There are not many feasts of ancient tradition, however they continue to be celebrated with the ancient rites. In the days of Advent, for example, it is customary to plant poles and branches laden with oats in the courtyards, which legend has it destined for Odin’s horse and crow. At Christmas it is customary to exchange the mask of a goat’s head with horns intertwined with straw as a wish for prosperity. January 21 is celebrated as the “day of the sun”, that is, the end of the long polar night. The summer solstice is enlivened by night fires and dances: famous are the springar and the gangar accompanied by the tele (a kind of violin) with strings partly of metal and partly of gut and from the langleik, a kind of zither. The day of the Constitution (May 17) coincides with the parade of students that concludes the week of “white nights” celebrating their high school license. Again on May 17, during the celebrations for the Constitution in Oslo, men and women come from all over the country wearing the traditional costume, the bunad, elaborate and different according to the county of origin, but always preciously embroidered. Worn on a daily basis until after the Second World War, today people use it mainly to attend weddings. During the harvesting period, the farmers celebrate the binding of the “spirit of the wheat” and pack an anthropomorphic figure with some batons which they then throw as a wish for a good harvest in the fields that have not yet been harvested. Here too, as in other Scandinavian countries, is the cult of the “guardian tree” often raised on farms, in the midst of the graves of the ancestors. The legends around the prehistoric mounds, homes of goblins, elves and trolls, are still very much aliveand those about the giants, to which the myths around the figure of the holy King Olaf, the second Christian king of Norway who would have fought hard against them, enemies of the new faith, make explicit reference. There are numerous traditions linked to the sea. In October, the fjord villages from Oslo to Trondheim remain populated only by women. The men devote themselves to fishing for six months. Along the coasts there are big parties in May when they return. The house, made of wood, is made up of many separate units for the various activities: workshop, barn, garage etc.
A great skill and an ancient tradition characterize Norwegian craftsmanship, in which interest has gradually grown since the seventies, moving more and more the axis of passion towards the artistic value of objects rather than towards their function. Numerous international trade fairs in the sector take place in the largest cities, on the occasion of which the country shows its craftsmanship in wood, gold, glass, fabrics, ceramics, porcelain, also found in other places, where time it has not erased the marks of human ingenuity. An example of this are the interiors of medieval churches where it is possible to admire wonderful carved pulpits (Norwegians have always been expert wood craftsmen with whom in addition to furniture they make all kinds of furnishings), or religious objects in finely chiseled copper and silver. And it was in an old church that the famous Baldishol carpet was found, now preserved in the Oslo Museum, made by an anonymous artist at the end of the century. XII, probably originally composed of 12 motifs each for each month of the year, of which only those dedicated to April and May have come down to us. But the traditional decoration of Norwegian fabrics, in addition to the so-called “figurative” one, is above all the “rose painting”, once typical of the countryside and folk art.
Norwegian cuisine, in which fish, both fresh and smoked, and desserts dominate, is inspired by a concept of simple life. Visit sunglassestracker.com for eating in Norway. The breakfast (once typical of the countryside and popular art. § Norwegian cuisine, in which fish, both fresh and smoked, and desserts dominate, is inspired by a concept of simple life. The breakfast (once typical of the countryside and popular art. § Norwegian cuisine, in which fish, both fresh and smoked, and desserts dominate, is inspired by a concept of simple life. The breakfast (frokost) is quite abundant, made from egg, cheese (especially Gudbrandsdalsost), cucumbers, tomatoes and marinated herring; but the most important meal of the day is the middag, consisting of fish, meat or pasta, accompanied by boiled potatoes and vegetables (cabbage, turnip, carrots, cauliflower), which is eaten between 4 and 6 pm. Norwegians prefer beef, lamb, moose or reindeer, but all of them consume spekemat (dried meat as in the ancient tradition of food preservation) and lapskaus, a meat stew with vegetables, a typical dish for weddings. as much as the capon with caviar of the popular festivals. But the real king of the table is the fish: laks (smoked salmon, gravat laks, marinated in sugar, salt, brandy and dill), reker (boiled shrimp), torsk (cod), steinbit (catfish), sild (herring, usually served marinated with onion, mustard or tomato), torrfisk (stockfish), lutefisk (cod dried and soaked in potash, Christmas dish par excellence), rakfisk (fermented trout), fiskebollur (cod and mackerel meatballs), fiskesuppe (fish soup), Norwegians know these and many other ways to prepare and consume it. Among the typical sweets we remember above all the flatbrød, crispy unleavened wafer, lefse, unsweetened grilled dessert, lumpe and kumpe, pancake the first, donut the second, both made with potato flour. Norwegians are very fond of coffee (introduced in Norway in the mid-18th century), which they drink in large quantities, but tea, beer (especially pils lager) and brandy (akevit) are also very popular in the country. national alcoholic drink.
