Traditions and culture of Norway

In recent years, among our compatriots increased interest in the countries of Northern Europe. Travel agents noticed that the demand for trips to Denmark and Norway increased by almost twenty percent. Which, however, is not surprising, given the ancient history and unusual severe beauty of nature of these places. Each such trip brings a lot of impressions, incomparable with travel to hot exotic countries. Given this interest, we devoted our article to Norway. The history, culture and customs of this northern beauty are very interesting and unusual. You will learn about some of them today.

Culture of Norway: formation

Those who at least once visited Norway remained forever in love with this most northern of all European states. In this country, the traditions of the Vikings, the medieval customs of different peoples of Europe and the life of simple peasant families mixed up, which later obtained their own food. We can say that the culture of Norway has become a kind of cocktail that has been formed for several centuries under the influence of different nationalities and historical periods. This we will discuss in the next section of the article.

Culture of Norway: briefly about the main

First and foremost Norwegians are associated in many people with brave and ferocious Vikings, who were their ancestors. These people left a legacy in the form of folklore, in which all their campaigns and exploits are reflected. Thanks to this, modern Norwegians have acquired such features as self-control, honesty, dignity and courage. They were extolled in legends and legends, becoming eventually a part of the culture of Norway.

The difficult and harsh everyday life of the Norwegians, as well as long winter nights, contributed to the desire of ordinary people to somehow decorate their life. Therefore, the culture of Norway is characterized by artistic handicrafts, reflected in forging and jewelry, making clothes and building houses. All this represents the present cultural heritage of the country, which is now carefully guarded and exhibited in museum expositions.

It is impossible to tell about the culture and customs of Norway, not mentioning the gastronomic preferences of local residents. Most of the dishes considered traditional (their Norwegians cook every day and for the holidays) were invented back in ancient times, when the diet was extremely poor, and it was very difficult to diversify it.

I especially want to highlight literature in Norwegian culture. Initially, it was formed on the basis of Scandinavian poetry, and later received a new impetus to development in connection with the arrival of Christian priests on the northern lands. Now it is a rare alloy of literary works created under the influence of ancient Norwegian legends, Danish tales and philosophical texts of famous theologians.

Of course, in a nutshell, it's hard to tell what Norway really is. About culture and traditions of this harsh country we will tell you in more detail in this article.

Crafts

Blacksmithing was a very revered occupation among Norwegians. Village masters competed in the ability to create real objects of art from iron, which were then passed down from generation to generation and became real guardians of the family hearth. Particular pride of any house were cuttings of knives, sticks, boilers and many other things of household purpose.

Unbelievably beautiful products came out of the hands of Norwegian jewelers. Most of all, silver was valued, that's why such jewelry was stored in large numbers in every family. For example, an indispensable wedding attribute was a forged headdress made of silver. He was transferred from mother to daughter and carefully stored, even the poor state of affairs in the family could not force a woman to part with this thing.

From the beginning of the eighteenth century, a special direction was singled out in the culture of the Norwegians - painting on wood. She began to decorate numerous household utensils, furniture and walls of houses. Now, such cultural monuments of Norway are bought for a lot of money from local residents by museum workers of the country.

Building

The peculiarity of the culture of Norway can be considered the structure of wood. The architects were able to create unusual houses with a lot of outbuildings, which looked like real settlements for several families. Such groups are called "proud", in everyone can enter up to twenty buildings. To date, there is not much pride in the country, so they are carefully protected by the state.

It is interesting that the Norwegian's dwelling house with a medium prosperity reached a height of three floors. At first there was a fireplace, a kitchen, an entrance hall and a living room. The rest were assigned to the bedrooms. For cooking in the summer, washing clothes and storage of inventory were set up separate buildings on high poles made of wood.

Most often these structures were painted in bright colors, which brought variety to the gray peasant everyday life. Favorite shades were blue, green and red, combined with white cornices and platbands. Against the usually gloomy Norwegian sky, such houses looked cheerful and bright.

Norwegian cuisine

As we have already mentioned, the cuisine of the inhabitants of Norway was formed under the influence of many centuries of struggle for the harvest. The harsh climate did not allow us to harvest a good harvest, often during the season it was not possible to get enough vegetables, which would be enough for one family even for a few autumn months. Therefore, almost all dishes were prepared from fish, milk and seafood.

The Norwegians have a special attitude towards baking. Growing bread in these places was quite difficult, so it's still customary to cook several flour dishes for many holidays. After all, before they were available only on rare holidays, when the whole large family gathered at the same table.

The northern climate is the reason that almost all the food of the Norwegians is very heavy for the stomach. Otherwise, the body will not be short of calories during a long and cold winter. Most often they cooked jerky and butter stewed in butter. Also, among the peasants and well-to-do Norwegians, there were popular solid cheeses, especially goat. Naturally, every day in the food used fish, cooked in various ways - stewed, boiled, dried, smoked, fried and even in the form of creamy soup. Until now, most Norwegian dishes are based on the ancestral diet.

Norwegians and nature

It is interesting how closely the modern habits of the inhabitants of the country are related to ancient beliefs and customs. Everyone who has visited Norway, noticed that among the population all kinds of sports and games in the open air are very popular. It seems that every Norwegian after weekends is eager to share with his colleagues stories about how much time he spent in nature. Do you want to know what this is related to?

It's simple. Every day the Norwegians fought with the vagaries of nature. They were forced to sacrifice her in the form of sweat and health to get their meager crop, and the northern character of the climate forced them to defend themselves from various disasters all the time. This gave rise to an incredible respect for nature, it was perceived as a kind of deity with whom it was necessary to maintain constant contact.

This reverence resulted in the need, and later the desire to often be in the open air. By the way, it should be said that today Norwegians are considered one of the most healthy nations in Europe.

The Art of Norway

Literature is a serious hobby for Norwegians. Many of the inhabitants of the country can recite the works of famous poets by heart, and almost every Norwegian will gladly share with you the ancient legends and legends of his people. This folklore is collected by ethnographers and is considered the property of Norway. The importance of literature for the country can be said by the fact that the three Viking descendants became Nobel laureates.

The inhabitants of the country are also very attracted to music in all its manifestations - from folk motives to often held jazz festivals. Many Norwegians play violin and guitar perfectly. Among the composers we love Edward Grieg, whose works are very close to the people of Norway.

Religion

Religious beliefs are considered part of the culture of any country, so in our article we could not get around this topic. According to official data, more than eighty-nine percent of Norwegians are Lutherans. But in reality, the situation looks a bit different.

Initially, the Norwegians regarded themselves as pagans, they created a fairly understandable pantheon of gods, which is the basis of German-Scandinavian mythology. These deities were severe, just and desperately brave, like the Vikings themselves, who gave birth to them. But the Christian priests who came to the country began actively planting their religion among the locals, eventually ousting the habitual cult of Odin. But in fact, most of the new converts have remained in the soul of the Gentiles, which can be traced to our days.

Many modern traditions go back to those times when the ancestors of the Norwegians worshiped the ancient gods. For example, until now, unmarried women wear a small Torah hammer of silver around the neck. It is believed that he protects their beauty and health, as well as attracts a sucheno.

A few words in conclusion

It is difficult to tell about such a mysterious country as Norway, in a few words. In her culture closely intertwined fairy tales, mythology and life of people. It appears to travelers as a woven cloth, on which patterns of incredible complexity are hand-embroidered. And if you want to touch this northern beauty, be sure to come to Norway - its cultural traditions will not leave you indifferent.