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What Superman feels like when he flies...
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odinz
Posts: 407
Joined: May 26 2010
From: Sarpsborg,Norway
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 RE: What Superman feels like when he... (in reply to Ruphus)
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quote:
Ruphus
PS:
I turns me off completely to see the industry encreasingly inflating this fest, and taking all of its magic away from the kids.
With commercial Christmas hurly-burly meanwhile starting in October. WTF?!
Agree completely Ruphus, I have a sort of niece I guess you can say(Im not an uncle because im not married into that family yet)
She Is absolutely influenced by these commercials, and not only that, christmas has become a very buying fixated part of the year..
But still there are alot of great things!
In my local town there is a walking street that they have decorated, and you can smell all the nice smells, there is alot of cinnamon and nutmeg smell, and also delicious dinner smells!
And since it is dark allways, the christmas lights people hang up makes the houses and towns feel very special, the mood is a brown colour mood..
By the way, where is your homeland?
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Date Dec. 15 2011 15:00:55
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3431
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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RE: What Superman feels like when he... (in reply to Ruphus)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Ruphus
the Christmas procedure however should stay preserved, just for being the most lavish and atmospheric fest ever.
Nothing comes even close to its sensational richness.
Ruphus
PS:
There may be some hope of this. The feast of Jul (=Yule) was preserved at the change from the old Norse religion to Christianity, though with a notable reinterpretation.
Having lived in Alaska, and having visited Norway at Christmas time with my Norwegian wife and our children, I can see why northerners so ardently celebrated the beginning of the sun's return from the south.
Though we were English for quite a while, my ancestor came from Denmark to England, first with King Sweyn Forkbeard, then with his son Knut. After a few more centuries in America, at considerably more southern latitudes, Christmas is still one of the pivot points of the year for us.
Last year there were 24 at the adult dinner table and eight at the children's table next to it. We look forward to about the same this year.
RNJ
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Date Dec. 15 2011 21:21:07
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3431
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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RE: What Superman feels like when he... (in reply to odinz)
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Thank you for your kind offer, Jonas. You are very generous.
Both of my wife's mother's parents were born and raised in Norway. Her grandmother came from the east side of the Oslofjord. My half-Norwegian wife and I split up some years ago, but we remain friends.
When we visited Norway our children were 12 and 13. We had Christmas dinner--the day before--at the her family's farm--the English would call it an estate. They have owned the "farm" and ships as long as there have been written records in Norway. It's near Larvik. The dinner was completely traditional.
Opa, the head of the family took the children to see the barn. At the front part he pointed out the marks of the machine saws on the wooden beams. "You see, this was built in the 19th century."
Further back the saw marks were rougher. "This was built in the 17th century. They used pit saws and adzes to make the beams," Opa said.
Even further back, the joists were so low I had to stoop. The wooden parts had been selected from trees that presented the right shape for their function, and joined with wooden pegs. "When was this built, Opa?" my daughter asked. "Nobody knows, sweetheart," he answered.
On Christmas day we went to the stone church. After the service Opa showed the children the door posts. The door was on the south side of the church, not on the west as in the rest of Christendom. The doorposts were statues, clearly from the pre-Christian era.
"Do you recognize the statues, children?" asked Opa. My son immediately identified Thor from the hammer on his necklace. "And who is this on the left side?" asked Opa. The kids were stumped.
"It is Odin All-Father. He has only one eye. He traded the other for knowledge."
"Why are there pagan statues at the church door?" asked my son.
"When King Olaf--the English call him Saint Olaf, I believe--when King Olaf came in 1030 he told the people to become Christians, so they built the church--"
"Why did the people become Christians, just like that?" interrupted my daughter.
"Because King Olaf told them that if they did not, he would kill them."
"I see. But the statues?"
"King Olaf told the landowners to bring the statues to be part of the church, so the people couldn't worship them any longer at the temple, which was at the landowner's farm."
"Who were the landowners, Opa?" asked my son.
"They were us, sweetheart," answered Opa.
RNJ
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Date Dec. 16 2011 6:26:39
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3431
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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RE: What Superman feels like when he... (in reply to Richard Jernigan)
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On the evening of Christmas eve, we were at the "farm". We had brought a bottle of Scotch whisky as a present. It was opened and sampled. An unmarried uncle had been called back to Oslo by a telephone message, but all the other dinner guests were still there.
We were startled by the sound of sleigh bells outside on the snow. The two little girls, aged 5 and 7 rushed to the window and looked out, then turned back with a look of amazement. The rest of us went to the windows to see. There in the bright moonlight was a sleigh, drawn by four reindeer!
Soon there was a pounding at the door, while a loud voice demanded to be let in. When the door was opened, there stood a man dressed from head to toe in red, with a long white beard. He looked almost like the American Santa Claus.
"Der Julenisse, der Julenisse!!" cried the little girls, their blue eyes as big as saucers.
It dawned on me that the American picture of Santa Claus was derived from this Nordic Christmas figure. When I mentioned this discovery to my wife, she said, "Of course. I thought everybody knew that."
The Julenisse came in, bearing a big sack over his shoulder. He said to the little girls, "I have presents for you, but first you must sing me a song."
The girls obliged, in clear well tuned voices. They looked like blonde Nordic angels.
The Julenisse handed out presents. About this time I began to recognize behind the long white beard and jovial manner the uncle who had been "called back to Oslo." He glanced at the whisky bottle, and was immediately given a good measure. The little girls never suspected.
After a half hour of festivity the Julenisse announced he had to visit other children in the neighborhood, went to his sleigh and departed with bells ringing and reindeer trotting.
The little girls were almost silent as they cuddled their new dolls, their eyes still as big as saucers. The adults raised their glasses and joined in a Christmas song.
RNJ
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Date Dec. 16 2011 7:06:06
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: What Superman feels like when he... (in reply to odinz)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: odinz
Ruphus: I know one thing for certain, the smell of a german bakery is the best smell in the whole wide world..
So true.
Unfortunately, about three decades ago, the majority of bakers switched to handy industrial instant baking mixtures though, and to crafty methods like covering raw rolls with plaster for to make them appear like crusty while saving on electrical bills / reducing baking time of their electrical ovens.
Rolls and breads meanwhile often appear like tasteless styrofoam.
These days, finding true bread is a quest, requiring insider knowledge in each town.
My impression is that of the great cities Munich to be the one that still provides the most on traditional quality food.
Also on return from an opening party to a certain hotel in Dresden years ago at 4 am, they served us breakfast of the good old quality, so delicious that we instantly ordered a second round. What a treat!
I recall a baker in a documentary saying that you could recognize the development status of a culture by its bread making skills.
Where I am now most common are roasted pats of just flour & water dough, with sourdough or leaven rarely used at all, let alone refined recipes for special sorts of bread.
( BTW, just yesterday I downloaded some recipes for oat bread. Shall repair my failed-from-day-one oven soon.)
Very atmospheric story, Richard!
quote:
ORIGINAL: Richard Jernigan
"It is Odin All-Father. He has only one eye. He traded the other for knowledge."
If only images of his following colleagues would have had a similar premisse on the actual world; this earth would be so much different now.
quote:
ORIGINAL: Richard Jernigan
"Der Julenisse, der Julenisse!!" cried the little girls, their blue eyes as big as saucers.
My family used to amuse themselves for years about my encountering of Santa when maybe 3 years old. I took his waving about with the rod for real and started crying instead of singing.
Next time, I explicitely remember was a professional Santa Claus occuring on the highway on the night of the 24 of December, in the late eighties.
In the freezing cold I had stuck on the highway with my bike and this nice chap stopped by to help. Offering me to take me in tow.
I envisioned how that could be working out and kindly thanked him.
Right after he left, after altogether maybe over an hour I discovered that I had just not switched on the reserve gas tab. 
There´s no limit with stupidity. 
Ruphus
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Date Dec. 16 2011 12:33:45
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