Norwegian Christmas: Part 4

We got to experience another tradition today…

Julekake
And everyone gave it a big thumbs up!!

Thanks to our sweet friends for continuing to share Norwegian traditions with us.

Norwegian Christmas: Part 3

We spent about 24 hours in Oslo this week. We had numerous meetings with local friends/partners. And we enjoyed seeing the city all decked out for Jul!

You never know what you might see near Oslo S!
We visited Tim Wendelboe coffee with
our friend Sæbjørn

 

 

Lunch at Mathallen
Beautiful street decorations
Love this window display!
Karl Johans Gate and the Palace

 

 

 

Sentrum with Bente

 

 

 

 

 

See the horse’s antlers? 🙂

 

 

Norwegian Christmas: Part 2

Pepperkake… of course, our American friends will know it better as gingerbread. And it is a big part of Norwegian Christmas tradition.

We were excited that our friends invited us to bake pepperkake with them this past week. We had so much fun! After we made lots and LOTS of cookies, the kids worked together and made a cool gingerbread house.

 

 

 

 

Little Dude

One of Daniel’s recent school projects – these words describe him perfectly!

“Helpful” is hidden by his hood, but it should be on there about a dozen times. While some things take longer when he’s involved, I’m so thankful for the way he always wants to lend a hand.

Norwegian Christmas: Part 1

God Jul! (Merry Christmas!)
This month we will be dedicating several blog posts to Christmas – and specifically Christmas in Norway.
We had our first official Christmas celebration on Saturday evening, as we were invited to dinner with two local couples. It was a great evening of traditional (and delicious!) Christmas food and good conversation.
Pinnekjøtt is a very traditional meat (lamb) eaten at Christmas in Norway. It starts with a curing process (salting and drying). The next step varies by region, but our hosts steamed it. Zack and I were honestly a bit nervous, but we both really liked it!
We are so thankful for friends that introduce us to the customs and traditions of this country. It’s fun to learn and experience everything!

 

 

 

 

 

sausages and pinnekjøtt

 

Post-turkey Wrap-up

Last week was exhausting but great. We worked hard, setting up tables, creating centerpieces, translating food descriptions, and making enough food for a LOT of people.

Thursday turned out well. We got to dine with 42 of our friends. We introduced them to all of our families’ traditional Thanksgiving foods. While some weren’t that different, I have a feeling a few may have seemed odd. In particular, we saw interesting reactions from the sweet potato soufflé, cornbread dressing, heavenly hash (mandarin oranges, pineapple, coconut, marshmallows, and sour cream – yeah, that does seem weird!), and green bean casserole.
But overall, a lot of food was consumed, and it seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves. Looking forward to next year… after we rest up!
Zack preparing turkeys
Daniel was amazed at the amount of dressing
we prepared!
Cooking, cooking, and more cooking! We were thankful
to have access to a large kitchen all week.
Zack prepared homemade cranberry sauce.
All I can say is – yum!
Macaroni and cheese – the boys both
requested this
So much food!
My friend Hege prepared one of the turkeys –
and her presentation put ours to shame!