BLOG-4.8

February is the month that we encourage you to get out and experience 14 days of friluftsliv. If you are lucky enough to live in a snowy climate, an example set by the Norwegians is to dig in and enjoy the winter season, however you can.

When one thinks about Valentine’s Day, chocolate, roses, and candy hearts come to mind. But are those universal themes? Let’s explore how Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the Nordic countries to peek into other traditions.

Break out the sequins, the back-up dancers and the dazzling lights- ‘tis the season leading up to the Eurovision Song Contest! The competition created to bring post-WW II Europe together will take place in Liverpool, England this May.

These delicious chocolate-covered marshmallow treats would make a great, easy dessert for a Valentine’s meal.

We can all agree that one of the main focal points of the holidays is food. We stuff ourselves during the main course with mashed potatoes, gravy, ham, eggnog, salad, stuffing, turkey, and so much more until we are filled to the brim. Yet somehow, we always manage to find room for dessert. How can that be?

The results are in... the winner is Krumkake!

There are two official written versions of the Norwegian language—bokmål and nynorsk—but spoken Norwegian is another situation entirely. As far as regional dialects, there are four main groupings of spoken Norwegian: Northern (nordnorsk), Central (trøndersk), Western (vestlandsk) and Eastern (østnorsk).

Around the holidays and New Year, family-friendly quiz shows abound in Norway, with shows presenting daily challenges from various locations. Test your knowledge with this multiple-choice quiz!

Fiskegrateng – Fish au gratin. Winter is a great time to make this homey casserole.

Earlier this month, we launched a colorful virtual julekalender (Advent calendar) to highlight various aspects of the Norwegian holiday season. One of the important facets of norsk jul is food—both sweet and savory. The rule of thumb for julebakst (Christmas baked goods) is that you should have a good variety of cookies, in fact, seven kinds or sju slag /syv sorter kaker.

As you spend time with family over the holidays, take the time to learn more about your relatives and record some family stories. Sit down and chat with multiple generations and make this a group activity.

When thinking about or discussing Norwegian foods, one food will undoubtedly come up: porridge. Porridge has had quite the role throughout Norway’s history. In fact, it is quite possibly the oldest hot dish in the Norwegian diet. The main grains used were barley and oats, as it was difficult to grow other grains in the cold climate.

Just as fall colors reached their richest hues in mid-October, Her Majesty Queen Sonja paid a visit to Minnesota. The Queen’s official visit covered both government and Norwegian-American entities across the state.

An exciting discovery has been made just centimeters below the soil in Stjørdal, near Trondheim. Pawel Bednarski took a metal detector out to his field right before Christmas last year and uncovered a treasure trove of Viking objects.

That’s another name given to the Sognefjord, and with good reason. It is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway, with a length of 128 miles and a staggering depth of over 4,000 feet.