God jul

Or, happy boxing day.
What is with all of the snow everywhere!?? Dallas had more snow than here probably, and now Oslo is so cold that Øysteins sister's plane is delayed more than 3 hours... supposedly, it is supposed to be -23 in Oslo this week.

Christmas here is hard to describe in just a few paragraphs, but I'll sum up the important things: the family and their traditions, the decorating process, and the food.
1) We spent Christmas (the 24th) here at the house with the Aakvik family - Øysteins parents, Øystein himself, and his sisters Linn and Marianne. His younger sister Marthe is the one that should be joining us today from Oslo. We hung around the house until time for church. They joked with me that the island is such a close knit community that everyone would notice that I don't belong. I don't actually think that they were exaggerating too much. The church was small and cold and short compared to what I am used to. I liked the tradition afterwards - the graveyard by the church was covered with lanterns and lights and candles so that they dead relatives didn't have to spend Christmas in the dark. It was a little cold for me to enjoy this (plus I didn't know the relative) but I think I will borrow this tradition some day.

After church is dinner, followed by present opening. I got some jewelry Anne Lise (mom) made, some new yarn and needles to continue my knitting from Marianna and Marthe, and a beautiful hand-made fish windchime from Øystein...just to name a few. His parents, sisters, and Linn were so generous to me; I was very surprised! It was all way more than I expected. Øystein got a lot of cooking things, plus 3 cooking books, so we're going to work on our skills back in Martin.

2) As I have mentioned, they dont decorate until the 23rd. So, fitting with that, they brought in the tree that night and covered with with pretty lights and ornaments. They had some other decorations like candles or small figures, but nothing like the colored, blinking garland or stuffed santas or lights on the house like we enjoy in the US. Houses around here place stars or white candle lights in the windows of their homes which look beautiful nestled in the snow of the countryside. It is different but quaint and cozy in a simple way.

3) Last but certainly not least....food. This is huge! Christmas mornings are filled with a huge, long breakfast. We sat at the table almost long enough to become hungry again. For those at my Norwegian breakfast, it was a lot like that. Anne Lise made some julekake, or julebrød, which is a special Christmas bread and tasted especially delicious with the brown cheese! Marianne somehow made her own meat! If I remember correctly, it was some sort of lamb and she started it more than 2 weeks ago.
Dinner for julaften, the 24th, was the famous pinnekjøtt - salted lamb with potatoes and a vegetable that I don't even know in English because I didn't eat it in the US. ha ha. It is so special and wonderful, but it is only eaten at Christmas. I had been looking forward to it ever since I learned that's what his family eats for Christmas! Dessert was a pretty special caramel pudding.
Last night (the 25th), we had a second or three traditional Christmas foods, ribbe, which is the ribs of a pig. Again, we ate it with potatoes (like any real Norwegian meal) and a vegetable which I think is sourcrout. I didnt know I liked that either....
Today we are celebrating the second day of Christmas as they call it, with Ole's (his father) family. They live on this island as well, but apparently are quite different from Øysteins family. Here, just the water separating super small islands can meat a different dialect, different traditions, and different relationships. So I have heard stories about some of these family members, but which family doesn't have stories?

Life here is quite relaxing and simple. I have worked on my scarf, watched Christmas vacation, gone on walks with the dog, gone into the city one day - Kristiansund, made homemade eggnog last night (which was amazing), and watched the very mentionable ''Dutchess and the Butler'' - the 15 minute black and white British comedy skit that airs every night of the 23rd. It was a beautiful white Christmas at Ekkilsøya and really, what helped make it so special was talking to my friends and whole family at home on Christmas eve and Christmas day. It's not the easiest thing to be away on Christmas, but both Øystein's fam and my Texas fam made it easier. I don't necessarily want to make a habit of not being at home for Christmas, but if I'm away, this is a good place to be.
[And if he ever makes it for a Bartzen/Allin Christmas, we have to do it big!]