On 30th November was Saint Andrew’s Mass.  The mark on the farmer’s primstav was a fishhook, a fox-trap, a key or a St. Andrew’s Cross.

This was the day to start Christmas fishing as St. Andrew was a fisherman himself.  There were many rules and warnings to have a successful catch:
- men should not encounter any woman or cat on the way to the sea as this was considered back luck
- it was also bad luck to lose the first catch
- it was custom to only count the fish after the fishing was over – counting beforehand was considered bad luck
- it was good luck to spot a flock of crows or an eagle during your fishing trip as it meant that you will have a good catch.

Advent calendars are a tradition borrowed from Germany. Starting on the 1st of December, they are used to count down the days to Christmas. Commercial Advent calendars can be bought, however, it is still popular to make your own in Norway.

In choosing what calendar to make it is best to think what type of gifts it will hold. Not all Norwegian calendars give a pocket full of lollies. Some display pictures or poems, and others, cooking spices such as cinnamon sticks to inspire the chef for that day. However, handmade is the Norwegian way and they always add a classic charm to any Christmas style.

There are three main styles of Advent calendars in Norway – the hanging, the pockets and the box calendars.  The hanging calendar, is just that – a framed structure with presents that hang from it.  The structure can be a mini clothes line, a window pane, a twig wreath or even a tree branch (as in the picture above).  The presents can hang from pegs, key-rings or ribbons.  The presents can hang free, be inside little envelopes or in paper bags or sit in kremmerhus (traditional Norwegian paper sack).

The pocket calendar is common and often allows for bigger gifts.  Pockets are sewn onto a large square cloth which is then hung on the wall or in windows.

The box calendar is usually made from little match boxes.  Sometimes they are stuck on a large piece of cardboard which is hung on the wall, making little sliding drawers, but most often they are made into a cube by sticking four lots of three (stacked) boxes together, making a cube with two layers (as above).

When making Advent calendars it is best to use natural materials to get that rustic Norwegian feel – felt, cotton, wood, twigs and paper.  Keep the colours simple – red and white, brown and gold.  Designs include snowflake patterns, stitched hearts, little nisse and layers of material.  Extra decorative hangings, such as ribbon and twigs create depth and lighting such as fairy lights or mock LED candles complete the look.  Norwegians are very proud of their crafts and go all out to make their masterpieces perfect.

But yes, some busy Norwegians do buy their homemade Advent calendars at the store.  As ‘country’, ‘romantic’ and ‘nostalgia’ are in style, it is easy to find a calendar that suits your Christmas.

There is one more calendar that is very popular, made of oranges and cloves.  It is easier than pie to make.

What you need:

1 lovely smelling orange
24 cloves with long stalks to mark each day from 1st of December to Christmas

To make, just insert the stalk end of the cloves into the orange.  It is a good idea to think of a pattern before you start pushing in the cloves – a heart, zig-zags, a tree, etc.  Mine below is very imaginative – straight lines.  To make things easier, use a toothpick to mark out your design – the holes also help to put in the cloves.  These orange calendars are not only for the kitchen or dinner table, they are great placed around the house in nut-bowls, bauble plates and next to candle ornaments.  Each day pull out a clove and refresh the Christmas smell in the room.

Saint Lucia Day is celebrated on the 13th of December every year and commemorates the  martyrdom of St Lucia.  Originally it had no connection with Christmas but since it is in December it is now seen as one of the days of preparation for the season.  To read more about the myths and tradition behind St Lucia Day, visit our post Saint Lucia Day.

What you need:

- Children! – A parade of girls is tradition and Lucia was usually a blonde-haired girl.  Now in Norway Lucia can have any colour hair and boys also join the parade.  Only one child wears the Lucia crown who leads the parade.  However, to not leave anyone out, the rest of the children carry candles (LED ones).

- White clothes for the children – Saint Lucia wears a red sash around the waist.

- A light wreath – In Norway you can buy these crowns in the stores (Europris/Nille).  They are plastic green wreaths with five white plastic candles standing on top.
To make your own:
You will need green card, white card and yellow card – scissors, tape/staples.  Use the green card for the wreath.  Cut off a band strip and fit to the child’s head.  Cut out wreath leaves from the rest of the green card and attach them to the headband.  Cut out five candles from the white card.  Attach them with even spacing onto the headband.  Cut out little candle flames from the yellow card.  Attach them to the white card candles.

- A basket full of Lussekatt (St Lucia buns) to give out to the crowd watching the procession.  You can find a Lucia bun recipe at the end of the post Saint Lucia Day.

- A crowd to watch the parade – your child/ren can parade for the family, in the shopping centre, at school, in the town square or at elderly homes, handing out Lucia buns on the 13th of December.  It is a lovely way to celebrate a Norwegian tradition (and to remind everyone to prepare for Christmas).

Although Norway sits a little too far north to get tropical cyclones, our coastline is still prone to get hit with bad weather quite frequently, and it is not rare for the winds to reach hurricane strength. People along the coast have lived at the mercy of the weather for thousands of years, and have developed a special relationship with storms. In many places it has become part of the language to address the weather as "he" rather than "it". Especially in the north, you can often hear locals say "he is windy today!".

Since 1995, Norwegian meteorologists have used a system to give names to storms, much like the tropical cyclones. In fact, Norway is the only country in Northern Europe to use a system like this. When meteorologists name storms, they have a set of rules to follow:

• Names are in alphabetical order, from A to Y
• Names must alternate between boys’ and girls’ names
• Names should preferrably not contain the Norwegian letters æ, ø and å
• Names must be established Norwegian names. As such, names beginning with C, Q, W or X are normally excluded.
• Storms should not be named after celebrities or public figures, so don’t expect any Hurricane Harald or Hurricane Jens as long as the current King or Prime Minister are in power.

The names are made up in advance and put on a list. Only a small group of meteorologists at the Norwegian Institute of Meteorology have access to this list of names, and the meteorologist on duty is in charge of naming the storm whenever a public warning is issued. The reason for this naming system is to make it easier to tell the different storms apart, as they often hit in quick succession. Sometimes one even hits before the previous one is finished, as was the case with the hurricanes Gudrun, Hårek and Inga in 2005. Also, it is easier to relate to "Hurricane Tuva" rather than "that big storm of January 2008".