I decided to pick the country Norway, because my mother’s side of the family is full blooded Norwegian. Since it is such a big part of my heritage and I don’t know much about it, I wanted to learn more about Norway’s history, culture, school system, traditions, and religion. Once I started doing some research, I became aware of how little I actually knew about the country.
Here is a little overview of some basic facts about Norway: All facts come from kwintessential.co.uk, 2010.
Here is a little overview of some basic facts about Norway: All facts come from kwintessential.co.uk, 2010.
Population: 4,574,560
Capital: Olso
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 86%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other 1%, none and unknown 10%.
Language: 99% of Norwegians speak the official language, Norwegian. Norwegian has two written forms, “Bokmal” (Book Norwegian) and “Nynorsk” (New Norwegian).
Currency: The currency of Norway is the Krone.
Capital: Olso
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 86%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other 1%, none and unknown 10%.
Language: 99% of Norwegians speak the official language, Norwegian. Norwegian has two written forms, “Bokmal” (Book Norwegian) and “Nynorsk” (New Norwegian).
Currency: The currency of Norway is the Krone.
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| Longships |
The country’s name means “the northward route,” which in Old Norse is nor veg or *norð vegr. Human settlement in Norway dates back “at least 11,000 years to the late Paleolithic.” (Wikipedia, 2010) These people “gained their livelihood by hunting and fishing.” (Lampe, Pg. 7) Norway is located in Northern Europe on the western and northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Norway shares a border with Sweden, Finland and Russia. Norway has numerous resources including: oil, natural gas, hydroelectric power, fish and forestry. Petroglyphs which are “a drawing or carving on rock, made by a member of prehistoric people,” (Dictionary, 2010) dating from the Neolithic Age show some scenes of hunter and gatherers. During the Bronze Age and Iron Age, more permanent communities were developed. Norway as a country had a significant expansion from 800-1066, and it is known has the Viking Age. Norwegians during this time along with other cultures like; Swedes and Danes would travel “on longships, as raiders, explorers, settlers and traders.” (Wikipedia, 2010) During the middle of the 11th century, Norway was firmly established as a kingdom. Norway and also many other countries in Europe experienced in the 1300’s the Black Death, killing around half of the population. This caused Norway to enter a time of decline until the “advent of Christina the Magnificent, also known as the good lady of Strandgaten.” (Wikiepdia, 2010)
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| Lefse |
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| The Scream by Edvard Munch |
The culture of Norway is very fascinating and is known to be a “farm culture.” This resulted from scarce resources and a harsh climate but also from ancient property laws. During the 18th century, there was a strong romantic nationalistic movement. This resulted in numerous areas of literature, art and music. One very well-known painter, Edvard Munch was born in Norway, a painter of the famous painting “The Scream.” Norway has very many culinary traditions which “show the influence of long seafaring and farming traditions.” Some dishes that are popular are: Salmon, herring, trout, codfish, lefse, lutefisk, smalahove, pinnekjøtt, Krotekaker, and fårikål. Lefse is a common Norwegian potato flat bread, common around Christmas.
Architecture in Norway has a tradition of building with wood materials. Most of the more interesting new buildings are made of wood which tends to reflect that it is a good material for Norwegian designers and builders. Norwegian builders also use stonework after the conversion to Christianity, one of the buildings constructed is the “Nidaros Cathedral” in Trondheim. One of the most famous wooden architecture is the “Bryggen Wharf” in Bergen which has a row of narrow wooden structures. The “National Day” of Norway is on May 17th. This day marks the Constitution of Norway; Norwegians celebrate this day by wearing “Bunad,” which is a traditional costume and by watching the Constitution Day parade. There are also Christian holidays like Christmas, “which is called “Jul” in Norway after the pagan and early Viking winter solstice, and Easter.” (Wikipedia, 2010)
“The Jante Law is a pattern of group behavior towards individuals within Scandinavian communities, which negatively portrays and criticizes success and achievements as unworthy and inappropriate.” (Wikipedia, 2010) The Jante Law is typed below.
- Don't think you're anything special.
- Don't think you're as much as us.
- Don't think you're wiser than us.
- Don't convince yourself that you're better than us.
- Don't think you know more than us.
- Don't think you are more than us.
- Don't think you are good at anything.
- Don't laugh at us.
- Don't think anyone cares about you.
- Don't think you can teach us anything.
“The term can be used by individuals who feel they are not allowed to take credit for their achievements, or to point out their beliefs that another person is being overly critical.” (Wikipedia, 2010) “The Law of Jante expresses a widespread cultural belief in egalitarianism.” (Caulkins, 2010)
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| Harald V of Norway |
Norway political system consists of the Courts of Justice, where they have a Supreme Court and Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister of Norway is Jens Stoltenberg. Norway also has a King who has the right in the council of state to pardon criminals after sentence has been passed. The current King of Norway is Harald V. His processor is his father Olav V. Harald V of Norway is the “nominal head of the Church of Norway.”
Children in Norway are required to attend school from the ages of 6-16. In Norway, the school year runs from mid August to late June of the following year. They also get a Christmas Holiday from mid December to end of January. There are three parts of the Education system; Elementary School which is called “Barneskole,” lower secondary school which is called “Ungdomsskole,” and upper secondary school which is called “Videregående skole.” Both elementary school and lower secondary school are mandatory for all children between the ages of 6-16.
In elementary school, students are introduced to maths, English, Norwegian, science, religion, esthetics's and gymnastics, geography, history and social studies. They do not receive official grades but are given a written comment by the teacher. When students start to attend lower secondary school which is around the age of 12, they do begin getting grades for their work. These grades determine if they get accepted into the high school of their choice. Then students have the optional schooling of upper secondary school, but because there are few jobs available for students who choose not to attend upper secondary school it has made the option of not attending unavoidable. Before 1994, there were three branches of upper secondary schooling: General, which is language, history, etc., mercantile, which is accounting, and vocational, which is electronics and carpentry studies. Currently they have merged all three branches into one branch.
Wedding traditions in Norway are very special. The groom typically wears a Bundas, which is a handmade woolen suit and it is very colorful. The bride wears a traditional white or silver wedding gown. One of the special traditions for the bride is that she will wear silver or gold crown that has small spoon shaped bangles dangling from it. The tradition is that the music of the crown will ward off the evil spirits. Another tradition is that the bridesmaid will dress similarly as the bride to confuse the evil spirit and in doing so, protects the bride from evil influences. The bride and groom will exchange gold or silver wedding rings which represent no beginning and end. After the wedding, there is usually a big reception where friends and family dance to traditional music. At the end, “two small fir trees are planted on either side of the door as a symbol of children to come.” (Sutton, 2010)
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| Woman's Bunad |
As I mentioned earlier, a traditional dress of Norway is called the “Bunad.” They tend to be elaborate with embroidery, scarves, shawls, and handmade silver or gold jewelry. Norwegians wear the Bunad at many celebrations like: folk dances, weddings, holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays. There are about 200 different designs of Bunads, and most of them are based on the old customs. Currently, Bunads are viewed as a status symbol and they tend to range in price from $2,000-10,000. The price of Bunads depends on the design, material, embroidery, and accessories. Bunads usually take up to a year to make, and it has become a tradition for parents to give their child a Bunad for confirmation.
Norway first believed in “Norse Mythology.” Norse mythology had more to do with actions over faith. Norwegians worshipped the gods through ceremonies and offerings. Norway then converted to Christianity around the year 1000. It is said that the battle of Stiklestad in 1030 was the turning point, Olav Haraldson fell, and he then became the most important saint in Norway. Currently, Norway does have religious freedom, but Evangelical Lutheran is the official religion.
In researching Norway, I learned a lot about their history, culture, school system, traditions and religion. Learning all of this information makes me proud to call myself half Norwegian. I look forward to visiting Norway someday and learning even more about their culture.
Sources Cited:
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/norway-country-profile.html 12-3-10
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Petroglyphs 12-3-10
http://www.travour.com/weddings/world-wedding-traditions/norwegian-wedding-traditions.html 12-3-10
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Norway.html 12-3-10
http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Articles/Theme/About-Norway/History/Religion-in-Norway/ 12-3-10
Lampe, "Norway," Published by the National Travel Association of Norway. 1945. Printed in Norway by Grondahl & Sons Boktrykkeri, Olso.
History of Norway. (2010, December 6). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:25, December 14, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Norway&oldid=400782711
Culture of Norway. (2010, December 13). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:26, December 14, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Culture_of_Norway&oldid=402231434
Geography of Norway. (2010, December 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:27, December 14, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geography_of_Norway&oldid=401518225
Innes, Hammond, "Life World Library Scandinavia" 1963. Time Inc. Library of Congress 63-12344, School and library distribution by Silber Burdett Company
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