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Author and translator Barbara Sjoholm on uncovering and uplifting the undertold stories of Scandinavia’s Indigenous people.

The aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, is a natural phenomenon that many wish to see in their lifetime.

When one thinks of Norway’s staple foods, fish, lamb, and potatoes often come to mind. However, in recent years, another food item is capturing the hearts of many: cheese!

There are a total of 212 lighthouses that dot the approximate 62,706 miles of Norway’s majestic coastline. The first and oldest of those lighthouses was erected in 1656 at Lindesnes, which sits at the southern tip of Norway, in Agder county.

Serve this delicious dessert on Christmas Eve and whoever finds the almond should receive a small prize.

Dotted with coastal islands and carved with deep fjords, Møre og Romsdal county graces Norway’s central west coast where imposing mountains end in plunging waterfalls or ease into lush valleys.  

The original artwork for this year’s limited edition rosemaled ornament was painted by Judy Ritger of River Falls, WI. Learning rosemaling mainly through studies at Vesterheim Folk School in Decorah, Iowa, Judy also studied with Ragnvald Frøysadal in Norway and in the U.S.

As a student majoring in Nordic Studies at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, one of the “requirements” was to spend a semester in Norway. I have ‘requirements’ in quotes, because it was more of a golden opportunity, as I had longed for a Norwegian experience for as long as I could remember.

According to godt.no, sveler were first made on board the ferry company Fjord1's routes in Møre and Romsdal in 1971. Originally, the sweet griddle cakes were made on a voluntary basis by the employees, but over the years the tradition developed into an expected service offered to the passengers. Sveler became associated with ferry rides so much, they are also referred to as fergesveler, ferry pancakes. 

Breakfast is considered an important meal of the day in Norway. A 70% majority eat a daily breakfast, and only 5% of the population report that they never eat a morning meal. According to godt.no, Norwegians eat the following foods for breakfast at least once a week:

There is peace in a dog yard. It’s paradoxical, but it is there. You feel it while chopping raw meat, the rickety table covered in ice and deep gouges from persistent swings of cleavers and axes.

In the Sept/October issue of Viking magazine, Emma Enebak covers the Whimsical World of Norwegian Folklore, and some of the fairy tales collected by Asbjørnsen og Moe.

Not really a cheese, and looks and tastes a bit like a caramel. What exactly is gjetost? It’s just delicious.

The July/August issue of Viking featured an image of an intriguing unnamed carving in the article “Tales from the Orkney Islands.” The ornate piece is not made of wood, but is a Viking whalebone plaque discovered in a late 9th- or early 10th-century burial in Scar, on the island of Sanday, Orkney.

The Norwegian language has a tendency to sprinkle word pairings throughout conversation and writing, like bits of linguistic spice. These phrases are fun to say and add a poetic flavor, since they often appear in rhyming and or alliterative pairs.