It's Time!

It’s Time....

We, here in the USA are getting ready for the beginning of winter, and the excitement known as “Black Friday”, the beginning of the Christmas holidays and Yuletide. At this time, hunters tip-toe through the woods while shoppers stampede to the malls. Christmas shopping is foremost in everyone’s mind.

----------

 America’s Christmas traditions differ from those in the “old country”. When temperatures begin to drop, ancient Scandinavian activities centered around preparations for their survival in the up-coming harsh winter. The harvest was completed, food was gathered and stored, and animals were slaughtered to provide meat for the long winter season. It

was time to celebrate. While “Yule” in the USA is centered around a spiritual birthday with gifts to give and receive, the concept of “Jul” in Scandinavia is a period of time rather than a specific event.

----------

Norway, sitting on the north of Europe, has the longest and darkest winters in Europe. It’s also about the least church-going country in Europe. The Norwegian word for Christmas is actually a pre-Christian Viking drinking festival: Jul. In the 10th century, King Haakon I moved the heathen custom of drinking Jul to December 25th to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Scandinavians have some interesting traditions rooted in early history relating to their families. Christmastime was associated with ghosts! Each farm had a special ghost named Haugkallen or “ the old man of the mound.” These ancestors had to be honored. If ignored, the next growing season may be disappointing  with sad times in  the family future.

 --------

Juløl  The Christmas beer

Besides the usual stabbour or shed, these farms often included another structure, often known as a brewhouse. This was a special place of activity centered around the making of the “Christmas Beer’, commonly known as Juløl.

Beer and drinking has always been under great scrutiny in Scandinavia. Drinking and driving regulations are highly enforced. While there used to be 10,000 registered distilleries in Norway, soon that amount was only 40. Beer can only be purchased in supermarkets, and that  beer will have an alcohol content under 4.5% . Any other alcohol beverage will be sold only in state-owned liquor stores called “vinnomonpolet” meaning “The wine monopoly.” However, beginning in November, distilleries start production of a special seasonal beverage known as Christmas beer.

--------

Farmers can also get into the act as they produce their version of the alcoholic favorites.

label  reading 15%!

Farmers are allowed to make their own beer at special occasions. When a new brew is underway, the smoke and rich odors tell everyone in the neighborhood that beer is being made and they happily go to the farmhouse to help, and  sample the finished brew. Helpers collect juniper branches to fill a 700-litre [about 185 gallons] bath-shaped tank in a cabin that acts as both the hot liquor vessel and the brew kettle.

The water source can be a stream tumbling down the hillside outside the cabin where sacks of barley have been submerged to germinate. A nearby neighbor might turn his shed into a kiln, powered by a fan heater, and where barley is turned into malt. In the brewing process, when hot liquor has been added to the malt, the mash is filtered over more juniper branches to filter it. Berries are added to give flavor to the wort - just as they do to gin and other distilled spirits . Juløl, can include 9-10% alcohol...or more!.

------

Most beer available in Norway is a light coloured pils, or lager - but that changes in the weeks before Christmas, with many breweries producing special Christmas beers which are darker, heavier and sweeter.

    They are called Juløl or Julebrygg in Norwegian and are designed to compliment the heavy, rich Christmas foods such as  Pinnekjøtt and Ribbe. Pinnekjøt is dried, salted lamb ribs ( a good way to preserve meat in those days) which are soaked in water for several days, then steamed over birch wood. In Norway pinnekjøtt is served on hot plates with coarse sausages, then boiled . Since this dish is rather rich, beer and aquavit are a very suitable accompaniment .


 --------

  

Akvavit or aquavit is a traditional flavored spirit principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century. Akvavit gets its distinctive flavor from spices and herbs, and the main spice can be caraway or dill. Most of the Norwegian brands are matured in oak casks for at least one year, and for some brands even as long as 12 years.It typically contains 40% alcohol by volume.   Another favorite Jul meal might include ribbe. Ribbe, pork ribs roasted to make the faty surface layer crunchy is a meat easily consumed

with Juløl ( Christmas beer), an amber or brown lager especially brewed for the Christmas season.

--------

Then, to take the bite of the winter nights, a classic Scandinavian hot spiced wine punch called gløgg would be served. (Flaming brandy is optional). This drink is mixed by pouring wine into a large pot, bringing the mixture to a boil. Oranges, almonds, cloves, raisins and cardamom are added and boiled for fifteen minutes.

This beverage is particularily important to three seasonal religious Scandinavian festivals. The first occurring after harvest, the second near midwinter, and the last at midsummer.

--------

Beer in Norway has a long history, going back at least 1,000 years. Untill around 200 years ago, no farm was complete without a brewhouse. From the early 20th century, brewing was then industrialized and home brewing outlawed. With the exception of the malty juløl , most beer styles brewed in Norway today trace their ancestry to early central Europe. Today, most people probably don’t have the time to produce their own Juløl and specialist breweries take advantage of the special season and profitably supply the needed beverage. Special brew for special times!

However, driving away after the celebration is not an option. Finland and Sweden automatically sentence drunk drivers for three weeks to one-year jail sentences that include hard-labor. In Norway, a drunk driver is jailed for three weeks including hard labor while loses driving privileges for one year. A repeat offender loses the license for life. ( In Malaya, a man  caught driving drunk, is jailed. If he is married, his wife is jailed as well).

  Glade Jul! Try the gløgg, but easy on the Juløl!