OT Norwegian Christmas-food (was Re: Christmas Dinner in England (long and tedious), and is now longer and more tedious)

[Christian Stubø]

No: HPFGUIDX 7052

--- Michelle Apostolides <michelleapostolides at lineone.net> skrev: 
[snip]

Anybody desiring to make a fanfic based on the below, get in touch - I
have some ideas for a Norwegian/Scandinavian school of magic (assuming
that Rowling's recent statement was proof that Durmstrangs has her
completely fooled).

If they go to a Norwegian school, they might get served lutefisk (dried
fish that has soaked for a while in potash lye - sort of a belak yellow
jelly-like wobbly substance smelling of dried fish and ammonia), or
boiled codfish-heads.  The most prevalent theory on how lutefisk came
to be, is that a storage house packed with stock-fish burnt down, and
then the remains got soaked in a rainstorm.  Someone desperately hungry
then to their great surprise discovered that it was in fact edible (not
that all Norwegians would agree on that subject).  Lutefisk is served
with boiled potatoes, bacon, mustard, white gravy and Aquavit.  I am
trying to remember if smalahove is served for Christmas (take half a
sheep-head, scorch off the wool, clean out brain, etc., but keep the
eyes, boil for 6 hours and eat), but I think it is.

More normal Christmas-dishes will include pork-rib, with
medister-sausage and medister-patties (medister is a 50/50-blend of
minced beef and minced pork), with boiled potatoes, carrots, peas and
cauliflower; and poached cod, with boiled potatoes, carrots and
Sandefjor-butter; and stick-meat, which is a name for salted and dried
ribs of mutton, which are boiled, served with boiled potatoes and
mashed swedes.  The name stems for the use of birch-sticks being placed
in the bottom of the pot to keep the ribs from touching bottom and get
burnt.

I swear, I did not make up anything of the above!  Swedes, or Swedish
turnips, are known in the US as rutabagers, I believe.

Christmas dinner is served on christmas-eve, at 5pm.  At noon, meny
have rice-porridge for lunch.  A well-known custom is to hide an almond
in one of the servings, and whoever finds it will get a treat (normally
marsipan shaped as a pig) - its a bit like the silver-coin in the
Christmas-pudding.

On Christmas-day, there is normally a large buffet-brunch, with
leftovers from the day before, and many types of sliced meats and
spread, smoked salmon, cured salmon, scrambled eggs (without pepper,
but with chives), for smrbrd.

On Second-day (Boxing Day), there is fish, if there was meat on
Christmas-eve, and vice-versa.  See list at teh beginning for possible
menus.

The next few days (27th-30th Dec.) are known as rom-jul, with a bit
more normal dinners.  It is now permissible to visit with friends and
family.

New-years eve is another big one.  Turkey in American fashion has
becoem more and more the tradition in recent years.  At 8pm there is
the King's speech.  The eve is finished with fireworks (and many people
getting maimed, and a number of houses burning down, and with pets
being in desperate need of prozac or equivalents) at midnight.

At new-years-day there is the new-years ski-jumping-contest (at
Garmisch Partenkirchen, I believe), and the new-years concert from the
concerthall of the Musik-Verein in Wien.  The PM holds his/her speech
at 7.30 pm.

> I've been thinking. We've talked a lot about Brit traditions ( mostly
> English ) . Could some of our correspondents from other countries
> give
> us an idea of where their traditions differ ? Perhaps this could be a
> basis for a fan fic about a trip to Durmstrang, Beauxbatons or
> another
> wizarding school.
> 
> Michelle
> ( Trying to keep the thread on topic )


=====
"There are two trillion six-houndred and sixtyfive billion  eight-houndred and sixtysix million, seven-houndred and fortysix thousand, six-houndred and sixtyfour litte devils in the world"
---------------------------------------------
Christian Stub
Student of Technology, architectura navalis

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