The First Sunday of Advent

Tags

Advent, Norwegian Traditions, Sundays before Christmas, Yule

Nothing yule-related enters this house until the first of December, with one exception: if the first Sunday of Advent takes place in November. (I wrote a bit about Advent last year, see here) That was the case this year, and I had big plans for this Sunday. Unfortunately, a series of unexpected circumstances, the plans were changed (I’m no longer that big a fan of plans anyhow). Poor Son has been ill all weekend and Husband dearest has been off to Liverpool looking at 22 men trying to score.

House chores were not top priority, chores that really do have to precede decorating, so decorating was put off for a while as well. Except (yes, I know, I’ll soon have more exceptions than a book on German grammar), the four purple (violet?) candles. I was fortunate this year to have Son help me decorate, and, after debating a bit, I have convinced him that the cinnamon sticks are not sables and should not be used for sword-fighting. Pirates are extremely cool these days.

We had a wonderful wee session on Sunday afternoon. Son was allowed to light the candle and almost burnt his finger. We sang a few songs and ate clementines. Due to the inability to get any shopping done over  the weekend the gløgg and cookies will have to wait for the second Sunday of Advent.

Advent

Tags

Advent, Norwegian Culture, Traditions

Today is the third Sunday of advent, and I am sorry it had to become the third before I was to tell you about this tradition. In Norway we count down the four Sundays before yule. The tradition is based around the lighting of four purple candles. One candle is lit every Sunday. Usually the lighting involves a small song or a short poem, gløgg, gingerbread cookies and clementines. It’s not a tradition that gets a lot of attention outside the home, but the four purple candles can be seen in schools, kindergartens, churches, TV.