Halloween is an American holiday which didn’t catch on in the rest of the world until recently. However, it has increasingly become a phenomenon in various parts of the globe. One country that has grown well-acquainted with Halloween is Norway. The traditions of Halloween were “imported” to Norway in the late 90’s and are now quite common, at least in the larger cities.
The way that Norway celebrates Halloween looks very similar to the customs of the United States. Around October 31st, houses are decorated with pumpkins, bats, and candles. Stores are stocked with candy and ghoulish decorations. Families take part in pumpkin carving. Kids wear their costumes to school and of course, they go trick-or-treating. However, instead of saying “trick or treat” when they knock on people’s doors, they say “knask eller knep” or “digg eller deng,” which roughly translate to the English phrase.
Not only do Norwegian kids enjoy Halloween festivities, adults also have their own fun with Halloween. Many pubs plan Halloween festivities and some even have costume parties like Café Amsterdam in Oslo. Private house parties are also quite common among middle-aged Norwegians as is common in North America.
Although Halloween is now common in Norway, it has only recently gained stride. As mentioned by the The Local, “Since 2015, discussion of Halloween in Norway has moved from being framed around whether it should be celebrated, to how it should be celebrated.” Another reflection of the growth of Halloween in Norway is the five-fold increase of pumpkin sales between 2012 and 2018. Though there’s more agreement on how Halloween should be celebrated, there are still some that don’t take part at all. Interestingly, “The number of people who said in the survey that they left the house on Halloween to avoid trick-or-treaters increased from 6 to 13 percent.”
There will always be two sides of the coin and people with differing opinions, but it seems that Halloween has made its way into Norwegian culture for good.