INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF NORWAY Oslo Chamber of Commerce CULTURE CLUES MARCH & APRIL 2016
It is easy to know when spring is coming: The days get a little warmer and lighter day-by-day. Flowers appear, the trees bud and birds start to build their nests. In early spring the coastal areas of Western Norway usually has the highest mean temperatures. Just as spring arrives later in Northern Norway than the rest of the country, it gets to the coast and lowlands long before it crawls up the mountains. As you travel up or down the mountains, you can follow the changing seasons from winter to spring or from spring to winter, all in just a few hours. Weather and temperatures can change quickly, especially in the mountains, so bring good footwear and warm clothes no matter what it is like when you set out. Spring weather can be very unpredictable, so make sure you dress in layers and are prepared for both sun and rain. If you are out in a city or urban area, an umbrella is a good idea. Out in the wilderness, however, take a raincoat or windbreaker instead. Sunglasses are also a good idea, and remember to use sunscreen if you are enjoying the sun in the mountains where there is snow on the ground. The white snow reflects the sun, so there is a greater chance of getting surburn. Spring is the time for lamb dishes, usually enjoyed around Easter, as well as the years first potatoes, asparagus and wild garlic. The same is true for fresh fish of all sorts, including herring and cod from the Lofoten area, called “Skrei” and considered a local delicacy.
Enjoy this beautiful time of year in Norway! Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
NORWAY IN MARCH & APRIL
RASFARE When walking around in the streets be careful and keep an eye on what is happening on the rooftops of Oslo. If you want to prevent injury, you had better learn quickly the meaning of signs “se opp for takras” or ” fare for takras” - beware of snow falling from the roof! Be especially careful when the snow and ice have started melting, but do not let this be an excuse for not going out! Photo: commons.wikimedia.org DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME An easy rule to help remember which way to turn the clock when it is time to adjust for summer or wintertime is “spring forward, fall back”. After all, spring lies ahead and it is really something to look forward to. As a rule, the industrialised countries in the northern hemisphere have summertime from March/April until October/November, whilst many countries in the southern hemisphere have summertime from September/ October until February/April. Countries around the Equator do not usually use summertime, as daylight times do not vary much. Norway started using daylight saving time first in 1916, but it was not used at all between 1946-1958 and 1966-1979. The last time Norway had “normal time” all year round was in 1979. From now on days become lighter, giving us daylight both when we get up in the morning and when we leave work in the evening - and that is really something to rejoice about! This being said, do not forget to turn the clock forward on the night of March 27th between 02.00 to 03.00. Photo: flickr.com
EASTER IN NORWAY
Easter is one of the biggest holidays in Norway and it is usually synonymous with a vacation. The official Easter period in 2016 starts on March 24 and stretches to March 28. However, the school holiday starts on March 21. For most Norwegians, Easter is a long and welcome break and of longer duration in Norway than in most European countries. It lasts from the Wednesday afternoon, before Maundy Thursday, until the Tuesday following Easter Monday. The Norwegian name påske is closely related to the French pâques, the Greek and Latin pascha, and the Hebrew pesach (pesah). The English word Easter comes from the heathen springtime celebration that was eventually replaced with the Christian feast. The religious relevance of Easter seems less important to many Norwegians today than the holiday vacation itself. Norwegians indulge in cross-country skiing, eating lamb, oranges, chocolates and marzipan eggs. Since daffodils bloom during the spring season around Easter, the flower known as “Påskeliljer ” is a main symbol for Easter in Norway. Photo: pixabay.com
THE EASTER EGG AND BUNNY The simple egg is perhaps the oldest and most universal symbol of rebirth and new life. The custom of offering Easter eggs, either chocolate, hard-boiled or coloured, dates back well beyond the early years of Christianity to the most ancient pagan traditions. In Christian tradition, the egg symbolises new life and Christ bursting forth from the tomb. In Norway, as in many other countries, Easter traditions date back hundreds of years. Germany claims the first documented use of the bunny as a symbol for Easter back in the 1500’s, although a holiday celebrating the hare was probably a much earlier folk tradition. Not surprisingly, Germany made the first edible Easter Bunnies in the 1800’s. Easter in Norway is all about symbols such as Easter chickens, Easter eggs in all colours and, occasionally, Easter bunnies. Easter is steeped in the bright hues of yellow: painted or drawn chickens, plastic chickens, cotton chickens - all of them in yellow - can be seen in homes, shop windows, newspapers and magazines, plastic bags and on television. PÅSKEMARSIPAN Norwegians love Easter marzipan. According to Nidar, one of the main Norwegian manufacturers, over 25 million marzipan figures are sold every year. For those interested in counting the calories as they disappear down the gullet with ease, about four million of the tiny figures are golden hens! Using the same secret recipe since 1915, Nidar makes six types of marzipan in total. This includes almost 850 kilometres of marzipan sausages (marsipanpølser) and bars (marsipanstenger)! Photo: nidar.no Norwegians eagerly munch marzipan at Easter: two-thirds of the population eats it annually, and over 40% say they cannot imagine an Easter without it. Each Norwegian eats an average of 4.5 marzipan figures at this time of year. There is no need to feel guilty, though; the heavier you are, the faster you go downhill on skis! Source: The Foreigner Photo: wikipedia.org
THE MOUNTAIN FEVER As well as being a religious celebration, Easter is a popular five-day holiday in Norway. Towns and cities are often deserted as the more adventurous and nature seeking people head for their cabins in the mountains for the last skiing of the year. Getting away from the city, enjoying the last snow, the nice weather, and not to mention getting a tan to show off when back at work, are popular things to do during Easter holiday. The sun is extremely strong at this time of the year and sunscreen is necessary. Norwegians love visiting the mountains during Easter and you may notice that grocery stores are suddenly empty for many commodities that enthusiastic mountain lovers will be taking with them to their cabins. Those staying at home might begin spring-cleaning, outdoor renovation, or preparing their boats for a return to the water.
THE EASTER THRILLER (PÅSKEKRIMMEN) Reading crime stories and detective novels during Easter is a particular and perhaps peculiar national trait in Norway. In order to cash in on this national pastime, publishers churn out series of books known as Påskekrimmen (Easter crime novels). Jo Nesbø, Gunnar Staalesen, Unni Lindell and Karim Fossum are well-known Norwegian authors of crime fiction. (Some of their titles are also published in English.) TV stations, radio and newspapers also jump on the bandwagon by running detective series based on the works of famous crime novelists such as Agatha Christie, P.D. James, Simenon and Ruth Rendell during the holiday. Photo: www.ark.no
SAMI EASTER FESTIVAL The Sami are an indigenous people resident in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Estimates show that there are about 50-100,000 Sami living in these countries, and that slightly more than half of them are resident in Norway. They have lived in Norwegian Lapland since the time before Christ. Karasjok is home to the Sami parliament, elected by the people, and working to represent the Sami population, to strengthen their political standing and promote Sami interests in Norway. The Sami culture is flourishing, with a renewed interest in the Sami language, knitwear, music and handicrafts (duodji). They organise several festivals in Norwegian Lapland, particularly during Easter, the most important time of the year for the Sami. It is very popular to arrange weddings and christenings at Easter, and these are huge celebrations. It is not uncommon to have over 1000 guests at a wedding, and they all take part in the ceremony and enjoy the traditional meal of bidos, made from reindeer meat and vegetables! The Easter festivals are a great opportunity to experience Sami culture, with the World Championships in reindeer racing and the Sami Grand Prix. The Sami Easter Festival in 2016 is from March 23 - 26. The Sami people have one flag, no matter where they live. The flag is red, blue, yellow and green and has a circle symbolizing the sun (red) and the moon (blue).
THE TAX RETURN The purpose of the tax return is to provide the tax authorities with complete information about your income, wealth and deductions, so that the correct amount of tax can be calculated for the previous year. Remember that it is your responsibility to ensure that the information you submit to the tax authorities is correct. During January you should have received all the necessary information you need to fill in your income Tax Form. Keep all the statements from your employer, banks etc., to be able to check the numbers stated in the final form. If you receive a pre-completed tax return (at the end of March), you are not required to submit it if the amounts entered in advance are correct. Otherwise, the deadline for submission is April 30, which gives you the time to correct any mistakes. You may do this electronically or send the signed form in the post. As a foreigner, you can deduct 10% or a maximum of NOK 40,000 from your income on the first two assessments you are registered as a resident in Norway. Please note that the standard deduction is not granted automatically, but you must claim it when you fill in your tax return. You must enter the deduction under item 3.3.7 in your tax return. All transaction costs on your bank account and interest paid on loans/mortgages are deductible. For more information check the Tax Administration website – Norwegian and English or contact them directly.
ELECTRONIC ID In order to use digital services from Norwegian public agencies, you must have an electronic ID, e-ID. An electronic ID confirms that you are who you say you are when logging into digital services. You can choose between four electronic IDs to log into digital services from Norwegian public authorities: MinID, BankID, Buypass or Commfides. Click here for more information. Photo: norge.no
Do you need new PIN codes? Order new PIN codes here or send SMS with text “PINKODER
NORWEGIAN EXPRESSIONS
Morgenstund har gull i munn The literal translation of this expression is “the early morning has gold in the mouth”, meaning that waking up early is the best habit. In English, “the early bird catches the worm” or “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. FAMOUS NORWEGIANS
KRISTOFER HIVJU Kristofer Hivju (b. Oslo, 1978) is a second generation Norwegian actor, producer and writer. His father, Erik Hivju, is a prominent actor who appeared with his son in the short film “Flax”, where Kristofer shared screenwriting credits with director Bård Ivar Engelsås. Kristofer made his American Film debut in Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.’s 2011 remake of John Carpenter’s “The Thing”. He then acted in M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth, but he is best known as Tormund Giantsbane from the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. Sources: imdb.com and Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
RECIPES
Not Just Cod Winter cod (skrei) is cod (torsk), but not all cod is winter cod. The latter is namely cod that grows up in the Barents Sea. This fish swims more than 1000 kilometres every year to the same place where it was conceived five years earlier - the waters around Lofoten and Vesterålen – in order to reproduce. The result is a fish with more muscles, firmer and with white, delicate meat. Winter cod lives in these areas only for a certain period of the year, approximately from January to April. The rest of the year, this fish lives in waters midway between Norway and the North Pole. Norway has a strong tradition of serving winter cod with fish liver and roe. This dish is called Skreimølje and is considered a real delicacy and an important part of the Norwegian food culture.
Ingredients (serves 4): Method: 1 kg winter cod, sliced 1. Boil water with salt and pepper. Take the pot off 2 l water the heat and add the fish. Put the pot over the 1 dl salt heat again and let boil. Reduce the heat and let 2 tsp black pepper, whole the fish cook until done, approximately 6 minutes. 1 roe, raw 1 l water 2. Wash the roe and wrap it in greaseproof paper or 2 tbsp salt plastic while cooking to prevent it from breaking. 200 g fish liver Boil water with salt, reduce the heat and let 1 cup water the roe cook until done, about 20 minutes. Potatoes 3. Cleaning the fish liver cut in small pieces and put it in a pot. When the fish is done, pour some of its broth over the liver. Boil gently and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
4. Server the fish on hot plates with the roe cut into slices, the fish liver and boiled potatoes. Enjoy!
Photo: aperitif.no Source: godfisk.no Roast Lamb with Lemon and Potatoes au Gratin This is a very traditional roast lamb with garlic and rosemary. The secret for a perfect result is to use a meat thermometer. Simple, juicy and delicious!
Ingredients (serve 6): 3. Roast at 125 ° C for about 3 hours. The leg of lamb will 1 leg of lamb, approx. 2.5 kg be medium cooked when the thermometer shows 70 ° C, 2 tsp salt and cooked through when it shows 76 ° C. Let the roast 1 tsp pepper rest at least 15 minutes wrapped in foil before carving. 4 stalks fresh or 1,5 tsp dried rosemary 3 cloves garlic 4. Peel the potatoes and onions and cut them into slices. 1 onion cut in quarters Put them in a casserole dish, add salt and pepper and 3 carrots pour the cream over. Bake the potatoes together with the 1 litre water roast for the last 45-60 minutes. Remove the roast from the oven, set the temperature to 200 ° C. Add the cheese, 12 potatoes and bake the potatoes for about 15 minutes, until the 1 onion cheese melts and gets a golden colour. 1tbsp butter 2 tsp salt 5. Boil the juices from the roast. Add the flour and water ½ tsp pepper mixture in a thin stream while stirring and boil for about 4 dl heavy cream 10 minutes. Season with black currant juice / wine, soy 1 dl grated cheese sauce, salt and pepper.
8 dl juice from the roast Source: matprat.no 4 tbsp flour dissolved in cold water 1 tbsp black currant juice/red wine 1 tsp soya sauce ½ tsp pepper ½ tsp salt
Method: 1. Rub the leg of lamb with salt and pepper. Cut the garlic into thin wedges, make little pockets in the meat with a knife and insert the garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs.
2. Put the onion and carrots in a greased roasting pan or casserole dish. Add the lamb and insert the meat thermometer, making sure it does not touch the bone. Pour approximately 1 litre of water. Photo: matprat.no
TRAVEL TIPS
WINTER AT GÅLÅ Gålå offers both alpine and cross-country skiing, with slopes for all levels, making it a good resort for groups and families. There are 15 slopes that vary in difficulty from green to black, spread on either side of the valley, as well as four children’s runs and five floodlit runs. Gålå has a lot to offer to both beginners and experienced snowboarders. The terrain park at Blåbærfjell boasts three boxes, eight rails, one corner, three jumps of varying degrees of difficulty, and other challenges. The Big Jump competitions are held here throughout the season. The resort offers 230 kilometers of prepared trails for cross-country skiing in forest and mountain areas. A two-kilometer long cross-country track can be prepared with artificial snow, and there is a five-kilometer floodlit trail. The slopes at Gålå are also good for Telemark skiing, as they are suitably steep and wide. The Blåbærfjell is used annually for various Telemark competitions, including the Danish Telemark Skiing Championships. One of the region’s main attractions is the 87-kilometre Peer Gynt’s Trail, which is a must for genuine cross-country enthusiasts. The trail connects the whole of the Peer Gynts Rike. At Gålå you will also find separate lifts and slopes for children, and a special area with lots of activities, including The Knerten Club and Gålå Junior Ski Club, where children can have fun whilst learning to ski in an entertaining and enjoyable way. Photo: nmgala.no Accommodation in Gålå is extensive and includes cabins, self-catering apartments and two hotels, all with a convenient ski in/ski out access. There are many exciting activities to choose from if you need a break from skiing. Those include dog sleigh rides, sledging, snow rafting, snowshoe walks and ice fishing. The Gålå Høgfjellshotell also offers a sauna and a heated outdoor pool. How to get there: Gålå is situated in the Gudbrandsdalen valley, halfway between Trondheim and Oslo, approximately 270 Km from the capital. See map.
Golden Heritage Innherred was an important area in Norway during the middle ages, and the locals are proud of their heritage, the tasty locally produced food and the varied nature. Inderøy, Steinkjer, Snåsa, Verdal and Levanger are situated 90 kilometres north of Trondheim. Although they have a typical inland character, the towns of Innherred enjoy a great location by the Trondheimsfjord. The nature is characterised by the rolling landscape by the sea, vast mountain areas and Blåfjella-Skjækerfjella National Park. If you want to go hiking, skiing or cycling, there are an abundance of routes and trails to choose from. One of the most famous is the «The Golden Road», which passes through a beautiful culture landscape along Rv761 in Inderøy municipality. Photo: visitinnherred.com Visit the farmers and buy their fresh food and crafted products, or visit a museum with one of Norway’s most recognised sculptors. You can rent boats, go fishing or simply sit and enjoy the beautiful views of hills and fjords. As this is a vibrant agricultural region, a lot of restaurants serve local traditional foods from the area, often with a modern twist. Free-range pigs, deer, veal, local herbs and dairy products are often on the menu. Stiklestad in Verdal is the cradle of Norway – where the Viking king Olav Haraldson fell in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, as part of the christianisation of Norway. Experience the history up close through exhibitions and events at Stiklestad National Culture Centre. Click here for more information. Source: visitinnherred.com
Best regards, The INN Team INN® - International Network of Norway OSLO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Phone:+47 22 12 94 17 inn.chamber.no