The snow is falling and the house has a thick blanket of white on the roof. The house is contained in a round glass ball in the hand of a dying man. He whispers through his lips ‘rosebud’ and lets go of the ball. It rolls down the stairs and smashes at the bottom.

The Rosebud mystery from Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane still lives today and is considered the greatest secret in cinema.

In the film, ‘rosebud’ was the name on Charles Foster Kane’s snow sled (the main character played by Orson Welles himself). It is clear in the movie what ‘rosebud’ was the symbol of Kane’s last true happiness, but outside the theatre ‘rosebud’ has still stumped critics and movie-goers alike.

I must admit, this film has become quite profound to me. Not only did I first see this film at a time of great change but the word ‘rosebud’ has been remembered everyday of my life for the last year here in Norway.

About one year ago, when the snow was falling and the houses had a thick blanket of white on their roofs, a little girl was born. The first thing her mother could say when holding her for the first time was ‘Rosebud… Look, she has a rosebud!’

Over the past year we have watched the rosebud grow bigger and move around to the front on Lilu’s forehead. We don’t know how long it will last as it seems to be fading, but it will always be remembered, the time our little Norwegian girl had a rosebud in her hair.