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The activity of the season

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:28 am

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Christmas time is a busy time, no matter how careful one tries to be. I do not like stress, or running about to get things ready at the last minute. We're trying to get all the presents done before December, and spend the weeks before Christmas wrapping, writing cards, tidying, decorating, baking and avoiding shops as much as we can.

With nine people on Christmas Eve and the same for Christmas Day, there is bound to be a flurry of activity the days before. The joy of family gathering and eating too much makes it worth it though. Everything went well, the presents were great, but we're left with far too much food. Again.

The days after Christmas but before New Year are called romjul, friends and family use the days off to visit, the cookies are nearly gone (well done!) and my head feels like it's stuffed with cotton. I've ran out of things to talk about, my brain is in a hibernation mode and I just feel like hiding in my bed for a couple of days to recharge.

Well, who cares! It's Christmas once a year, and I'm going to enjoy it fully no matter what! So there.

So here I am, with sand in my eyes, trying to locate the hoover and the mop, looking forward to today's visits, munching a cookie and desperately reading up on the news to be able to make intelligent conversation. I know I'm not the only one, and that is a very comforting thought.

Last edited: Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:28 am

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Why they were told

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:37 pm

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Contrary to H. C. Andersen's fairy tales, the Norwegian folk tales had another purpose than amusing children. They were told to explain the inexplicable, to warn the older youngsters, and to teach the nearly-grown-ups how to behave as grown-ups.

In the days before exact science people still asked themselves why healthy children suddenly died in their beds. They could see that a child had Down's but didn't know what to call it. Young aldults suddenly started behaving very weird, and nobody saw a reason for it. Since huldra used to switch children with humans, the mysterious deaths were probably explained. A changeling, of course. If a young woman suddenly became a schizophrenic, she had been bewitched by nøkken. Young men with mental problems had met the lovely huldra. If herders disappeared without a trace, the trolls had taken them into the mountains.

This probably meant comfort to their families. There was a reason for the happenings.

To experience all the excitements and dangers in the folk tales, the main character had to leave home and go far and further than far. There were no evil dangers lurking around peoples' homes. It was the one place that would remain safe and unchanged all through the improbable adventures, and everybody would be there to welcome the returning hero after the last troll's head hit the dust.

It's easy to find the wisdom and morale in many of the old stories. Don't scorn a stranger because he doesn't look quite like you. Be polite, curious and honest in your doings and you will be rewarded. Stay true to your friends and your family, and your future will be good. Lend a stranger in need a helping hand, and help will find you when you need it. Use your wits, don't just sit there.

I used to love the folk stories when I was little, and now I'm reading them for my children. But I find I'm not as brave as my mother. I skip the stories where people are beheaded and then salved with a special salve to make the head and body grow back onto each other... I stick with the ones where the trolls always get their punishment in the end.

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