The taste of Christmas

The Norwegians’ also have their own take on mulled wine. “Gløgg” is usually made up of hot red wine and/or aquavit, sugar, and spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and bitter orange. The drink is served with almonds and raisins. Children get a non-alcoholic version made with fruit juice instead of wine.

The hungry elf in the barn

The chubby, generous and kind Santa Claus has become a central part of the modern Norwegian Christmas celebration. “Fjøsnissen” (the barn elf) is a more mischievous and slightly sinister character that was important when Norway was still a farming community.

You’d be well advised to stay friends with this short, bearded guy. If treated well, he would help make sure that the farm prospered. If unhappy with the swing of things, however, he could exercise the most brutal forms of revenge, such as striking the dairy cattle dead.

This is why farmers used to bring rice porridge and home-brewed beer to the barn every Christmas, a tradition that continues on Norwegian farms to this day.