Christmas Around the World: Christmas in Norway! · 3:35am Dec 26th, 2020
Hello! Welcome to the Christmas Around the World Series! Where better to start than Norway?
During Norway's Advent, small gifts are brought each day leading up to Christmas, sometimes in tandem with a chocolate advent calendar like we do in the United States, but unlike our Christmas, the mass present opening is as early as December 24. Presents are generally treated as though they come from Santa Claus and a kind of creature best described as a gnome or a goblin called a Nisse. A rice porrige is left for the Nisse because they are said to guard farm animals. They also place bread crumbs on a leaf for the birds to eat from.
Once Christmas Eve comes, the Norwegians will light a candle every day from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day.
Children will go carol-singing in some parts of Norway, dressing up as characters from the traditional Christmas story, such as shephards and wise men. On the subject of Christmas music, a huge mainstay in Norwegian Christmas music is the song Musevisa, which roughly translates as "the Mouse Song". It's a song about two mice parents warning their children about traps as they make it through the Christmas season. While the melody is an old folk tune, the lyrics were written in 1946 by Alf Proysen.
Now you know how to make Anna and Elsa celebrate Christmas in all of your objectively terrible fanfictions!
