Second Hand

I’m not used to having birthday parties for myself, so I was caught off guard the year we lived in Norway when one cousin informed me it was proper to invite everyone over for cake and coffee to help me celebrate the big day. At the last minute I called everyone and they cancelled other plans, so within two hours our house was filled with over twenty relatives, happy to have an excuse to eat cake and drink coffee.  What I didn’t realize until that night was, I had more guests than coffee cups, so we had to drink coffee in shifts.  Soon thereafter I visited the thrift store to buy a few more mugs so I was never caught in that embarrassing situation again. 

Thrift stores are few and far between but still one of my favorite places to shop in Norway because things there are actually affordable, as opposed to the grocery store, where things are very expensive.  (We spent over three thousand dollars a month just on food.) Norwegians throw out incredibly nice stuff since they always like the latest in design and fashion. The demand for second-hand items is nil, so the prices are pretty low - lucky me.  I purchased practical kitchen items like coffee cups and serving dishes, but I really love to buy decorative things made out of carved wood, hand stitched linens or Norwegian pewter (see photo).  The pewter was popular fifty years ago and Norwegians today think it looks ugly, which puts it in my price range - incredibly cheap and sometimes free.

Garage sales are almost non-existent in our part of Norway, but flea markets are held for a few weekends in the Fall, usually to raise money for a soccer club or some charity work.  They are a real treat since the prices are negotiable and the last hour it’s possible to buy a large plastic bag for about ten dollars in which I can cram all that my heart desires.  Kaleb observed what I brought home from one flea market was, “All the things that make a house, a home.”  He’s used to my “country clutter” style of decorating – which is so not Norwegian.

One time I bought a used portable heater for four dollars at a flea market, and then on the way home, I stopped to buy groceries. I realized I paid nearly twice that for a head of lettuce that will be gone in one meal, yet my heater will last for years.  Go figure.

Buying used household items made the cost of living more tolerable in Norway, but I often wished they had a used food store, too.  Well, maybe not.

Freedom

A few times when I’ve been in the grocery store in Norway and seen someone I knew, I hollered their name to get their attention. Every single person in the store turned their head and just stared at me. No one hollers to get anyone’s attention in Norway – they simply go over and speak softly, like a civilized person. I felt like such a moron the first time I yelled, I had to do it again the next time I saw someone I knew, just to double check my observation.  Sure enough, the room went silent and all heads turned to see who in the world would yell in public like that. Now I know, so my moronic days are behind me.  But my husband, Kory, doesn’t worry about his reputation. He shouts “Hallelujah!” every chance he gets.  His cousins tell him it’s not a good idea because people will think he’s either drunk or crazy.  We just laughed off this warning until we saw why people don’t make a scene in public.

Kory’s Aunt Aslaug is on the board of her condo association.  Part of the condos are owned by the local government and used for low-income housing.  A young woman in a wheelchair lived across the courtyard from Aslaug and she often had loud parties until early in the morning.  So many people complained to Aslaug about the noise, that Aslaug decided she must say something to the young woman.  When she did, the woman exploded in anger and called Aslaug all kinds of nasty names and told her she had no right to tell her how to live her life.  Two days later, the young woman’s apartment was cleared out and she was gone.

I inquired about what happened to that woman and was told the police came and took her away.  “She was obviously unstable,” was an explanation I heard, “you just don’t yell at old ladies.” “She was a drunk and needs rehab,” was another reason given.  She was forcibly committed to some kind of mental institution/detox center all because she came unglued on poor Aunt Aslaug. 

The bottom line in socialism is about what’s good for the whole of society, not people’s individual rights.  I’m sure Norway will never have the kind of slaughter our country experienced a few weeks ago because they identify problem people and do something about them long before they become a threat.  That system wouldn’t work in America though, because Americans demand their freedom. As an American, I have the freedom to holler in public in Norway, but I’m certain I won’t be doing it again.

A Cold Winter's Night

My son, Kaleb, is crazy about dogs.  One of his “life long dreams” was to go on a dog sledding trip.  While we were living in Norway, we gave that experience to him as a Christmas gift.  The sledding itself was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, but the night before the trip, was one of the worst.

We drove all day to get to Beitostølen, a popular ski resort town, where the sled dogs live.  As part of the package, we had the option to sleep near the dogs in a tent.  Kaleb insisted.  

Our accommodations were primitive and genuine.  We had a Sami Lawo (pronounced Lah-vo) tent all to ourselves.  It’s just a large tee-pee, with a woodstove in the center that gives one the sense it might actually be warm inside, but nothing could be further from the truth. 

It hit 16 below zero that night.  Chunks of ice were hanging off the inside of our tent even with a blazing fire in the furnace.  Kory set his cell phone alarm to go off every 75 minutes so he was sure to keep the home fires burning all night, but it was all in vain.  No heat from that stove made it more than three inches away from it, so unless we were practically touching it, there was no warming effect.  I had a cup of water about five inches from it and it froze solid in less than an hour. 

We slept on cots inside Norwegian military issued mummy bags with two reindeer hides under us, one over us and our own wool blankets and sleeping bags on top of that.  We were in full wool long underwear plus clothes,  wool sweaters and hats… and we were still cold!  My face formed ice crystals in the night as I was breathing in and out.  It was as cold as I’ve ever experienced cold.  It was way more “authentic Norway” living than I ever wanted to experience, and never hope to again. 

About 2am, when we were all still wide awake because we were freezing, Kaleb started crying that he just wanted to go home.  Kory let him crawl into his mummy bag to get warm and he finally fell asleep.  I was lucky I slept even just a few hours because the only time I really felt warm was when I was blessed with a hot flash. 

I will always remind Kaleb of that night, should he ever question if there were sacrifices I’ve made for him. After that one, I am sure I’m the best Mama in the whole world.

Candles

If I had to pick just one thing to represent life in Norway, it would be a candle.  Norwegians use a lot of candles.  They not only have them burning on tables and in window sills when company arrives, but they have a hardy type, made just for the outdoors, to light the way for their anticipated guests.  Many stores and restaurants also have those candles burning in the winter in front of their doors, so it’s easy to see which businesses are open.

Specially made candles are also sold just for graveyards.  Dead loved ones are respectfully remembered on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, as candles that burn all night long, are placed on their graves.  It’s beautiful to drive by the cemetery on those dark winter nights and see it all lit up. 

The squatty little tea light candles are used most often and placed in beautiful candle holders in homes, and burn for company or everyday use. Norwegians light them even if they are home alone because there is something special about the glow and flicker of the flame that they truly love. 

For holidays, the long tapered candles get used quite a bit, and the color of the candle tells which holiday it is.  During Advent, only purple candles are used.  Once Christmas arrives, only the red or white ones are out.  At Easter, yellow candles dominate households. 

I thought it was funny that the week after Easter, all the yellow candles were on sale for half off, because no one would dare use a yellow candle any other time of year except at Easter.  It was the same for the purple candles after Advent and the red ones after Christmas. 

On the 17^th of May, Norway’s Constitution Day, they sell a highly specialized candle that has the colors of the Norwegian flag layered in it.  No one would ever burn those candles on any day other than the 17^th of May, either.  Conformity is everything in Norway.

But the coolest tradition, literally, Norwegians have around the use of candles, is that they build snowmen or snow sculptures in their yards and put outdoor candles inside of them.  It’s such an odd effect – snow and fire mixing to make art.  My favorite was a big dome made out of snow balls with a large candle burning inside so all the space between the balls was glowing.  It makes for a nice winter evening activity to walk down the street and see all the creations lit up. It beats the heck out of a typical American form of evening entertainment, which provides glowing lights alright, but sadly, just from the television.

The Days of Christmas

Christmas Eve in Norway is the big kick-off celebration to the Christmas season.  Christmas Day is the official First Day of Christmas.  Norwegians think Americans are crazy to try and celebrate Christmas the whole month of December with parties and gatherings, since it’s also the same time we are preparing for it.  Norwegians prepare the whole month, then don’t start the festivities until Christmas Eve.  The celebrations go right on through the Twelve Days of Christmas, so that by January 6^th, the party is over and life is back to normal.  Personally, I like their system much better.

Often, on the First Day of Christmas, people just eat leftovers from the big dinner the night before and “slappe av” (relax).  Everyone thinks the food tastes better the second day (except me – who didn’t like it much the first day, either.)  Families enjoy just hanging out at home and sometime during the day it’s certain they will take a leisurely walk in the neighborhood or up in the mountains.    

The Second Day of Christmas is an official holiday also, so no one has to work and all the stores are closed.  For those families with more than one location to visit, having many days called “Christmas” takes a lot of stress out of this time of year.  Most businesses are closed completely during Christmas week, but if they are open, it’s just for a few hours (including grocery stores.)  

Norwegians have certain traditions around New Year’s Eve (The Sixth Day of Christmas) as much as they do for Christmas Eve.  The exact same food is served because it’s only available that time of year, so they eat it as often as they can.  It’s also another day to dress formally, even if they are just staying home.  And at the stroke of midnight, fireworks go off.  It’s the only time of year they are allowed.

The King gives a speech on New Year’s Eve and everyone anxiously gathers around the TV to watch it.  On New Year’s Day, the Prime Minister delivers a speech.  Not as many people care about that one, so the government allowed a gambling scheme to be set up to get people more interested.  Any adult citizen can go on-line and place wagers on exactly which words might be included in the Prime Minister’s speech.  The year we lived there, the obvious words like “crisis” or “America” had very low odds, but some out of the blue words, if predicted, then used in the speech, could pay huge dividends.  It certainly makes listening to politicians more exciting.  Why didn’t we think of that?