It's a Nasjonaldgen (National Day) in Norway!

It's "Grunnlovsdagen"  Constitution Day! 

It took years of attempting to remain neutral, but always forced to be controlled by it's neighbors to finally shake free of everyone else's rules, but Norway finally, in 1814, assembled representatives who bound  together and agreed on a Constitution of Norway. May 17th was that day, a national flag day known as syttende mai ( 17th of May). Norway was finally free to choose it's own future.

 A beautiful view of Norway on a memorable day.

Syttende mai, May 17th 

What's so great about May?

May is a winner of a month. Summer holidays begin to take shape and School-tired students are the happiest people on earth as they watch the calendar wind into higher numbers. Fittingly, there are several national holidays that will forever be remembered as Memorable May Days.

One is Cinco de Mayo, or (“Sink-o-da-my-o) for non-Spainish linguists). The Fifth of May.

Back in the 1890s, Mexico had lost a series of battles that became too costly to repay to the

victors and Mexican officials decided to suspend repatriation to the winners for two years to replenish the treasury. The earlier French winners disagreed and decided to re-attack with their over-whelming military force forcing the poorly equiped and already-vanquished rag-tag foe to retreat. It looked like another French victory and a Mexican loss but the tide turned. The Mexican fighters gained the upper hand and the battle ended as the Mexican underdogs  were victorious over the “Premier Army of The World.” As Mexicans  celebrated their memorable military victory, Cinco De Mayo became a Mexican National holiday. May 5, 1892.

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Wars complicate history as the weak must combine forces with others in order to be victorious or  lose to the stronger forces.  Scandinavian countries were not known for strong military strength and when challenged, alliances with

Flag of Sweden

 neighbors were made to battle , often declaring to remain neutral. Denmark seemed to be the dominate member of the group and Sweden joined Norway when territory disputes occurred. When Denmark won, Norway was the prize territory forced to be under Danish rule and, of course, a Danish Kingdom. Sweden would join French forces and, becoming part of a victorious alliance, demand Norway’s return with the result of a Swedish King!

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This territorial-exchange continued until a Swedish-Norwegian king decreed control over Norway citizens. Country-members decided that enough-was-enough and in a meeting that resulted, finally, in Norway’s Declaration of Independence . After all arrangements and agreements were settled, Norway became a free country. The date was  known as Syttende Mai ( “soot-in-de-my”)  Constitution Day,  May 1814.

Times settled down and all Scandinavian countries prospered together. Problems occurred in the southern European area, but distance kept Norway and  friends out of those disputes.

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    Norway continued to  remain  neutral , even through WW1, but Germany could not  accept the fact of their loss in that First World War and  German disputes with neighbors continued.  

 

Norway became a geographical  prize and hostilities became inevitable. Norway continued to remain neutral, but German invasion forces made that impossible. Norway was at war, once again.

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Damaged rail bridge stops German shipping.

 In 1940, WW2 began. In the early morning of April 9, 1940 Germany invaded both Denmark and Norway. Norway had become important for German shipping when Swedish iron ore was being shipped through Norway to Germany.  As Norwegian troops were forced to surrender, Norwegian citizens maintained a constant resistance movement that continued throughout hostilities.

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 King Haakon fled to London while Princess Martha and the Royal family accepted asylum from President Roosevelt for many weeks.Five years of German occupation ravaged the country before

 Norwegians were able to return and rebuild.

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The wars finally ended in 1945 and Norway was,once again, free. The date of the war’s end was May 8th, 1945.  Finally, the Norwegian flag was no longer forbidden to fly after five long and hard years and Norway rejoiced another day of independence and freedom..

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                        May is a flag month in Norway as  Norwegians celebrate TWO very special May days .Freedom from German occupation May 8, 1945 and Constitution Day, May 17, 1814

                     Is it any wonder why May is a happy month in Norway?

  

Who Doneit?

Holy  Week is coming to an end. Easter Sunday will soon be here and news of the Resurrection  will reverberate around Christendom.

 In Norway, the word for Easter is Påske, a name derived from the Hebrew word "Pesach/Pasah" or Passover and many Norwegians choose Easter as one of their designated biannual visits to church.

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 Norway is not known for religious celebrations, but Påske is special! An Easter tradition unique to Norway is a trip to the mountains to enjoy the long lost sunshine.. Easter in Norway is all about the arrival of spring. Traditionally Norwegians would go to the tops of mountains to watch the sunrise and observe the weather as a sign of how the summer would be.The winter is long and dark, especially down in the Norwegian fjord homes where very little sunshine manages to wiggle through the surrounding mountains.

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Traditionally,  the chicken and egg are the symbols of Easter in Scandinavia. The egg symbolizes rebirth and the chicken has been a symbol of fertility since ancient times.

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Replacing the ever-present white of snow, yellow is the most traditional color of Norwegian Easter. Lush green is also popular as it symbolizes life and growth.  The rabbit has always been a symbol of fertility, like the chicken, while eggs used to be real chicken eggs Eggs piled up in farmhomes during the old Catholic times. (They were not to be eaten during Lent). However, this changed to chocolate eggs and  paper eggs filled with chocolate as time went on..

   Yellow candles are very popular and so are yellow flowers such as daffodils and tulips.

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 In Norway, the Eastertide starts a day before the end of the Lenten season, a day known as 'Vastelavent' or 'Schrovetide'. It is from this day that Norwegians start celebrating the upcoming festive occasion, the spring season and a new working year

Easter in Norway is a time of renewing.  Spring is in the air and the sun has returned. Life seems to creep into the landscape, homes are redecorated with bright colors and Norwegians enjoy the outdoors with snow activities.  This time of year marks the end of the long Winter.Palm Sunday, or Palmesondag was probably well attended in Norwegian kirks
as Norwegians remembered the celebration of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. No palms were waved, just birch branches and new birch tree twigs are brought into the houses.( there are no palm trees in Norway).  These twigs are for Easter decorations –homes are decorated with hanging ornaments, especially painted eggs.Easter Saturday is also called ‘Easter Eve’.  This is not a public holiday, the shops close early and there is little activity.  The day is normally celebrated with outdoor activities or quietly at home.The Church arranges Påskenattmesser, midnight mass, to welcome in Easter Sunday.

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 There is one very unusual Easter-time activity that is enjoyed by everyone. That activity is called Påskekrim:         

or..EasterCrime. Holy Thursday through Easter Monday is  'public holiday-time'  in Norway, but it's also a time when just about everyone in Norway reads crime novels. Bookstore displays are full of detective novels. Walt Disney’s Mickey

Mouse and Donald Duck are favored  reading material. Each year, nearly every TV and radio channel produces a crime series for Easter.  The milk company prints crime stories on their cartons.

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Follow the crime story!

In order to cash in on this national pastime, publishers print series of books known as "Easter Thrillers" and dates of publication are moved to Spring and released at this time.The sale of mysteries goes up 50% at this time. 
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Why does Norway choose Easter to delve into crime solving? According to one widely accepted theory, the tradition began in 1923 as the result of a marketing coup and the crime novel became one of the few forms of entertainment available during the Easter break. Cafes, restaurants and movie theaters were closed during Easter, There was no radio, and of course no television. Winter activity was limited to snow, and ancient household interiors were dark Besides whittling by the fire, everyone could read. As spring-light increased and warmer temperatures raised spirits,those books became carried on mountain-skiing hikes and books were read in the mountain sunshine. The Easter crime novel was born.

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 To understand the history behind Scandinavian Easter celebrations, we must consider history. When the First Nicean

Council in AD 325 established when Easter would be celebrated, Scandinavians were far removed from southern parts of Europe and the Holy Land. During the Roman Empire and early Middle Ages, they were still very much pagans, believing in Valhalla, Asgard and Norse gods Thor,and Odin. 

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  Most seasonal "holidays" were linked to the agricultural year — harvest and
sowing — and the Christian Easter was nothing the northerners paid much attention to. It did, after all, take Christianity almost 1,000 years to break into Scandinavia. Easter was one of those celebrations, when the  custom of welcoming spring  merged with the Christian celebration.

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 Nevertheless, the reason for the season remains..

"S'now problem..Really!

Is it over? Is winter really over? It’s been such a weird winter, no one can tell for sure!

 More snow fell in March than at any previous time of this winter-season. Most of it slush, followed by inches of snow followed by rain. High School physical ed students would usually spent a week or so struggling to keep their cross-country skis from crossing as they  spent a half-hour learning their new skill on our nearby athletic field that should be snow-covered, but for most of our winter, looked  more like an area to practice golf shots.

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Wintertime in 1936

Gone are the days like the “ Blizzard of 1936” while snow storms created  havoc..Snowdrifts were drifted as high as the telephone-wires. Roads, schools, everything halted and waited for that huge county snowplow to slowly force the snow to the side.  

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As much as 70 percent of Alpine snow could disappear by the end of the century as global warming increasingly cuts in on the annual ski season. That’s the conclusion of Swiss researchers in a paper analyzing how much snow could be saved if countries seriously tackle ‘climate change’.

Something's missing!

On the Norwegian island of Svalbard, temperatures were over six degrees warmer than the long-term average and the average temperatures slowly increase. NASA  and NOAA - indicated that 2016 was the warmest year on record.

Even the texture and appearance of ‘snow’ is changing. Stories of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” may  be story-book history. Snow color has been changing in some area.

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Changes in snow cover are caused by pollution from industrial places like China. Dark particles are settling on the snow.This residue  is often a dark soot. Charlie Zender, associate professor of Earth system science at UCI and co-author of  a climatic study states:

Chinese scenery

 “Dark soot can heat  up snow quickly. It’s like placing tiny toaster ovens into the snow pack”. This indirect soot  may have contributed to global warming of the past century, including creating the trend toward early springs.Soot from tailpipes, smoke stacks and forest fires enters the atmosphere and falls to the ground. Soot-infused snow is darker than natural snow and dark surfaces absorb sunlight and cause warming. We  all are aware of the appearance of melted and disappearing road-dirty snow every spring. Snow is changing.

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Things definitely are changing. In the Nordic area,winter skiers have snow to enjoy until April, but heavy snow-cover is usually found  in the high country and those areas are currently seeing less snow.The northern half of Scandinavia, with the exception of coastal Norway, is a safe bet for snow from December to April. In the populated southern areas, the winters are very different from each other, with either knee-deep snow, slush or bare ground. In the northern resorts, the winter sports season keeps on well into May. Nordic skiers still enjoying the white stuff  at Europe’s resorts this month should enjoy it while it lasts.

In some  areas, skiers have been reporting some strange snow-conditions. White snow is changing color!

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California  and Colorado skiers have become annoyed by brown snow. This has been the result of desert winds

Dustcovered brown snow

that have been blowing sand up from the southwest. All due to our use of ground cover that brings back  memories of the historic Western sand storms  as winds churned up soil from the plowed fields ruining the once-fertile land downwind.

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While Coloradans and Californians detest the appearance of brown snow caused by desert winds from the southwest, it’s pink snow we should all be worried about.

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 A  recent climate  report  explains that while pink snow is nothing new, it’s beginning to be a problem. Its rapid growth is a tell-tale sign of climate change and, again, causing melting glaciers across the world.

Pinksnow

Pink Algsae

     But what  is pink snow?
Pink-colored flakes found in the arctic snows are appearing as early spring flowers,  but this pink snow is much like a weed and is actually an algae. In a newly released study, researchers found this brightly colored algae from sixteen separate glaciers from Norway, Greenland, Iceland, and Sweden, is actually causing the ice to melt faster. More dark cover, more retained heat.In turn, this is making the algae expand quicker,  creating a vicious cycle born out of global warming. “The algae need liquid water in order to bloom. Therefore the melting of snow and ice surfaces controls the abundance of the algae". The more melting, the more algae.

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 "With temperatures rising globally, the snow algae phenomenon will likely increase, leading to more heat retained and not reflected away by snow” as stated by climate officials. The algae’s darker color causes the light to be absorbed and this accelerates melting. 

Iceshelf affected by warming

Over 90 percent of the entire Greenland Ice Sheet was affected by surface melting and this will  likely re-occur with increasing frequency in the near future . If  we continue our refusal to accept the facts, we humans are creating the perfect environment for these tiny red( or black) predators to grow and reduce the arctic’s ability to reflect light and keep our planet cool.  European skiers will have to go higher into the mountains  to continue finding snow-covered slopes on which to enjoy and we might have to wear daily ski-masks as they already do in China. Time for action? 

Time to sell our skis?

  

The Latest Number One

The latest poll is out. Who is number one?

Where would one find the best country in the world in which to live? There are many ‘rating sources’ with different criteria centered for a variety of age and personal interests. One reputable ‘rating group’ is The Economist Intelligence Unit which provides analysis and forecasts on more than 200 countries and key industries, including technology, finance and energy.

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The Economist Intelligence Unit, or EIU is a British business  providing services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports.
NBC News used the latest EIU report to interview residents  in the latest “number one country”, unfortunately, the country chosen was not The United States Of America .

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The country determined to be the “Best Country In Which To Live”  was, once again, Norway.

 Norway has been rated “number one” by the EIU six years running and NBC reporters visited Norway to discover how they are achieving this feat. Keeping in mind, these ratings vary due to criteria and the rating-center’s results.Nevertheless, Norway consistently winds up in the top five in most rankings, sharing honors with their Scandinavian neighbors Sweden and Denmark, year after year.
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One of the NBC team’s interviews included that of two 18 yr-old Oslo residents. When asked if they planned to vote in their elections, they thought the question to be strange. Eighteen yr-old  Norwegian Aurora Aven stated ”It would seem very strange not to vote. It’s, like, a normal thing.” Norwegians are automatically registered to vote and  78% did vote in the last election. (The US percentage was twenty percent lower). They went on to say “ Norway has  a good system. No one feels left out and everyone knows their voice will be heard.”

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There are eight political parties in Norway’s legislature and debate is much milder than that in the US. To get anything done, they must utilize more cooperation than confrontation. Interviewees mentioned that the political members are not known to be of big personalities with high incomes. Taxes are nationally known to be very high, but residents do not object, knowing that their comfortable living standard, health care and education is, and will be available free of charge aided by the fact that Norway’s oil industry has provided a $880 million dollar ‘ Piggy Bank’ for Norway residents.
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Money does not seem to be a big issue for Norwegians. Money can’t  ‘buy a political job.’ One resident stated " In Norway we try to keep it so the politicians don't earn that much money. They do it because they care about the country and the future." 

      When asked about their opinion of America, most are aware of the musical entertainment industry and the US being a world leader as being very important, but worried about current American conditions that are causing concern to Europeans.
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Norway is famous for its economic practices, plus the residents are well-cared for with

emphasis on family-friendly policies. It is a well known fact that even fathers can take up to 12 weeks paid leave during the first three years after a new baby’s arrival. Norway’s residents are very aware of  outside areas. Tourists find that Norwegian youth can speak very good English! ( Americans, as a whole, are not known to reciprocate.)

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While Norway, Sweden  and Denmark are often found in the top 10 “Best countries”, The United States is not to be found in that category! In this EIU survey of 167 countries, the USA was ranked 24th. In this survey, the NBC staff found that the United States had been downgraded to being a “Flawed Democracy”.

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                       The latest EIU index as stated in the explanation:   
“Full democracies are nations where civil liberties and basic political freedoms are not only respected, but also reinforced by a political culture conducive to the thriving of democratic principles. These nations have a valid system of governmental checks and balances, independent judiciary whose decisions are enforced, governments which function adequately, and media which is diverse and independent.                                                                                                These nations have only limited problems in democratic functioning.”

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“A flawed democracy is a country with free elections but weighed down by weak governance, an underdeveloped political culture and low levels of political participation” according to the EIU. "Trust in political institutions is an essential component of well-functioning democracies.Jan 25, 2017.”

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   The US middle-ranking shared ratings with Columbia, a country of decades-long violence and violations of human rights, although making progress since 2002.  Also Argentina ,whose residents have struggled with military dictatorships, as well as India which is the world’s largest democracy  with a population expected to overtake China’s in 2028 to become the world’s most populous nation, but also tackling social and economic problems.

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In comparison of these issues, Norway is fortunate in their social, economic and political positions. Residents are content enjoying their national pride corruption free, lack of pollution, low crime rate which explains how Norway can deserve their title of “The Best Country In Which To Live.”

     

      

What Is That Noise?

We are in the middle of February and the snowcover in our Wisconsin area is unusually low. Ice-fishermen are kept aware of unsafe ice conditions on their favorite fishing lakes.

 Weather forecasters are not mentioning snow and it appears that winter is on the wane. It’s been an unusual winter. Years ago, snow drifts along country roads reached the roadside telephone wires at this time of the year. Winter nights were cold enough that outdoors listeners would hear the sound of trees cracking in the night. Things seem to be changing. Cold, clear wintery nights were full of bright stars and an occasional display of Northern Lights, a sight currently very rare in our area.

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Scandinavian winter-nights are nationally known for their almost-routine displays of brilliant color as tourist cameras record waves of Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights as they flash across the sky. It is often said that the northern parts of Norway is the best places in the world to see the northern lights. The lights can be just as visible from destinations outside of Norway, but few countries can rival the vast selection of tours, cruises, restaurants and hotels which all play an important part in this arctic experience. This is an important part of winter activities in long, cold and dark winter nights.

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'Aurora Borealis', means 'dawn of the north'.  In Roman myths, Aurora was the goddess of the dawn.  Many cultural groups have legends about the lights. In medieval times, these strange light-displays were seen as warnings of war or famine.

The Menominee Indians of Wisconsin believed that the lights indicated the location of giants who were the spirits of great hunters and fishermen. The Inuit of Alaska believed that the lights were the spirits of the animals they hunted Other aboriginal peoples believed that the lights were the spirits of their people.

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Iceland turned off the street lights in its capital city, one November night between 10pm until midnight  to allow people to view a spectacular Northern Lights display.

Reykjavik residents were asked to darken their homes  and drivers were informed to take extreme care while on the roads.

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One visitor strolling on a quiet, cold and clear Scandinavian winter night was hearing strange crackling sounds. Believing it was from powerlines, he found the sound continued as he walked away. Looking up into the dark skies, he noticed the flashing waves of color and realized that the crackling sounds were coming in the waves of the northern lights.Witnesses say the sounds are comparable to radio static, like a faint crackling,  or hissing heard for a few minutes during a strong display. These weird sounds were long considered folklore, but scientists have now found otherwise. Finnish scientists have not only shown that they really happen and now know why..

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Charged particles are constantly streaming from the sun in the solar wind, and auroras occur when these particles interact with Earth's magnetic field. The sounds can be created when a layer of warm air  interacts with a layer of cold air near the Earth’s surface. Electrical charges then build up in the warm layer of air while opposite charges build in the cold layer. These visible displays appear as  disturbances resulting in  electrical discharges creating sounds we normally hear in thunderstorms.

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Currently, in “The North Land”, January temperatures in Norway average between 21 ° and 37 °F and areas north of the Arctic Circle rarely see the sun rise, due to the natural phenomenon of the polar night. January and February temperatures in this area can drop to 5 °F. The lowest winter temperatures in Iceland are usually somewhere between -13 and-22 °F, although the lowest temperature ever recorded on Iceland was -39 °F

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Scientists estimate that ,should the current rate of climate change continue, Greenland's ice sheet, which contains

Norway in winter

630,000 cubic miles of ice could melt and cause global sea level to rise by 23 ft These ice-sheets and glaciers will be most affected by climate change. The temperatures from the year 2000 to the present have caused several very large glaciers that had long been stable, to begin to melt away.

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The climate of the Arctic is characterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers., but all regions experience extremes of solar radiation in both summer and winter. Some parts of the Arctic are covered by ice ,whether it is sea ice, glacial ice, or snow year-round.

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  If ‘climate change’ is factual and continues, the lack of  ice and snow cover could change temperatures to a time when nature’s wonders will be known only  as “Back in the day” and seen only in the videos recorded by the tourists now enjoying the sights we take for granted. Just long, dark winter nights.

 Those strange noises caused by those Northern Lights may be history.