After years of heavy ground frost the concrete slabs outside the tearoom had definitely seen better days… but now its all sleek and level and not a pot-hole in sight, and hopefully stubbed toes incidents will be non existent from now on.

Apart from having a general good old spring clean everywhere, the tearoom is getting some attention too. At the moment we’ve got men hard at work relaying slabs outside the tearoom and greenhouses, as our old ones were gaping and sliding all over the place, and we found out the reason why when the slabs got removed; There was an incredible amount of sand underneath them, even the builders were amazed, its was any sandcastle builder’s dream! But in a few days now the new slabs will go down and should look brilliant. New furniture has been ordered for the tearoom and the inside is getting a well deserved lick of paint. Stress levels are only simmering at the moment, but they are most likely to rise as we are getting dangerously close to opening day on 1st March… We’ve still got quite a long to-do-list, which includes fixing broken greenhouse glass, painting doors, making the gaping hole in the ground by the fallen tree safe + much more… hey ho hey ho hey ho off to work we go!

But first, let the New Year ring in! From all of us here at Inshriach we wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Amazingly, the bird feeders still had birds on them, even when they were being bashed about. The squirrels had the good sense to take cover.

Traditions
Christmas in Norway is still full of old traditions coming from a time when most people were farmers. On the third Sunday of Advent, a Julenek (bundle of wheat grass) will be put up outside the front door, for the birds to feed off. In the past they would have been put up on either side of the barn door; if small birds starting feeding of it straight away then a good harvest would come the next year. If the Julenek got put up to late or a crow fed on it first then a bad year was ahead of you. This tradition is also believed to have been an offering to the Norse God; Odin.

Baking Christmas cakes and biscuits is a very important part of preparing for the festive season. At least 7 different sorts had to be made to fill up all the cake tins. These are all dry cakes and biscuits, again coming from the time when most people had very little and had to be creative with what ingredients they had. But this does not mean to say that they don’t taste good! And best of all was is they last all the way through Christmas and into the New Year.

St Lucia (Sancta Lucia)
Lucia was a Christian martyr who died around 300 AD. St Lucia is one of the very few saints that Norwegians celebrate with the Feast of St Lucia on the 13th of December. Children in nurseries and primary schools dress in white robes and parade bearing lighted candles while singing the special Lucia song. These little ceremonies end with the children enjoying cakes (Lussekatter) that are baked specifically for this feast day.

‘Lille Julaften’
The 23rd of December is called ‘Lille Julaften’, which literally translates as ‘small Christmas-Eve.’ This is a hectic day when the Christmas tree is decorated, the house is given a final clean and food preparations are made before Christmas Eve itself. Traditionally the home is filled with red Poinsettia, flowering tulips and hyacinth bulbs. There is little use of synthetic adornment as natural evergreens and pine cones are preferred….and are readily available.  Anticipation mounts as all the family Christmas presents are now placed under the Christmas tree.

‘Julaften’
Christmas Eve (Julaften) is the most important day in Scandinavia. The day starts with creamy rice pudding/porridge. As with the lucky sixpence hidden in a Christmas pudding an almond is traditionally stirred into the rice and the lucky finder gets to open a present. And one must never forget to put a bowl of rice pudding outside for the nisse… A nisse is a mythical creature that was believed to look after the farm animals. Figures of the Nisse are very popular Christmas decorations.  Julenisse is the Norwegian equivalent to Santa Claus but he is not fat, his reindeer do not fly, and he comes in through the front door rather than down the chimney. He delivers the presents directly to the children on Christmas Eve, for which task an adult volunteer is required in full Julenisse regalia.

At five o’clock the church-bells ring and Christmas has officially begun. Christmas Eve is a real family event and the day is spent with close family and relatives. As evening approaches, just before the Christmas presents are opened, many families gather together, hold hands and walk in a ring around the Christmas tree singing Christmas carols. During the day many Norwegians will make time to remember absent relatives as they will have visited the cemetery to lay reindeer moss wreaths and lighted candles in front of the headstones. A stirring sight to behold as hundreds of candles flicker in the nordic darkness.

Christmas Day and New Year
Christmas day is a very private day when families relax together and enjoy Christmas dinner; cod is favoured in the north, special smoked, salted lamb is dished up on the west coast while lamb or pork ribs appear on tables in the east. The left over rice pudding from Christmas Eve is served chilled with red currant sauce for desert.
Boxing Day is a social day for meeting up with friends. The period between Boxing Day and the New Year is called romjul and is marked by a tradition known as julebukk when children, dressed in Nisse outfits, call at houses to sing carols in return for cakes and sweets.