Norway--Nature's Eden

When I was teaching, I was fortunate to have several exchange students. One was from Norway and I called her my little Viking. She was a joy to have in class; we became friends and kept in touch over the years. I cannot think of Norway without such sweet memories of her returning.

So Ole was hiking in the mountains of Norway and he slips on a wet rock and he falls over the edge of a five-hundred-foot cliff, and he falls twenty feet and he grabs hold of a bush that's growing out of a rock. And there he is, he's hanging looking down at this deep fjord down below him -- certain death -- and his hands start to perspire and he starts to slip on this bush and he yells out, "Is anybody up there?"

And he heard a deep voice rings out in the fjord, "I'm here, Ole. It's the Lord, Ole.  Have faith. Let go of that bush and I will save you." 

Ole looked down, and he looked up, and he says, "Is anyone else up there?" 

Norway

Norway is a ruggedly beautiful country of mountains, fjords and glaciers. The 'Land of the Midnight Sun' has delightfully long summer days, unspoiled fishing villages and rich historic sites that include Viking ships and medieval stave churches.

Norway's varied geography surprises many visitors who imagine the country as a frozen monolith. On the contrary, the temperate south includes rolling farmlands, enchanted forests and sunny beaches as well as the dramatic Western Fjords. North of the Arctic Circle, the population thins, the horizons grow wider and the temperature dips (well, not always). Here the terrain ranges from soaring coastal peaks to vast boreal forests and barren treeless peninsulas. Adventurous travelers can journey even further north to the Svalbard archipelago, where seals, walruses and polar bears sun themselves on ice floes. It's no wonder that Norway prizes its stunning natural wonders and retains a robust frontier character unusual in Europe. From north to south the length of the country is almost 2000 kilometers.

The Viking Age, which began in the latter part of 8th century, lasting up to the middle part of 11th century, was the era in which the Norwegians started seeking new lands because their population had increased so much that they had begun falling short of cultivable land.

Being skilful at building boats and ships, along with being well armed with iron weapons, they set off on voyages over the seas in search of wealth and land. These were the famous Vikings who came to be feared for their ferocity all over Europe. This was also the time that Scandinavia also actually became a part of Europe.

The Norwegians set up settlements on Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, as well as parts of Ireland and Britain. In fact, it was the Norwegians who established the modern-day cities of Ireland, Waterford, Dublin, and Limerick and also set up the trading communities nearby the Celtic settlements, Dublin and Cork.

It was the Vikings, returning from their voyages, who brought Christianity to Norway. Although the first Christian king of Norway was Haakon the Good, it was Olav Tryggyasson, who ruled from 995 to 1000, and St. Olav, who ruled from 1015 to 1028, who actually established Christianity in Norway. Thus, between the 9th and 10th centuries, the Norse traditions like worshipping pagan gods like Odin and Thor, his son, were gradually replaced with the traditions of Christianity.

In the year 1349, when the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, spread all over Europe, it killed almost 40-50 percent of the population of Norway, resulting in both economic and societal decline. 

The sea has always been Norway’s source of strength, ever since the Vikings set out in their sea going vessels in the 9th century. Nowadays, Norway’s fleets of oil-tankers and merchant ships can be counted amongst the largest in the world, while its fishing boats boast of getting the largest catch in Western Europe.

Since oil was discovered in Norway in 1969, it has been a source of wealth for this country, and subsidizes many public welfare and health programs. Although there wan an economic downturn during the 1980s due to the Recession, however, since then Norway has recovered and has been enjoying a higher rate of economic growth.

 Folk Tales and Legends

“Once upon a time there was an old, poor couple who lived in a small cabin deep, deep into the forest.” This may be the beginning of a traditional Norwegian folktale, or fairytale, which was orally transmitted from generation to generation by storytellers who told these stories again and again. For Norwegians the popular literature plays a particularly important role in defining the national cultural heritage and identity.

Stories about the supernatural and magic form the biggest and most important group of folktales. They tell about specific beings such as giants, dragons, trolls, witches and humans with supernatural powers. They also describe specific supernatural phenomena such as seven league boots, cloaks of invisibility, table cloths which bring forth food when they are laid, glass mountains, castles made of gold and all manner of fantastic and wonderful things. These stories of the supernatural also tell the tale of specific events, such as journeys made through seven times seven kingdoms, people who sleep for a hundred years, people who are turned into animals, into stone and so on.

Aspects of the Norwegian countryside are a constant topic in Norwegian legend. To this day such legends remain vital in the local communities, and some are known throughout the country. Legends connected with natural phenomena are common in all countries, but a rugged and mountainous country like Norway probably has a particularly rich tradition in legends. Geological features can often seem strange and wonderful, stimulating the popular imagination. If a mountain top has a hole right through it, as is the case with the Torghatten mountain in Northern Norway, this would seem to require an explanation.

Legends which refer to supernatural beings and spirits (vetter) are often referred to as mythical legends. Previously, academics used to think that the supernatural beings in the legends were actually the descendants of the old gods, hence the name, mythical legend. In fact only one of the Norwegian legends refers the old gods, which is about the god Thor. By the Totak lake in the country of Telemark, there is an enormous rock scree, called the Urebø scree. It is supposed to have been created when Thor smashed the mountain above, obliterating the little farm below with a pile of rocks.

Norwegian poetry dates back more than a thousand years to the Skaldic verse of the 9th century. During the Middle Ages, ballads, occasional poetry, and improvised poems known as stev were commonly produced. In addition to folktales, these anonymous works comprise a vital part of Norwegian folk literature.

Norway's national flower is the purple heather, which grows in almost all parts of the country from the coast and high up into the mountains. It blossoms in the summer with small, pink petals, which provide nectar for bees and other insects.

Norway's national bird is the dipper, a rather small bird which lives on the larvae and plants it finds in rivers and waterfalls. It dives for its food and can stay under water for up to a minute.

Norway's national animal is the elk. It is the largest mammal in Norway and can be found in considerable numbers throughout most of the country. Elks live mainly on grass, leaves, bark and other plants

In most other countries, milk is in its pure form imbibed only by small children. Foreign adults may use a few drops of milk in their coffee or tea, full stop. Not so in Norway. Norwegians of all ages love their milk, indeed to the extent that East Asians living in the country complain that the natives smell of sour milk.

Milk symbolizes health, the honest work on the land, the beauty of the Norwegian scenery and -- not least -- pure whiteness. In this latter respect, milk holds a position comparable to snow.

The flag of Norway is red with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark. These three colors denote freedom, such as we have seen in the French flag of freedom, and still see in that of the Dutch and Americans, and in the Union of the English. Nordic cross was clearly based on the tradition established by the other Nordic countries, Denmark and Sweden.