Posts under Traditions

norske navn

Posted by Kari
Oct
27
2009

Norwegian names (notice there is no “er” ending on the indefinite plural “names” because navn is a one-syllable “et” noun).  It’s always for me to learn about names and their origins or what name something equates to in my own language.  Names are kind of funny things, right?  It seems people can always come up with new names out of the 26 letters in the English alphabet.  Many names we might think are new are actually old names from a different culture.  Such as Elias, which equates to Elijah, a name found in the Bible.  Or Filip, which you might guess is Phillip.  There are many names that look familiar, but sound much different (i.e. Elisabet-Elizabeth look very similar but the Norwegian Elisabet is pronounced “Ay-lee-sah-bet”).

The following is a list of names and their equivalents that look, but maybe don’t sound the same in English:

Edvard-Edward                                     Anders-Andrew                             

Daniel-Daniel/David-David (the “a” is and “ah” sound in Norwegian)

Brigitta/Birgitta-Bridget                     Aksel-Axel (again the “a” is prounounced “ah” in Norwegian)

Joakim-Joachim                                    Johanne/Johannes-John�                     

Kjersti (pronounced “Chair-stee”)-Christi/Kristi                Lars (pronounced “Larsh”)-Laurence

Mikkel-Michael                                    Morten-Martin                            Pål (pronounced “Pole”-Paul)

You get the picture…

And now, let’s look at norske navner that have meanings

Trygve-a name derived from an Old Norse word meaning “trustworthy” (trygg means “safe”)

Viggo (like Viggo Mortenson)-derived from an Old Norse word meaning “war”

Solveig-derived from Old Norse words for “sun” and “strength”

Olaf-derived from Old Norse word meaning “ancestor” or “descendent”

Helge-derived from Old Norse word meaning “holy” or “blessed”

Leif-derived from an Old Norse word meaning “descendent” or “heir”

Magnhild-derived from Old Norse words meaning “mighty/strong” and “battle”

Arne-derived from Old Norse short term for “eagle”

Bergljot-derived from Old Norse words meaning “help/save” and “light”

Halstein-derived from Old Norse words meaning “rock” and “stone”

And you get the picture…

I love norske navn.

�

 
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seter

Posted by Kari
Aug
16
2009

place of mountain pasture.  In other words, a traditional seter is a simple wooden cottage in the mountains with a barn where Norwegian bonder (farmers) bring their livestock herds (cattle, goats, and sheep) to be milked after a day of grazing in the mountain pastures.  Historically, young women (ei seterjente = a dairymaid) brought the animals to the seter and remained there for the summer, caring for the animals and making cheese until September, at which point they return to the valleys.

  Norwegians (including the Sami population), as well as Swedes, Turks, the Italians, French, and many more peoples still practice transhumance-the seasonal movement of people and their livestock to a place away from the home farm (to somewhere in the mountains) to graze. 

There are several characteristics of modern life in Norway that have changed the tradition of å setre-the verb for “going to the summer pasture.” For one, the arrival of automobiles has changed the whole feel of going to the seter for the summer.  More importantly though, it is becoming less common for people to have their own, individual setre (seters).  It is now common for several bonder to have a fellesseter (shared seter).  There is roughly one seter for every four farms today in Norawy.  It is becoming less and less economical to own and maintain a seter.  In fact, farming in general has been on the decline for a long time. 

Many of the old setre have either decayed or turned into summer homes.  Some owners have taken to renting them out as vacation and tourist destinations.  There is an organization called Norsk Seterkultur that is dedicated to the preservation of the norsk seter.  This has proved to be quite a successful endeavor.  A woman named Jorunn Hagen has turned her family’s original seter into a historic tourist destination where she sells jams, coffee, and special pancakes called lapper.  For a modest fee, the guests can hear the history of the property back to the early 19th century, pet the animals, and even milk them. 

There are seter all over the country, but there is a concentration of them in Valdres, Gudbrandsdalen, og Nord-Østerdalen.  If you get a chance, check one out next time you’re in Norway.  Pay the NOK 100 (100 crowns) to support the preservation of norsk setre and enjoy the experience!

 
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begravelser

Posted by Kari
Aug
3
2009

funerals.  I know that this is a depressing topic, but I have spent the last week mourning the death of a very close friend and thus got to thinking it is a topic worth learning about in terms of language and traditions for people learning a new language. 

Begravelser in Scandinavian history were similar to many cultures throughout history in that they buried their dead with objects and sometimes sacrifices to prepare them for afterlife.  Nordmenn often cremated their dead in ship burials (which supposedly reached a temperature of 1400 degrees celsius, much hotter than crematories burn bodies today).  Especially in hard times (famine, disease, war), people would fear death and the repercussions of improper burial and preparation of the deceased for afterlife.  It was extremely important to bury the dead with objects and other sacrifices that made sense according to their social status so the deceased would remain in the same social class in the afterlife.  I find it quite interesting to learn about how people throughout history viewed death and responded to it.

Begravelser in Norway are very similar to begravelser in the United States, as I understand.  I have only attended one begravelse in Norway (for an elderly relative), but through talking with another relative I got the impression that they are fairly similar to begravelser here in the United States.  Of course the type of begravelse for the deceased depends largely on religious beliefs of the deceased and close family members.  Therefore the arrival of immigrants to Norway has meant an increase in cultural differences regarding funerals.  However, the vast majority of begravelser take place in en kristen kirke (a Christian church), followed by the actual burial (same word-begravelse) in a graveyard (en kirkegård), where the deceased (en avdøde) is buried (begravet) with a gravestone (gravstein).  Typically a pastor or priest (minister or prest) speaks at the begravelse and the congregation (forsamling or menighet) sings (synger).  There is also usually a soloist (solist) who sings and someone (perhaps the minister or priest) who shares Scripture (gudsord-literally “Gods word).  Following the service (gudstjeneste) there is often coffee (kaffe) or a meal (måltid) served to close friends and family. 

The following are more words and phrases involving death and what kinds of things we think about and say during a time of mourning:

en død or et dødsfall is a death

en dødsulykke is a fatal accident (which is what happened in the case of my best friend)

døende means dying

døsleie means deathbed (å ligge på dødsleiet is to lie at death’s door)

dødelig means fatal or deadly

dødsstraff means death penalty (refer to previous post for information on this)

et minne is a memory

en historie is a story

å gråte is to cry

sjokk is shock (sjokkerende is shocking)

sørg is sorrow (å sørge is to grieve or mourn)

sympati is sympathy (å sympatisere means to sympathize)

dårlig nyheter means bad news

med vennlig hilsen means yours sincerely

trist means sad

å brenne or å kremere means to cremate

Again, my apoligies for such a depressing topic, but good stuff to know.

 
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Sankthansaften

Posted by Kari
Jun
22
2009

  This is the stavkirke (stave church) in Røldal where people would make pilgrames to the crucifix for it’s healing powers.

Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, other northern European countries and even some eastern and southern countries celebrate midsummer, also known in Norway (and Denmark) as Sankthansaften or Jonsok.  Sankt Hans is another way of saying St. Johannes or St. John, referring to John the Baptist (Jonsok means John’s wake), who was thought to have been born 6 months before Jesus, on June 24th.  This holiday has roots both in pre-Christian/pagan and Catholic traditions.  It’s funny how that often is the case.  Traditions often start out meaning one thing and then evolve when other knowledge is gained. 

Midsummer is usually celebrated between June 21st and June 24th.  The date that midsummer is celebrated varies between cultures, but since John the Baptist was thought to have been born on the 24th, this day has special meaning.  So before John the Baptist, the 24th held no real significance.  In Norway, in particular, Sankthansaften is celebrated on June 23.  Historically, the idea was to celebrate the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, by gathering with friends and family to eat, drink, make a bonfire, and pick flowers.  No, really.  The bonfire was lit to protect the people from evil spirits that were thought to be lurking around when the sun turned southwards.  Flowers were picked, marigolds to be specific, for their alleged healing powers.  It was not uncommon to get married on this celebration, which would symbolize new life.

Once Catholicism made it’s way into the tradition, it became popular to make pilgrimages to churches and holy springs.  In Norway, up until 1840, there was a pilgrimage to the stave church in Røldal (southwestern Norway), which had a crucifix that was thought to have special healing powers.  I’m not quite sure why at this particular time of the year people were concerned with healing.  But there are some traditions that I am afraid we are not necessarily meant to understand completely. 

The best part about this night, this celebration, is that no matter where you are in Norway, the sun is up in the sky until at least midnight, even in southern Norway.  Up north, it shines all night long.  Easy to party, hard to sleep.  If I didn’t understand why some days were lighter longer than others, I would probably adopt unscietific ways to explain the phenomenon, and then celebrate that in strange ways as well, wouldn’t you?

 
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How do Norwegians tie the knot?

Posted by Kari
May
29
2009

Et bryllup.  They have et bryllup (a wedding).  Today Norwegian weddings look very similar to weddings in the U.S. and other European countries.  However, historically, Norwegian weddings were much more ceremonial and traditional. 

First of all, all brides and grooms would wear bunads-traditional Norwegian costumes.  Men wore white silk shirts, dark wool stockings and knickers that came up to the calf, and a matching vest and dark wool topcoat.  Women wore a white silk shirt with either a very intricately woven dark wool dress (with embroidery) or a similar skirt.  Then some added financial and meaningful value was added with silver jewelry (both on her body and on the actually dress) and a gold/silver crown, either passed down through the family or loaned from the local church.  It was thought that when the bride moved her head, the tinkering noise the crown made would ward off evil spirits.  At the reception, the bride was to dance until her crown fell off.

Weddings typically used to last several days.  There was of course a church ceremony and then several days of festivities.  The first day was the bride’s day, which included a procession to and from the church, followed by a long night of dinner and drinking.  Typical food at a Norwegian wedding could include smoked salmon with dill and rye bread, herring, potatoes,vodka, and akevitt.  There was and usually still is always a kransekake, a layered almond ring cake with frosting.  Similar to many Christian weddings, the bride and groom get to keep the top of the cake, while the guests enjoy the rest.  The second day was much less formal with family and friends together eating a porridge dinner.  There were many toasts (skål’s) and gifts given this day by the guests.  The third day meant to bid the couple farewell on their journey of marriage. 

On the morning after all the festivities, it was common for the groom to give the bride a morgengave (literally morning gift), which was supposed to be valuable enough that the bride could sell it to support herself for many years if something happened to the groom. 

Today, Norwegian weddings share some similarities with Norwegian weddings of the past, but they look much more similar to typical American weddings.  The groom usually wears a black tux and the bride a white gown.  There are many couples who choose not to be married in a church.  It’s quite common for a couple to have their own children in the wedding.  There are simply many more types of families today and Norway being the extremely liberal country that it is, one will find that it is more and more common for couples to not even get married, but live together and have children.  I will write more about this trend in a later post, but I wanted to give you all an idea of what Norwegian weddings were like historically and how they have changed over the years.�

Oh I did forget one thing.  The fele -the fiddle is still an important part of Norwegian weddings today, as it always was in the past.  In fact, my dad and my stepmother got married a few years ago and they had a very talented and well known fiddle player play at the wedding!

 
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