By: Pam Vukelic
Fourth of July celebrations in the United States are marked by fireworks, cookouts, and red-white-and- blue decorations. These observances are not so different from Syttende Mai celebrations in Norway. They are marked by parades, children in bunads, and ubiquitous red-white-and-blue flags. Syttende Mai, observed on May 17, marks Norway's independence from Denmark in 1814. It bears some resemblance to our celebrations which mark our own independence from Great Britain.
As crowds of up to 100,000, mostly children, march down the streets of Oslo waving their flags, they are
greeted, from the balcony of the Royal Palace, by King Harald, Queen Sonja, and heir to the throne,
Crown Prince Haakon Magnus. Norwegians wear native dress, known as bunads, for special occasions. Bunads are specific to the various regions in Norway. For example, my family wear Hardanger bunads as they are from the area known as Eidfjord. A bride might be dressed in her bunad which, in Hardanger, will include a beaded vest, apron embroidered with Hardanger stitchery, and an elaborate crown. There is much beautiful regalia and silver solje jewelry.
The second time I visited Norway I told Ragna Bu, the relative who was then living in my grandfather's house, that I was engaged and would be married later that fall. She said, “Then you must try on the wedding bunad.” She was the village's keeper of the crown and other pieces of the wedding apparel. She laughed as we took photos and said, “Now when you go home you can tell your man you already got married in Norway!” Men, too, wear a male version of a bunad, and my cousin Gunnar looks stunning in his. His height is emphasized by the knicker-like trousers and shoes with big square pewter buckles.
Charcuterie boards are all the rage here in the US; Norwegians have been doing this forever. They're called a koldtbord. Likely to be found on the board are heart-shaped waffles, known as wafler (with lingonberry jam), several cheeses (Gjetost and Jarlsburg), breads (rye bread and crisp bread), dried fruits, and nuts. Open-faced sandwiches featuring slices of hard-boiled egg, pickled fish, cucumber slices and dill sprigs are popular. If you are as fortunate as I am to have a friend and neighbor like Lois, you might be able to serve home-made flatbread.
For a national toast, serve shots of aquavit. Norwegian aquavit is made from Norwegian potatoes. It has been aged in oak barrels for at least six months, crossed the equator aboard ship two times, and is seasoned with caraway. We serve it after having chilled it in the freezer for several hours. To properly toast, we were taught to link arms, bow heads and say “skol” as we toss down the drink.
Gratulerer med dagen!
RECIPES
Cucumber Salad
1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
2/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup water
3 1⁄2 Tbsp sugar
1⁄4 tsp salt
white pepper
Place cucumber slices in bowl. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients, stir to combine. Pour over cucumber slices. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. If desired, garnish with dill or parsley
leaves.
From the Sons of Norway Viking magazine
Scandinavian Almond Cake
1 1⁄4 c sugar
1 egg
1 1⁄2 tsp almond extract
2/3 c milk
1 1⁄4 c flour
1⁄2 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 c melted butter
Glaze (if desired)
3⁄4 c powdered sugar, sifted
1 1⁄2 – 2 Tbsp milk
1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
1⁄4 c sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pan with baking spray.* In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix sugar, egg, almond extract, and milk. Add flour mixture and blend thoroughly. Finally, add melted butter and stir until fully combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Cool cake completely before turning out of pan. In a small bowl, blend powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to desired consistency. Pour on top of cooled cake and sprinkle with almonds.
*Instead of creating a glaze, I prefer to line the greased pan with a layer of sliced almonds before carefully
pouring in the batter. When turned out of the pan, the almonds provide a nice topping for the cake and add
a bit of texture to each bite.
Recipe from Nordic Ware
Wafler
3 c flour
1⁄4 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3 c milk
4 eggs, separated
1⁄2 c melted butter
Mix flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl. Make a hollow in those dry ingredients and pour in about 2 c of the milk. Beat until smooth. Add remaining milk. Add egg yolks and melted butter to the batter. Mix well. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter mixture. Cook in waffle iron until golden
brown. Serve topped with lingonberry or cloudberry jam and a dusting of powdered sugar. Makes more than 20 wafler.
(Note: I sometimes used boxed waffle mix to make these. They are the favorite breakfast of my granddaughters after a sleep-over and using a mix makes them so easy.)
(Note: Wafler are not eaten for breakfast in Norway. Norwegian breakfast is a light meal. Wafler are
served on a koldtbord or as a mid-afternoon dessert with coffee.)
About the Author
Pam Vukelic, One word is all that's needed to write my biography – teacher. Every stage of life has involved teaching, some of it as a volunteer, some for pay and all of it for fun.Writer for Inspired Woman magazine beginning more than twenty years ago...
Graduate teaching assistant at NDSU while finishing my master's degree in Textiles & Clothing
Needle arts teacher of Hardanger and other embroidery at my shop, the Needle Nook
Nutrition educator for ND Dairy Council
AIDS educator for ND Dept of Health when AIDS was a new thing
Nutrition educator for ND Dept of Public Instruction for elementary school teachers
Cooking classes in my home to help me get through Reed's deployments
FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences) teacher in small, large, public and private schools
Online FACS teacher for the Missouri River Education Consortium
Certified teacher of Zentangle mindful drawing for YCC, women's prison, Ministry on the Margins, Native American groups and public sites such as the library and BAGA
Teacher for Meredith's little girls who call the office in our home “the classroom”
The benefit of being a teacher is that it gives one the opportunity to be a lifelong learner. And that's a good life!
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