Posts from May 2009

Gratulerer med dagen!

Posted by kari 1 Comment
May 16 2009

In Norwegian, “gratulerer med dagen” can either mean “happy birthday” or it can be said on a day like syttende mai to mean something like “congratulations on this day!”  It’s almost a happy birthday to Norway-to celebrate the day that the country adopted it’s own constitution.  So at midnight tonight, you should all show off your Norwegian and tell everyone you see “gratulerer med dagen!”  You might be wondering how to pronounce this so you really get it down and can feel good about it.  It’s kind of tricky to describe in writing, but I’ll try to spell it out phonetically to the best of my ability: grah (like “ah” when the doctor tells you to open your mouth to check the back of your throat…)-too-lair-er may (kind of “may” mixed with “meh”) dog (like your pet) -en.  Try that.  The “r”s in “gratulerer” are of course supposed to be flipped, so give that a whirl.  I attempted to explain how to flip ‘r’s in one of the previous posts, so reference that if you need to.

So what do Norwegians do on this glorious day?  Well, most of them are hungover to start the day, which seems odd.  The night to party is tonight, the night before syttende mai (pronounced soot (like root but remember not to use the ooo like ooolala pronunciation) -en-eh my).  Today is the 16th of May-sekstene mai (pronounced sigh (like you are exasperated)-sten-eh my.  I remember this day 3 years ago when I was living in Oslo, we went out and partied hard.   And woke up much too early for my comfort.

The day begins early with a great big breakfast usually with friends and/or family.  I went with some friends to one of their friend’s houses and was amazed at the spread of food before me.  There was a variety of breads, cheeses, meats, olives, and pastries.  There were hard-boiled eggs, an array of fruit, and of course, champagne.  Drink it as is or mix it with orange juice, also known as a mimosa to us.  You hang around and eat and talk about the night before and then head down to the parade!  Because I was in Oslo, the parade would be the biggest in the country and it takes place on Karl Johans Gate, the main drag of Oslo.  Everyone stands around and watches for the royal family to come onto a balcony of the palace and waive.  School kids march on by in the parade.  The Russ, who I have mentioned in the past, also partake in the parade, all dressed in their russ colors.  The most fascinating part of the day for me was to be able to look at all of the different traditional attire that men and women wore.  Bunads galore.  I saw so many different beautiful bunader (bunads) from all over the country.  Some people know bunads so well that they can tell you where this bunad is from and where that bunad is from.  Bunads are specific to regions of the country.  While female bunads are dresses, men’s traditional costumes are also referred to as bunads, but they are not dresses. 

If you go to Norway for syttende mai, you will see ornate costumes, milions of Norwegian flags, many little children walking in the parade, and Russ that are so partied out they probably don’t look too good.  You will hear lots of music and see lots of smiling faces.  It is a great time.  I think just about every community in Norway has it’s own celebration.  Oh, and I forgot an important part of the day-is- ice cream.  You must eat is! 

Gratulerer med dagen tomorrow!  I will be at a wedding reception tonight, no doubt partying, so I’ll keep Norway in mind and party for her too!!

Syttende Mai

Posted by kari 3 Comments
May 14 2009

The Royal family waving from the palace on Karl Johans GateKarl Johans Gate-the main drag in Oslo

Syttende mai is the 17th (syttende) of May (mai-notice months are not capitalized, unless of course they come at the beginning of a sentence).  Norwegians celebrate syttende mai because it is the anniversary of their Constitution day or Grunnlovsdagen.  In 1814, a small group of Norwegian men, the Constituent Assembly, signed the constitution on May 17 in Eidsvoll, Norge, a small town north of the capital (which was called Christiania at the time). 

Norway was in a union with Denmark from 1536-1814.  In 1814, Crown Prince Christian Frederik of Danmark initiated the Norwegian independence movement.  During the winter and spring of that year, the Norwegian constitution was drafted; on May 16 it was ratified and the following day it was signed.  This constitution was one of the most radically democratic constitutions in the world at the time.  It was inspired by the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the French revolution in 1789. 

The feature of the Norwegian constitution that sets it apart from the American and the French is that of the king.  Norway opted for a constitutional monarchy and the Crown Prince of Denmark, Christian Frederik was the obvious choice for the job (since he was the one that initiated the indepenence movement in the first place).  While most countries in Europe at this time were absolute monarchies, meaning that the king essentially had absolute power, Norway chose to implement a constitutional monarchy, which put a system of checks and balances on the king. 

Unfortunately for Norway, the rest of the world was not ready to support the country as a sovereign entity and Norway lost in battle to Sweden in the late summer of 1814.  Norway was then in a union with Sweden until 1905, when Norway finally became a completely sovereign nation.  And thus, the importance of celebrating syttende mai!  This year, syttende mai falls on a søndag and it happens to be this coming Sunday, so I will write all about what happens on this day in Norway-and actually several blocks away from my house here in Northfield, MN!

Norway and film

Posted by kari 2 Comments
May 10 2009

I have had a lot of exposure to Norwegian language, culture, and people.  I took Norwegian literature classes in college.  However, Norwegian film is something I have never studied.  When I was at St. Olaf, I watched a lot of Norwegian movies, but never really analyzed them.  The University of Oslo showed Norwegian movies a couple times a month for the international students so I saw a few more there, but a lot of them were the same as the ones I had seen at St. Olaf.  One must remember that Norway is a small country with a relatively small population, so one wouldn’t expect Norway to be like Hollywood or Bollywood. 

Norway’s film industry developed later than those of Sweden and Denmark.  In fact, very little is known about the first film produced in Norway.  The film itself is long gone and we don’t even know what year it was produced-sometime in the first decade of the 20th century.  It was produced by Hugo Hermansen and was called either “Fiskerlivets farer” (Dangers of a Fisherman’s life) or “Et drama på havet” (A drama at Sea).  So we know who produced it and that it was called one of two things. 

It wasn’t until the 1920s that Norway began to really produce professional feature films that were sucessful.  It was also during this time period that the nature of Norwegian film changed.  While the birth of the Norwegian film industry produced motion pictures that were based in the big city, during the late 20s, filming in nature and in the rural areas of the country became more popular.  As you might imagine, during the Nazi occupation of Norway, the film industry was sensored and so the voicesof the majority of the Norwegian people were not heard during that time.  Following the second world war, documentaries were popular, especially those about wartime related events.  By the 1960s, more people watched the television than movies, so the film industry hit kind of a stagnant point.  As can be expected, the social activist and rebellious atmosphere of the 1970s was portrayed on film.  The vehicle for expression was politics, not art.  Films from this period were straight-forward and intentional.  There was a brief period in the 1980s that film viewing was decreasing, but at the end of the 80s, into the 90s, and still today in the 21st century, the Norwegian film industry is on the incline in many ways, including sophistocation, technology, and popularity.  Although most Americans probably have not seen many Norwegian films, Norwegian films have become more and more internationally reknowned in recent years.

I think this statistic will change at some point, but still today the movie “Kon Tiki” (about Thor Heyerdahl’s 1947 expedition on a raft in the Pacific) is the only Norwegian movie to have won an Oscar-for best documentary in 1952.

I have thought long and hard about it, but have come to the conclusion that there are few well-known American movies that are filmed partially in Norway or have something to do with Norway.  I think of myself as a person who has seen a lot of movies in my lifetime-movies from all genres-and I can only think of one off of the top of my head that involves Norway-”Miracle.”  There is a part in the movie where the American hockey team plays Norway.  It’s fun to watch once you are comfortable with the Norwegian language.

What I love about Norwegian movies is that they don’t rely heavily on technology to be enjoyable.  Even with limited technology, Norwegian film still manages to tell great (usually simple, but intricate and realistic) stories that can be suspenseful, scary, upsetting, whatever the feeling might be.  I feel like I’m reading a really good book when I’m watching a good Norwegian movie.  That’s just me and I could be crazy, but that’s how I feel about them. 

I think I’ve mentioned before several of my favorite Norwegian movies, but it doesn’t hurt to say it again.  I really like Elling and Heftig og Begeistret (Cool and Crazy), Villmark, and Kitchen Stories.  I highly recommend watching all of these movies.  They are all similar in some ways and very different in others.  Let me know what you think of them!

 

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The best gift to bring back from Norge

Posted by kari 2 Comments
May 6 2009

This post may be a long time coming.  Some of you might be wondering what kinds of gifts travelers typically bring back hom from Norge to show off their recent voyage and represent the country to their friends and family with little pieces of norsk culture. 

Some trinkets that the average tourist bring back from Norway really don’t accurately represent the Norway of today, such as “Ole and Lena” playing cards, or a tee shirt with the phrase “Uff da” on it.  You all know what I’m talking about when I say that most of the items sold in tourist shops (in many places, not just Norway) are usually things of the past that the modern culture either doesn’t pay attention to or doesn’t even recognize.  Sure, remembering the history of a place and people is important, but I think focusing on those things that are still around today is more timely and important.  Lusekofter (the Norwegian term for what we call “Norwegian sweaters”) make great gifts.  You know the ones I’m talking about.  Hand knit beautiful wool sweaters that come in hundreds of colors and patterns).  Now these lusekofter can be extremely spendy if you buy them here in the U.S.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen one here for less than $200.  I used to work at a little boutique here in Northfield, MN that would slash the prices after a year or so, but even though, they can put a good dent in your wallet.  Lusekofter can be expensive (dyr) in Norway as well, but you have a better chance of finding them cheaper (billigere) there. 

Dale of Norway is the largest manufacturer of traditional Norwegian knitwear.  The company was founded by a man named Peter Jebsen in the small western village of Dale, where in 1879 Jebsen founed a textile mill that used the hydrokraft (hydropower) from the Dale elv (Dale river).  Dale has a long-time relationship with the Norwegian Olympic ski team.  The company has supplied the team with outerwear many times.

Dale Fabrikken (the Dale factory) produces all kinds of knitwear including hats (luer), mittens (votter), and such.  However, their most popular items are the sweaters.  Dale sweaters come in all different sorts.  There are the traditional thick and super warm sweaters, light weight merino wool sweaters, sweaters lined with “Polarwind” for use on extreme cold adventures, elegant and sporty sweaters (including cardigans and accessories) for women, etc. 

I own a couple Dale sweaters.  Each of my grandmothers gave me a beautiful cardigan wool lusekofte before they died (that I actually wear, believe it or not).  The most meaningful lusekofte for me is actually one that one of my norsk relatives knit for me while I lived in Norway and with whom I spent most of my søndager (Sundays). 

I went to St. Olaf College and every year for Christmasfest (a HUGE deal-many of you have probably heard about it-the St. Olaf choir is internationally known for it’s musical talent) there is a sea of lusekofter in the audience-mostly worn by people over age 30 (and then me…).  Lusekofter are traditionally norsk, they are worn by Norwegian-Americans today (and have been for many years), and they are still worn by Norwegians as well.  The perfect gift.  Buy one for yourself too!

Sykkelen

Posted by kari 4 Comments
May 3 2009

The bicycle.  Sykkelen is one of my favorite things ever.  Jeg elsker å sykle (I love to bike).  In southern MN where I live, the weather has not been the best this spring.  However, today is perfekt.  It is 67 degrees with mye sol (lots of sun!) and litt vind (little wind).  I ate some frokost (breakfast) and hopped on my sykkel just before noon. I headed west to explore some new territory.  I am an avid bicyclist not only for the great exercise and time to cruise and think, but it’s just fun for me to know that my own body can generate enough power to move me over miles and miles of beautiful countryside.  I got really into biking when I was a freshman in college (6 years ago…).  I lived in Oslo for åtte måneder (8 months) and NEVER HAD A SYKKEL.  I thought it would cost too much money to buy a sykkel when I was in Norway, especially since I would only have had a good 3-4 months of use.  Looking back, I’m very disappointed that I did not take advantage of the opportunity to see one of my favorite cities by bike. 

I know that Norwegians are active people and they are generally eco-friendly, but I never would have pegged Norway to be home to 2 of the world’s 11 top bicycling cities.  Sandnes and Trondheim are 6th and 7th places, respectively, on the list.  Amsterdam, as you may have guessed is #1, followed by Portland, OR, Copenhagen, Denmark, Boulder, CO, Davis, CA, then the two Norwegian cities.  After Trondheim is San Francisco, CA, Berlin, Germany, Barcelona, Spain, and finally, Basil, Switzerland. 

The Norwegian government started a pilot bicycle project in 1990 to try to reduce car traffic.  The city is now the most friendly cycling city in Norway.  In Trondheim, there is actually a bike lift (sykkel trampe or sykkel heis) that carries bicyclists up the steep terrain.  18% of the city’s residents use bicycles as their main mode of transport to work and school.  By 2015, Norway aims to raise bicycle traffic to at least 8% of all travel. 

In Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Drammen, tourists and locals alike have the opportunity to rent sykkeler for free or very cheap.  The program is called CityBikes and depending on which city you are in, you can simply deposit a coin into the machine and once you return it, you will get your deposit back, or you can purchase a subscription card that you swipe to get the bike.  For tourists who would otherwise walk or take public transportation to all of their destinations, CityBikes offers a cheap, healthy, and fun way to see the city.  I encourage you to rent a bike if you tour to Norway anytime soon!

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