Norway
Posted by Kristen Cox on
For those who love to travel, Norway is one of the top 2022 destinations for a vacation. Norway is a Nordic Country in Northern Europe, the northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula.
The population of Norway is 5.3 Million people.
The Capital and largest city is Oslo.
Norway borders Sweden, Finland
and Russia. Norway has an extensive coastline facing the
North Atlantic Ocean and Barents Sea. The extensive
coastline keeps the average temperatures milder than
other Northerly latitudes countries.
Norway is a constitutional Monarchy and divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court. Norway became fully independent country in 1905. Currently Norway is led by King Harald V, who has very little political power, and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store who leads the elected Parliament.
Early history will find inhabitants settling along the coastlines taking advantage of fishing and hunting. Slowly over time Indo-European farmers settled in and grew grain and raised cows and sheep. However, the Viking age is what they are best known for. They colonized, raided and traded in all parts of Europe. They discovered Iceland and Newfoundland. After Norway was united under King Harald Fairhair in 872, many left to live in Iceland, the Farow Islands, Greenland, parts of Britain and Ireland.
Early Norwegians like most Scandinavians followed Norse Paganism and the Sami, a shamanistic religion. Missionaries arrived between 1000-1150. Originally part of the Catholic church, the Danish King Christian III of Denmark ordered a conversion to Lutheranism in 1539. Today roughly 69% of the population is Lutheran, with Catholicism as the next largest group at 3%.
Today, Norway is the second wealthiest country in the world with their standard of living one of the highest in the world. Their hourly wages are the among the highest in the world. Norway is the fifth largest oil exporter and the third largest gas exporter in the world. They are also the second largest exporter of fish. Norway is the world leader in hydroelectric power and the leader in electric cars.
Tourism is a strong business making 4.2% of their gross domestic product. Most of tourists come May thru August. The main attractions are fjord-indented coastlines, mountains, waterfalls, ski resorts. lakes and unspoiled nature. Activities such as hiking and skiing are king. Some famous tourist spots are the Holmenkollen Ski Jump, Bergen's Bryggen and Vigeland Sculpture Park,
Other Interesting Facts about Norwegian Culture.
Norwegian, in its two official written forms, Bokmål and Nynorsk, is the official language, a North Germanic language descended from Old Norse.
Holidays:
Holidays and Observances in Norway in 2022
| Date | Name | Type | Flag Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | Saturday | New Year's Day | National holiday |  |
| Jan 21 | Friday | Princess Ingrid Alexandra's day | Flag day | |
| Feb 6 | Sunday | Saami National Day | Flag day | |
| Feb 13 | Sunday | Mother's Day | Observance | |
| Feb 14 | Monday | Valentine's Day | Observance | |
| Feb 21 | Monday | King Harald V's day | Flag day | |
| Feb 27 | Sunday | Carnival | Observance | |
| Mar 20 | Sunday | March Equinox | Season | |
| Mar 27 | Sunday | Daylight Saving Time starts | Clock change/Daylight Saving Time | |
| Apr 10 | Sunday | Palm Sunday | Observance | |
| Apr 14 | Thursday | Maundy Thursday | National holiday | |
| Apr 15 | Friday | Good Friday | National holiday | |
| Apr 16 | Saturday | Holy Saturday | Observance | |
| Apr 17 | Sunday | Easter Sunday | National holiday | |
| Apr 18 | Monday | Easter Monday | National holiday | |
| May 1 | Sunday | Labor day | National holiday, Flag day | |
| May 8 | Sunday | Day of liberation | Observance, Flag day | |
| May 17 | Tuesday | 17 May Constitution Day (1814) | National holiday, Flag day | |
| May 26 | Thursday | Ascension Day | National holiday | |
| Jun 4 | Saturday | Whit Saturday | Observance | |
| Jun 5 | Sunday | Whit Sunday | National holiday | |
| Jun 6 | Monday | Whit Monday | National holiday | |
| Jun 7 | Tuesday | Dissolution of union with Sweden (1905) | Flag day | |
| Jun 21 | Tuesday | June Solstice | Season | |
| Jun 23 | Thursday | Midsummer Eve | Observance | |
| Jun 24 | Friday | St. John's day | Observance | |
| Jul 4 | Monday | Queen Sonja's day | Flag day | |
| Jul 20 | Wednesday | Crown Prince Haakon's day | Flag day | |
| Jul 29 | Friday | St. Olaf's day | Flag day | |
| Aug 19 | Friday | Crown Princess Mette-Marit's day | Flag day | |
| Sep 23 | Friday | September Equinox | Season | |
| Oct 24 | Monday | United Nations Day | Observance | |
| Oct 30 | Sunday | Repentance Day | Observance | |
| Oct 30 | Sunday | Daylight Saving Time ends | Clock change/Daylight Saving Time | |
| Oct 31 | Monday | Halloween | Observance | |
| Nov 6 | Sunday | All Saints' Day | Observance | |
| Nov 13 | Sunday | Father's Day | Observance | |
| Nov 27 | Sunday | First Advent Sunday | Observance | |
| Dec 4 | Sunday | Second Advent Sunday | Observance | |
| Dec 11 | Sunday | Third Advent Sunday | Observance | |
| Dec 18 | Sunday | Fourth Advent Sunday | Observance | |
| Dec 21 | Wednesday | December Solstice | Season | |
| Dec 24 | Saturday | Christmas Eve | Bank Holiday / Observance | |
| Dec 25 | Sunday | Christmas Day | National holiday | |
| Dec 26 | Monday | Boxing Day | National holiday | |
| Dec 31 | Saturday | New Year's Eve | Observance |
For the little girls out there :) St Olaf's day celebrates King Olaf born in 995. He was granted Sainthood for spreading Christianity to Norway among other places in Scandinavia. He is also the patron saint of Norway. It is celebrated by feasts and festivals. Olaf is a very popular boys name and St. Olaf has a major influence on Norwegian Culture.
Christmas in Norway:
Christmas, called “jul” in Norway, actually predates the Christianization of the country. Jul was celebrated during the second moon (from new moon to new moon) of the winter half of the year – roughly from the new moon of November to the new moon of December. At this time, the animals for slaughter were the fattest, flour had been processed, all the work of autumn was completed, and it was time to celebrate.
Sports are a central part of Norwegian culture, and popular sports include association football, handball, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, speed skating, and, to a lesser degree, ice hockey. Bandy is a traditional sport in Norway and the country is one of the four founders of the Federation of International Bandy. In terms of licensed athletes, it is the second biggest winter sport in the world.
Norway's Culinary Traditions show the influence of long seafaring and farming traditions, with salmon (fresh and cured), herring (pickled or marinated), trout, codfish,and other seafood, balanced by cheeses (such as brunost, Jarlsberg cheese, and gamalost), dairy products, and breads (predominantly dark/darker).
Lefse is a Norwegian potato flatbread, usually topped with large amounts of butter and sugar, most commonly eaten around Christmas. Traditional Norwegian dishes include lutefisk, smalahove, pinnekjøtt, raspeball, and fårikål. A Norwegian speciality is rakefisk, which is fermented trout, consumed with thin flatbread (flatbrød, not lefse) and sour cream. The most popular pastry is vaffel; it is different from the Belgian vaffel in taste and consistency and is served with sour cream, brown cheese, butter and sugar, or strawberry or raspberry jam, which can all be mixed or eaten separately.
Of particular note is Edvard Munch, a symbolist/expressionist painter who became world-famous for The Scream which is said to represent the anxiety of modern man. Other notable works from Munch includes The Sick Child, Madonna and Puberty.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980), for which the producers used Hardangerjøkulen glacier as a filming location for scenes of the ice planet Hoth. It included a memorable battle in the snow.
When choosing the best time to go to Norway, you need to decide what kind of holiday you want. Do you want to experience the Northern Lights in all its glory? Or hike through epic landscapes? Ski or Hike. Whatever season you chose, it will be a vacation to remember.