackling needs to be perfectly crunchy, otherwise you might just throw the whole thing in the bin.

Norwegians have struggled with the ribbe-crackling for decades. It’s caused sweat, tears and multiple spousal arguments. For years there was even a special emergency helpline set up, ribbetelefonen, to help despairing ribbe chefs all over the country.

READ MORE: The traditional Norwegian Christmas delicacies you should know about

5. Listen to the Silver Boys

At 5pm sharp, Sølvguttene (‘the Silver Boys’) hold their annual concert to announce that it’s now officially Christmas. Sølvguttene mark the separation between preparing and actually enjoying Christmas Eve. For children, it’s a huge relief because it means most of the unbearable waiting for Santa and gifts is nearly over. For parents, it’s even more of a relief because it means there’s no use in fretting over the sprø svor anymore.

6. Drink the aquavit. Really, drink it.

Whether you had ribbe, pinnekjøtt or other Christmas treats for dinner, Norwegians usually top the meal off with a glass of akevitt, “aquavit”, as a digestive. Akevitt is a strong liquor based on potato, “the grape of the north.” You need around 10 kilograms of potatoes to make three bottles of akevitt, and the annual akevitt production consumes around 20,000 tonnes.


Photo: Trøndersk Matfestival

7. Open the gifts

After dinner, it’s time to open the presents. In Norway, the gift opening process is meticulous and orderly. The youngest members of the family will often fetch the gifts from underneath the tree, handing them to the recipient, who then will read the card out loud. When the gift is unwrapped, it will move from hand to hand so that everyone gets good look. This can take time, drink your akevitt.


Photo: Depositphotos

8. Put out porridge for Santa

Some people set out a glass of brandy for Santa, others give him cookies. Norwegians put out a bowl of porridge. Yes, porridge. If you’ve had Norwegian Christmas porridge (risengrynsgrøt), you’ll know that it’s a white, sweet version of the traditional oatmeal porridge, topped with a clunk of butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

The porridge can either be left out for the big man himself, or for the nisse (little Christmas elves) to ensure a good harvest.

The porridge is also eaten for desert after Christmas dinner. In a traditional Christmas twist, an almond is dropped into the pot, and the person that gets the almond wins a price: a pig made of marzipan. 

Risengrynsgrøt is not a dish that has had success abroad yet, and some people say there might be a reason for it. It’s also definitely something that should be eaten warm, and putting it out in minus degrees for Santa is not ideal.


Photo: Depositphotos

9. Dance around the Christmas tree

When the gifts are unwrapped and the akevitt bottle is emptied, it’s time to dance around the Christmas tree. You form a circle, take each other’s hands and walk slowly around the tree while singing traditional Christmas carols. 

READ ALSO: Which of these Norwegian Christmas traditions is the strangest?

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NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS

What foreigners in Norway find confusing about May 17th 

Constitution Day, or May 17th, is a fantastic occasion in Norway. Foreigners living in the country also love getting in on the celebrations – but a few things about the day can be confusing. 

Published: 15 May 2024 16:06 CEST
Updated: 17 May 2024 14:27 CEST
What foreigners in Norway find confusing about May 17th 

Often referred to as Norway’s national day, May 17th is much beloved in Norway. The parades and festivities are a must-see (and also pretty hard to miss) for anyone in Norway on the day. 

There are plenty of traditions that can seem strange from the outside looking in, including bunads, parades, singing the national anthem, and waving flags. Even after you’ve experienced them a few times, they can still feel puzzling. 

How to celebrate 

One aspect that can confuse foreigners, even those with a few May 17ths under the belt, is how exactly the date should be celebrated. 

While the parades are an obvious starting point, traditions can vary across families, cities and regions. 

Many will start May 17th with a combination of a typical Norwegian breakfast, with or without champagne, and then go to watch the parades. 

After that, things become more unclear. Some choose to celebrate the rest of the day with family, grilling or playing garden games. 

Others choose to party hard, whether at parties, bars, or special May 17th events. 

Meanwhile, some cities have large gatherings after the parades, torch processions, or fireworks in the evening. 

Our tip would be to choose what you like most about May 17th and go with the flow. 

Thankfully, as long as you don’t do something stupid like desecrate the Norwegian flag or spend the day antagonising people, there doesn’t appear to be a “right or wrong” way to celebrate the occasion. 

What to wear 

Outfit choice can be tricky on May 17th. People normally dress their best, be it in a traditional bunad, a suit, or other smart clothes. 

For foreigners, this can be tough. For starters, most probably do not feel Norwegian enough to wear a bunad but want to dress nicely for the occasion as a show of respect. 

Therefore, finding something that makes you feel comfortable, doesn’t feel underdressed, and is also appropriate for whatever the weather is can be a tricky balance. 

Some people wear folk costumes from where they are from, which for the most part goes down well as very few Norwegians hold an attitude of “this is our day and not yours”.

What other people are wearing

This is perhaps more the case for newcomers to Norway, but seeing a bunad for the first time can be strange. Seeing thousands of people decked out in “national costumes” (as they are sometimes referred to) can be overwhelming. 

Given that the costumes date back centuries, seeing the old mixed with the modern can also be surreal—for example, seeing someone in a bunad whizz by on an e-scooter. 

Even as you become more accustomed to seeing national costumes and learning more about them, you could confuse yourself trying to work out the origin of the bunad given the designs, colours and embroidery unique to different regions of Norway. 

The national pride

As the day marks the signing of the Norwegian constitution, it’s no surprise that its themes centre on national pride and identity and feature plenty of flag waving and singing of the national anthem. 

This can be puzzling for foreigners, as in some places, patriotism and national pride have been hijacked by populist and far-right movements and used as a tool to cause division.

Other foreigners may also be critical of the idea of a monarchy and how heavily they feature in the day’s proceedings. 

However, in Norway, no one really questions these things. This is just as well because, for the most part, May 17th demonstrates how you can celebrate a country’s essence without hijacking it for the wrong reasons. 

The locals in Norway generally choose to include those who also wish to celebrate May 17th rather than exclude them. 

It’s the fact that Norway is able to maintain a strong sense of national pride on May 17th while remaining inclusive that some may find confusing. 

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