Light in the December darkness

December is a dark month in Oslo. Actually it's a dark month in the whole of Norway. We're luckier here in Oslo than are those who live in Tromsø in northern Norway, where it is dark for most of the day. Tromsø gets about two to three hours of light per day during the winter (How People Stay Happy in the Norewegian Town Where the Sun Doesn't Rise - The Atlantic). I say that we're luckier in Oslo because we get more daylight; sunrise is around 9 am and sunset shortly after 3 pm. That gives us six hours of daylight. But I suppose it depends on how you look at it. When I first moved to Oslo, I found the darkness in wintertime too dark. It enveloped me like a cloud or a blanket, smothering me with its endlessness. Winters at that time were for me all about looking forward to spring and summer. Christmas 'saved' me in the sense that I had something happy to prepare for and to focus on; between working full-time, Christmas parties, social gatherings, Christmas shopping and writing Christmas cards, etc., there was plenty to take my mind off the dark days. But over the years, I've adjusted to the short winter days. That happened because I take advantage of the small amount of available light to be outdoors. And if I can't be outdoors when it's light out, I take a walk in the early evening, when it's relatively quiet. Walking in the darkness in a well-lit city is no problem. I realized recently that being outdoors at any time is a tonic for all that ails me. Just getting outdoors for a long walk soothes my soul. Even when it has snowed and the sidewalks are impassable, I still look forward to getting outdoors for my walk. I couldn't do that when I was sitting in an office all day, trapped indoors during peak daylight hours. 

Oslo sets up a Christmas market on Karl Johan street (at Spikersuppa) in mid-November that adds to the festive feeling preceding Christmas. It stays up until early January. The lights shine in the darkness, welcoming tourists and city dwellers alike. I met some friends for dinner near the beginning of December and on my way home I passed the market and took a few photos. Light in the darkness......

The darkness of December can be tackled in different ways. One of them is to surround oneself with light of all kinds. Christmas decorations and trees contribute to this. The co-op complex where we live in Oslo sets up a Christmas tree each year that is lit for most of the day. Just looking at it soothes my soul. Most of the co-op complexes set up Christmas trees and some of them have Christmas tree celebrations for the children in early January. Our co-op complex has a small tree-lighting ceremony where residents gather for fifteen or twenty minutes to watch the tree get lit and to drink gløgg (mulled wine) and eat some pepperkaker (gingerbread cookies). It's a nice gesture that was started a few years ago by the co-op board. 

People are clever about decorating their balconies with strings of white lights that light up the darkness; the balconies look beautiful and the lights create a feeling of coziness. I do this too and love looking at all the balconies when I come home in the early evening. House owners do the same, decorating their windows, balconies, and outdoor trees and bushes with string lights. City streets are decorated with hanging lights that span the width of the streets; one street in particular--Bogstadveien--has lovely bell-shaped Christmas lights.  

Indoors, tea candles are used to create light and a cozy feeling. They are placed in holders of all shapes, colors, and sizes. My favorite tea candle holder is one that looks like a stained glass window that I received as a gift many years ago from a woman with whom I worked; I'm including a photo of it here. When the candle is lit, it reflects all the colors of the holder onto the surface of the table where it is placed--quite pretty to behold.  

The candle holders I like the best at present are the translucent ones, where the light passes through the images on the holder, illuminating them in a peaceful way. These are not tea candle holders necessarily, although you can use tea candles in them. 

Flameless candles have become popular. I like them because there is little risk of fire and the LED lights last a long time (much longer than the batteries that are needed for the candle to function). 

When I first came to Norway, the most popular light decorations that people placed in their windows were called 'Adventsstake' (translated Advent candlestick--see photo below). You can still see them in some windows, but their popularity has waned. I had one for years until it fell into disrepair. 

 

Window light decorations are also popular. Hanging stars, like the one in this photo, are now in favor.  

And of course there's the snow. It doesn't snow every year in December, but the past few years we've had some snow accumulation in December. If it doesn't rain, the snow remains on the ground and lights up the darkness. It's a welcome sight, especially when it's cold outside and it first has snowed; everything seems so unspoiled, pretty and peaceful. Magical almost. 

Whenever I feel out of sorts, I try to remember all of the things about this month, about Advent, about traditions, about the true spirit of Christmas, and slowly they seep in and lift my spirit. I am reminded that the season is about kindness and patience and about bringing light to others-- humans, animals and birds. Each morning when I see the birds gathered on the fire balcony outside our kitchen window waiting for their daily dose of sunflower seeds, I realize that I am their light in the darkness. They show up when they see the lights go on in the kitchen as breakfast is being readied. They remember from year to year where to go to find sustenance. They remember those who are kind to them. 

There is grace all around us, in the simplest of things. Those things can be all of the little things that we use to create a Christmas spirit in our homes--our traditions, the Christmas tree, books, flowers, decorations and other treasured items. That is why we have accumulated them over the years--they give us joy and they give joy to others. They give light to world-weary souls. 

Happy Halloween

I can remember a time in Norway when Halloween was not celebrated, when the only references to Halloween were in American horror films and books. In the late 1990s, a few adventurous souls, my stepdaughter Caroline being one of them, decided that they wanted to experience Halloween as they had read about or seen in films. In 1997, when she was a teenager, she threw a Halloween party for her friends at our house; I helped her with the setup. She wanted bobbing for apples, a cake in the shape of a pumpkin, and her friends to dress up in costumes. They showed up as witches, vampires, zombies, and in one case, one of the young men had made himself up as a woman, and you would have mistaken him for one. He looked great. At the end of the evening, the kitchen floor was flooded with water around the barrel containing the apples, the cake had disappeared, and my stepdaughter and her friends were hanging around and talking. My husband and I had gone out for the evening, and when we came home, the party broke up. All agreed that it had been a lot of fun. For several years afterward, there were sporadic Halloween celebrations on her part and in the country generally. There were a few children who ventured out during the early evening, dressed in their costumes and hoping to get some candy. But this was small-scale celebration compared to nowadays.

Norway is a nation of about five million people; this year the country spent about 20 million dollars on Halloween—costumes, makeup, candy, decorations, and parties. The amounts spent have been steadily increasing over the past seventeen years since Caroline had her party. Pumpkins are no longer difficult to find nor do they cost a fortune as they used to; I carve them into jack-o-lanterns and then use them in soups and breads after Halloween is over. It makes me happy that Norwegians want to celebrate Halloween since it is yet one more thing that connects me to my American roots. I so look forward to the neighborhood children knocking on our door for candy; I get to hand out candy and to take a look at their costumes. Some of them are quite creative. Mostly it’s just a lot of fun.

I’ve accepted the reality (as has my husband) that I’m just a big child when it comes to Halloween; I remember back to my childhood days and to the fun of Halloween. Today, I bought a spider candle at one of the local stores. It’s one of the coolest Halloween decorations I’ve seen or purchased in a long time, and I’ve purchased some really strange Halloween decorations through the years. I found a website that sells a similar spider candle; you can check it out here: http://www.angeliccompanions.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=96&products_id=565

Happy Halloween!

Christmas at the Mall (Sandvika Storsenter)

We were out shopping today for Christmas gifts at the largest mall in Scandinavia--Sandvika Storsenter. It is located to the west of Oslo and is a short drive from the city. It has a large wall aquarium, so I snapped a few shots of the fish, especially the ones who were curious about what was going on on my side of the glass that divided us. We were also in an electro-boutique--sells everything from computers to stoves to smoothie machines. Had to snap a few photos--I mean really--walls of ovens and washing machines! Norway is so different than when I moved here. It has everything now in the way of material goods, thanks to the wealth created by the oil money. Twenty-two years ago, you had only a few different types of stoves to choose from; now, you can't count the choices. Supermarkets--the same thing--it's hard to know what to buy sometimes. Abundance is the operative word--an abundance of everything.

It gets dark here early now, so by 3:30 pm, it is nighttime for all intents and purposes. So it was interesting to get some evening shots of all the Christmas lights and decorations. On the drive home to Oslo, we stopped at the harbor area so that I could take some photos of the Opera House and the surrounding area at night. I'll post some of those photos in a later post.