Lille Julaften

by

Schneegestoeber_kleiner, Foto: Hanne Siebers

Do you know that in Norway the day before Christmas Eve is a holiday? It’s called Lille Julaften – Little Christmas Eve. We, the lovely Bookfayries Siri & Selma, asked our dear Dina to explain this funny holiday and  her response was simple, “It’s the day we celebrate the start of celebrations!”  This sounded like a brilliant excuse to our Master and us for a BIG party. And so it was decided: big celebration tonight! We are almost ready now – we’ve cleaned the house, we brought in and decorated our  fairy Christmas tree. In the kitchen the risgrøt , the rice porridge is simmering. Dina will serve it out with melted butter, cinnamon and sugar, but not before we had our traditional Christmas clean out in the sauna. The leftovers will be used for riskrem,  the traditional dessert on Juleaften, but then mixed with whipped cream and refined with lots and lots of goodies. Of course we will save a serving for julenissen! 🙂 When we have finished our risgrøt, we will put a plate outside for him.

And now it’s time to clean ourselves in the sauna. Well, that`s old style we would say because the vast majority hunker down in front of their TVs to watch Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK)’s annual Kvelden før kvelden , (The evening before the evening), an annual Christmas program with song and dance, cooking tips and celebrity appearances.

Speaking of Norwegian traditions, guess what? The famous Christmas tree in London’s Trafalgar Square has been an annual gift to the people of London by the city of Oslo as a token of gratitude for British support of Norway during WW II each year since 1947. We think this is a wonderful way to celebrate a friendship!

Lille Julaften, der Kleine Weihnachtsabend ist ein skandinavischer Weihnachtsbrauch, der ein Tag vor Heilig Abend in Norwegen, Island, auf den Färöern und seit dem 18. Jahrhundert auch in Schweden gefeiert wird. Am Torlaksmesstag (Tollesmessdagen – zu Ehren des isländischen Bischofs Thorlákr Thorhallsson [1133—1193], der am Lille Julafton starb) säubert man sein Haus und bezieht sein Bett frisch. Man geht in die Sauna oder badet zumindest und legt sich feine Kleidung für das große Weihnachtsfest bereit. Es ist in Skandinavien üblich, bis spät in die Nacht alles vorzubereiten – mit der entsprechenden Dosis Alkohol 😉 Der Torlaksmesstag wird auch heute noch dazu genutzt, das Haus bzw. die Wohnung gründlich zu reinigen. Damit sollen böse Geister vertrieben werden, und wer hierbei schlampt, den holen die Åsgårsreia.

Emsig werden die letzten Weihnachtsvorbereitungen getroffen, wie z. B. das Backen von Weihnachtsgebäck und das Herrichten des Weihnachtsessens, das festliche Schmücken der Wohnung und des Weihnachtsbaumes. Auf Island ist es heute noch üblich, wie teilweise auf den Färöern und in Norwegen, an diesem Tag ein spezielles Fischgericht zu essen als Brechen des Fastens vor Weihnachten.

God jul og godt nytt år!

Wir wünschen alle ein frohes Weihnachtsfest und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr. 

Merry Christmas everybody! We take a holiday from blogging now. A big thank you to each and every one for your kind support and much appreciated visits and comments.

Love, hugs, klem

Dina, Klausbernd, Sir & Selma

107 thoughts

  5. Liebe fabulous four,

    ich wünsche euch ein besinnliches Weihnachtsfest und ein gesundes, gelingendes neues Jahr. Desweiteren einen guten Start eures gemeinsamen Blogs im neuen Jahr, dem ich genau so gierig an den Lippen hängen werde wie den beiden im heurigen Jahr. Celebrate the Celebrations, ein gelungener Schachzug, den man beherzigen solte, wenn man einen feierlichen circulus vitiosus einleiten will 🙂 Und by the way: Ich saß einmal, als 17jähriger Pennäler in einer schwedischen Sauna bei Östersund, und ich muss gestehen, es ist mir nicht bekommen. Beim ersten Aufguss flüchtete ich stande pete und warf mich in den See, der zu meiner Rettung direkt vor der Saunatür lag. Gehabt euch alle wohl, wir lesen uns.

    Liebe Grüße aus Freiburg

    Achim

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  7. And then, of course, there is Heiligabend (Christmas Eve) in Germany when the children receive their gifts from the Christkindel. Even though I raised my daugher in the US, she always negotiated opening half of her gifts on Christmas Eve to pay homage to her German ancestry! Thanks for sharing this Norwegian custom. Merry Christmas to the four of you, I have really enjoyed reading your blog(s) this year.

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  18. I grew up in Denmark with the Lille Juleaften tradition as well. In my family it was the evening where we would decorate the Christmas Tree. All the relatives had arrived, and we had our pre-Christmas Eve dinner of Hamburgryg (a type of ham) with “Grønlangkål” (cream of kale) and sugar browned potatoes! During the day of Lille Juleaften we would prepare for the big Christmas dinner, make our Marzipan figures and other sweets, and finish making the last Christmas decorations for the tree as well as the house. My Mom wanted everything to be as fresh as possible for Christmas Eve, so it was a busy, but super-fun and exciting day for us kids. We would sit around the kitchen table and listen to our aunts and uncles tell stories from years past, as well as fairy tales about “Nisser” (Christmas Trolls) while we were busy working and sneaking a few bites of candy.

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  20. It sounds as if we miss out on a lot over here! No sauna, no nice rice pudding, or other Scandinavian treats. Our tree is long decorated, and we have just returned from Tesco, in lashing rain and winds. That’s more usual for us, I’m afraid. Presents will be opened on Christmas morning, never before, but I might have some wine later, with the excuse that it is a holiday in Norway.
    Merry Christmas, and love and best wishes to you both, Dina and KB, Pete, Julie and Ollie (poorly tail). X

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  32. What a lovely photograph Dina. And thank you for sharing your Norwegian traditions with us. I wish you, Klausbernd, Siri & Selma a very peaceful and joyful holiday and I look forward to sharing your travels and photos and interesting observations of life and the universe in 2014 😀
    Jude xx
    (So which Bookfayrie sits at the top of the tree then?)

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    • Wer immer es aufgenommen hat, kann es gleich wieder löschen. Man erfährt nicht viel über Weihnachten in Norwegen, ich bin nur in der Ansicht bestärkt worden, dass es sich bei Kreuzfahrten um den Vorhof der Hölle handeln muss.

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  43. How sensible to make the Eve of Christmas Eve an official holiday. Have lots of fun – that rice porridge sounds such a great way to start the holidays! Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

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  52. Our best wishes to you for a wonderful holiday!! Clearly, Lille Julaften is by far preferable to the American equivalent: “The day we celebrate the start of celebrations” = Halloween! All the best to you both, and of course, the Bookfayries as well 🙂

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  64. Lieb Dina, Klausbernd, Siri und Selma. Ich wünsche euch ein schönes Weihnachtsfest und eine gute Nacht im frisch bezogenen Bett. Herzliche Grüße aus Berlin wo die Vorbereitungen auf Hochtouren laufen, das Bäumchen ist eingestielt, die Hunde scharwenzel aufgeregt herum und jetzt warten wir auf das Christkind …

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  70. So nice! I have learned two new things: I love the idea of celebrating the beginning of a celebration 😉 and I love that Norway has been giving England a Christmas tree ever since the end of WWII, very nice.
    Also, Dina’s image is outstanding! I totally love it, its mood and subdued color palette. Just great.
    Merry Christmas, dear friends: enjoy and be merry! 🙂
    Stefano

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  73. Carissimi,
    Ich habe mich auf eure Weihnachtsbotschaft gefreut und das Lesen derselben bis zu diesem Moment zurückgestellt, wo ich ganz alleine am Küchenfenster sitze,
    den Regentropfen zuhöre und mit Freuden über das Zelebrieren dieses Festes im Norden lesen darf. Ich denke sehr, dass ich mich damit anfreunden könnte. Ich hoffe nur Klausbernd übertreibt es nicht mit dem Alkohol, da er doch mehr auf Kamillentee trainiert ist, wenn ich mich recht erinnere. Auf jeden Fall, habt’s einfach weiterhin schön miteinander. Con affetto Martina

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  77. gaaaaaaaaaaaanz spät dran, aber ncoh nciht zu spät……!
    Noch wunderschöne besinnliche weihnachtliche Stunden mit ganz lieben Gedanken an Euch sendet Euch Laura

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  81. What a wonderful way to start the Xmas celebration! I love it! I didn’t know about the Xmas tree in London! I always learn something new from you, guys!
    Enjoy your holiday season!
    Love,
    Francesca Xx

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  82. I came back twice just to read all of the comments and look once more at the welcoming photography. It is time to bid a fond farewell to our amazing year 2013! I am taking this quote with me into the New Year. I am celebrating that we are connected. Hugs across the waters….

    “And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been”
    Rainer Maria Rilke

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  85. I love seeing our Christmas tree from Norway. This year I went to a Norwegian concert in St Martin in the Fields church next to the tree in Trafalgar Square. It was packed out and a wonderful hour of music. Happy Christmas and New Year to you all!

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  92. Happy Holidays to you! In Czech Republic, Christmas Eve is also a holiday. Just like Christmas, and Boxing Day. (Although some people jokingly refer to it as hangover day, I wonder why 😀 ). In France, only the 25th is a holiday.

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  99. This is an interesting fact about another country where you have a special day before Christmas. I like the fact that you guys have saunas at your house. I have to go my gym to go to the sauna but I love it and it’s a nice time for me to bond with my mom. I like your blog. And was wondering if you could support in following mine. I’m a college student and started a social media class and am looking for followers for my blog. So if you would follow me I would greatly appreciate it. Either way thank you for your inspirational writings and your interesting blog. -bel

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