A Norwegian Christmas is filled with many celebrations and traditions, old and new. As the snow falls, the white landscape is the first sign of Christmas and Norway starts to prepare for their long season of juletid.
November
As the snow comes, Norway enters the Christmas season early with a series of Christmas parties. Work, clubs, schools [...]
Towards the water in a beautiful pocket of leafy oak trees is the Byneset Church.
During excavation work on the site of the new public library in Trondheim, archaeologists found the ruins of what is thought to be Olavskirken (Olav’s Church), a church dating back to the mid-12th century. Olav was a Viking who went to England and was converted to Christianity. He returned to Norway to convert the heathen, [...]
Luciadagen (Saint Lucia Day) is on the 13th of December. It is traditionally a feast day from the Calendar of Saints which comes from the early Christian custom of commemorating martyrs on the anniversary of their death (or birth into heaven). Even though Norway recognises the other feast days in the Catholic Church, only St [...]
Nidarosdomen – Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Norway. It boasts a textured Medieval history that began with the adventures of St Olav, the fierce Viking who was converted to Christianity and became King of Norway. The Cathedral has been under construction from the early ten hundreds and was [...]
Mefjordvær is a little fishing village on north-west Senja. It boasts a panoramic view of a mountain wall that plunges into the ocean. Mefjordvær has medieval church history and wooden artefacts that resemble St Olav which are kept at Oslo University.
Ten points if you can guess what the poles are for!
Updated 18/11/08
Good try! (I would [...]
From the west, a wall of stone Saints and Prophets will confront you. All sides of the Cathedral are very textured and deserve a long walk around. You’ll see gargoyles and gothic arches, thick wooden doors with rusty floral art and Anglo-Norman/Romanesque bits and pieces ’stuck on’ that intensifies your ground view. However, the outside of Nidaros Cathedral is even more intriguing when you know the history.
Nidarosdomen (Nidaros Cathedral) stands tall and proud near the mouth of the Nidelva river in Trondheim, Norway. It owes its name to Trondheim’s medieval town which was called after the river: ‘Nid’ and ‘os’ (meaning river mouth). Nidarosdomen has all the stats to impress (biggest this, oldest that, and most ‘northernest’) but that is not [...]
My Little Norway
2010 Calendar
Reindeer herding is more than just an occupation, it is a way of life and an integral part of the Sami culture and identity.
The further ‘out of the way’ you go the more common it is to see folk cottages standing by the side of roads, along fjords or in a thicket of trees, minding their own business.
This is our view to the west. After work the shore becomes alive with activity. Tromsøværing (the Tromsø folk) make the most of the afternoon sun with fishing, jogging and rollerskiing.
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Norwegian houses are very charming with their wooden panels and slate roofing. It is typical for a house to be painted a strong colour such as red, blue or yellow, but white is the most popular.
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Many Norwegians know what they are doing when they pick wild mushrooms. This knowledge is passed down the family during mushroom hunting trips. The hard-core mushroom hunters go into the mountain wilderness for days to get the best finds.
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