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About Jana Velo

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So far Jana Velo has created 118 blog entries.

Great Norwegian Adventure to Cast its 10th Season

The world’s nicest reality show, Alt for Norge—known in English as The Great Norway Adventure—is about to cast its 10th season.  In this heritage-based reality show, a dozen Norwegian-Americans fly to their ancestral homeland to compete in a variety of culture-related challenges. The challenges range from culinary feats such as eating sea urchin, to the adventurous challenge of spending a proper [...]

By |November 16th, 2018|Categories: Blog, Not For Home Page|Comments Off on Great Norwegian Adventure to Cast its 10th Season

Celebrate the Cinnamon Roll this Fall

October 4 is Kanelbolledagen, or Cinnamon Roll Day. These beloved pastries are known by many names, such as kanelbolle (cinnamon bun), kanelsnurr (pinwheel), kanelknute (knot) or skillingsbolle (shilling bun). The latter is how they are known in Bergen, named for their original price. Skillingsboller are traditionally a snail shape, with high butter content and granulated sugar on top, rather than glaze [...]

By |October 12th, 2018|Categories: Blog|Comments Off on Celebrate the Cinnamon Roll this Fall

Sharing the Gift of Genealogy

The box of old letters that unlocks a family connection … an anniversary party photo showing multiple generations … documentation like this can provide priceless clues in tracing your family lineage. People tend to view genealogy as a look back in time, rather than a piece of the present.

By |July 12th, 2018|Categories: Blog|Tags: |Comments Off on Sharing the Gift of Genealogy

Last Call for 100 + 200 Kroner Bills

Do you have any kroner that you’ve been saving for a rainy day? You’ll need to trade them for new banknotes by the end of May 2018. Last year, Norges Bank phased in brilliant new 100- and 200-krone bills, while keeping the old ones in circulation for a year. On May 30, 2018, the old 100- and 200-krone notes will expire [...]

By |May 22nd, 2018|Categories: Blog|Comments Off on Last Call for 100 + 200 Kroner Bills

Nineteen Counties to Become 11 Regions by 2020

The Storting (Norway’s parliament) recently passed the most comprehensive administrative reform since 1662. Back then, the country’s administrative units transitioned from len to amt while under Danish rule. In this new reform, Norway’s 19 fylker (counties) are planned to be replaced by 11 regioner (regions) by January 2020. Four existing counties (Nordland, Rogaland, Oslo and Møre og Romsdal) will continue using the [...]

By |April 5th, 2018|Categories: Blog|Comments Off on Nineteen Counties to Become 11 Regions by 2020

Historians Develop Program to Decipher Old Handwriting

A project funded by the European Union is making it possible to convert centuries-old handwriting into typed text. Transkribus is a software program that can scan, transcribe and search historical documents that are in English or Norwegian. The program is supported by the READ project (Recognition and Enrichment of Archival Documents), an international collaboration involving 14 countries. The ability to scan [...]

By |February 13th, 2018|Categories: Blog|Comments Off on Historians Develop Program to Decipher Old Handwriting

Bygone Times Revealed in Norway’s Abandoned Farms

Author and historian Øystein Morten has studied ødegårder—abandoned farms—at length. Fascinated by their vacant, fallen structures, Morten believes deserted farms have a particular allure and tell us something important about the places and the culture that Norwegians have moved away from. With photographer Pål Hermansen, Morten has published—Norske ødegårder – Historien om stedene vi forlot—("Abandoned Norwegian Farms - The History of [...]

By |January 12th, 2018|Categories: Blog|Comments Off on Bygone Times Revealed in Norway’s Abandoned Farms

Behind the Christmas Tradition: the Julebukk

On lille julaften (December 23), Norwegian families typically decorate the juletre (Christmas tree), adorning the branches with handmade woven baskets, lights, Norwegian flags and figures made from straw. One of the traditional straw ornaments is the julebukk, or Yule Goat. Many of Norway’s Christmas symbols stem from pre-Christian times, and the Yule Goat is no exception. It was believed that the [...]

By |December 11th, 2017|Categories: Blog|Comments Off on Behind the Christmas Tradition: the Julebukk

Ibsen’s Peer Gynt Turns 150

Photo Credit: visitnorway.com Norway’s most famous play, Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, celebrates its 150 year anniversary in 2017. The drama, which paints the vibrant and outrageous adventures and misdeeds of Peer Gynt, was finished on October 14, 1867, while its stage premiere opened exactly one month later. To mark this milestone anniversary, Norway has been celebrating all year, both on and off [...]

By |November 7th, 2017|Categories: Blog|Comments Off on Ibsen’s Peer Gynt Turns 150
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