Christmas Foods

When I was growing up, spring cleaning was a ritual that happened just before Easter, but in Norway, the big time cleaning happens right before Christmas.  Everyone goes crazy cleaning all their nooks and crannies so the house looks spotless for the holidays. 

All the women I know in Norway just love Christmas.  They love the lights, candles, decorations, special foods, visits and traditions.   My Norwegian teacher said she thinks the reason people busy themselves so much with cleaning and baking is because it gives them something to do while they wait out the darkest month of the year.  She said part of the excitement of Christmas is knowing that the sun is about to turn and the short days are soon behind them.   

All kinds of delicacies and culinary treats dominate the stores and homes in December.  The thrill of the Christmas season is all about the food, according to my husband. The year we lived in Norway, my son, Kaleb, and I got hooked on “Julebrus” - Christmas pop, even though we aren’t normally pop drinkers.  Norwegian pop is sweetened with real sugar, not the high fructose corn syrup we use in America, and the difference is noticeable. 

Special cookies, breads, soups and candies also become available during Advent in Norway.  They even sell a Christmas beer, which goes well with the special sausages and different kinds of meats also only available during the holidays. 

Lamb is a staple in Norway year round but it’s cured in a unique way just for Christmas and every Norwegian I knew licked their lips just thinking about eating it for Christmas Eve dinner.  Kory used to anxiously wait all year for the taste of Spekkekjøtt, a dried and heavily salted leg of lamb.  A Norwegian specialty store in Seattle sells it so he’d be giddy the entire hour long drive every year just to buy it, but then I’d make him keep it and eat it in the garage because it stinks up the house too much.  Thankfully, those days are behind us now as his vegan diet eliminates all those odoriferous Norwegian delicacies like lutefisk, pickled herring and dried sausages.

Christmas in Norway is more like Thanksgiving in America, since it’s primarily about food and fellowship - minus the thankfulness. 

Gift giving has never been a big part of Christmas in Norway, until the last few decades when their economic status allowed for such frivolity.  It took a few years after I married my very Norwegian husband, to fully understand just why he never bought me Christmas gifts.  It wasn’t a case of neglect, he said, he is just a product of his culture and upbringing.  He never got gifts as a child, so he doesn’t see the point of doing gifts now as an adult. I have adapted and now buy my own presents. And now that he can’t eat his beloved spekkekjøtt, he knows exactly how I feel.