These past few weeks I have been really experiencing a Scandinavian Christmas. A typical tradition here is to have four candles of advent, and with each Sunday in December a new candle is lit. In lighting a new candle a verse to the, “ Vi tenner lys” song is sung. The first Sunday of December one candle is lit and one verse to the song is sung, the next Sunday two candles are lit and two verses are sung, and so on until the final Sunday where all candles are lit and the song is fully sung.
Vi tenner lys – adventsang
Vi tenner lys for han som gav oss solen Og lar oss leve på den gode jord. Vi tenner lys for alle barn i verden Vi tenner lys for søsken, far og mor.
Vi tenner lys for vise menn på vandring Vi tenner lys for stjernen over dem. Vi tenner lys for Josef og Maria Og for den lange vei mot Betlehem.
Vi tenner lys for englene og stallen For okse, esel, gjetergutt og lam Vi tenner lys for barnet som skal fødes Vi tenner lys for dem som tror på ham.
Vi tenner lys på alle mørke steder Vi tror at lyset skinner i Guds ord. Vi tenner lys for Frelseren i stallen For han som bringer himmelen til jord.
All the kids in the family also have an adventscalendar, which is filled with chocolate for each day before Christmas eve. In addition to that calendar my host family also has a calendar with a new note for each day. The first day the calendar had a message saying, “ I kveld skal vi ha peperkaker og gløgg”. This translates to “Tonight we will have gingerbread and gløgg”. Gløgg is a classic Scandinavian hot-spiced wine served with raisins and almonds. It is the perfect drink after a cold day out. All the traditions here make Christmas a really special time of year and I have been really enjoying celebrating this time with a big Norwegian family.
The first snowfall came much later than usual for Norway this year, but sure enough it is here now, and here to stay. It came a couple of weeks ago and since then it has been snowing off and on. The weather has been consistently in the negatives and the roads are always completely iced over. The way I take to school is almost impossible to go if I don’t have spikes in my shoes because it is so slippery.
Håvard and I having a snow fight on the first snow fall.
The host family I am with now is a really athletic family. All of the kids do sports and the parents too. The youngest, Håvard, is on the Østre Toten Ski team and he is only 8 but soon to be pro. I tried out cross-country skiing with him for the first time when the snow first came. It has been a long time since I have skied because normally I snowboard, and the whole two-leg action was really weird for me but with practice it is coming. The next youngest is Johanne and she plays håndball and soccer. Sina plays soccer too. She is on the best soccer team for youth in Norway. Mathilde, the second oldest, is really into Hånball also, and she is the captain of her team.
From left to right my host sister Johanne, Sina, and me at a birthday party
My host sisters Sina and Mathilde
Recent Activities
Baking Peperkaker (gingerbread) with my Tonje
A trip to Oslo with my friends Sousan and Sheri
International Birthday party for my friend Angela from Taiwan
