"Uff da!" Defined

My maternal grandparents, both second-generation Norwegian Americans, sprinkled their conversations with “uff da” and “nei da” as liberally as they used sugar cubes in their coffee. So it was fun when, skimming Sunday’s Star Tribune newspaper, I came across Karen Youso’s column: “Uff da! What it means, when to use it.”

She defines “uff da” as a “Scandinavian expression used to express compassion, empathy or annoyance.” Youso says “nei da” is “used to show surprise or shock in a negative way or when something unbelievable happens.” She also gives a definition for “fy da,” saying it expresses disgust, revulsion and horror. She even gives examples of when each saying is appropriate: “You use ‘nei da’ if your property taxes go up 100 percent.”

I clearly remember Grandma comingling the sayings to become “nei fy da” and “uff da nei.” In fact, my brothers and I still use her hybrid sayings in mock horror or frustration when, for example, we’re playing cards with each other and our partner makes a lousy play.

I’d love to hear if these Scandinavian expressions—or variations of them—are alive and well in your family’s lexicon. Email us at vikingeditor@mspcustomcontent.com.

Sven or Lena?

Our fourth child is due in two weeks. We don’t know if we’re having a little Sven or a little Lena, but given that we already have three boys, odds are good that our sons will get their wish with the arrival of a new brother. Either way, I’d love to order a few Norwegian clothing items once the little bundle is here. Last night I entered “Norwegian Baby Clothing” into a search engine. One of the results was the wonderful site mylittlenorway.com, and it gave me a great glimpse into dressing—and caring for—an infant in Norway (think layers and wool!). Even if you’re not in nesting mode like I am, I think you’ll enjoy the tips, insights, and adorable photos posted by L-Jay, the site’s author.

Reminiscing About Music of the Past's Future

My great uncle Ivan was an accordion player, and I’ve always had a soft spot for the instrument—not to mention admiration for the people who can play it. So it was fun to stumble upon Norwegian jazz accordion artist Frode Haltli. A reviewer for The Wire wrote of Haltli that he “revisits the past without sentimentality and makes it current in music that is both beautiful and exciting.” I have to agree. For me, listening to Haltli’s music conjures up memories of Uncle Ivan playing Norwegian folk music for family and neighbors in the backyard of the south Minneapolis home that he shared with his wife, Inga.

I just purchased Haltli’s Passing Images album on iTunes. I can already tell it’s going to be one of my favorites.

The Legacy of Family Recipes

My grandmother was an incredible cook. She would get up at five o’clock every morning to make fresh bread, always had homemade sugar cookies or caramel rolls ready for guests, brought her coveted lefse to church gatherings and picnics, and made the best barbecued ribs I’ve ever had. Ever. But one of the dishes my three brothers and I enjoyed most was Grandma’s fish balls. She would take a can of King Oscar’s fish balls, make an incredibly delicious creamy gravy, boil some red potatoes, and serve it all piping hot. Yes, it was a stereotypical Scandinavian plate of food—three shades of white—but it was so simple and satisfying. Most importantly, it was cooked with love by Grandma.

Grandma passed away nearly 15 years ago, but her food legacy lives on. We try to recreate some of her specialties (they’re never as good as hers), we marvel at how she was able to cook so well for so many people in such a tiny farmhouse kitchen, and we reflect on how special she made us all feel through the food she so lovingly cooked and served.

This is a busier-than-normal time for my family, and as I toss frozen pizzas in the oven and run into the sandwich shop to pick up dinner on the go, my appreciation for Grandma—and the time she invested in making delicious food for her family—continues to grow. I think we have a few hours free this Sunday. Maybe I’ll dig out Grandma’s fish ball recipe and do some cooking with my boys.

The Norwegian Curling Team: A Story with Legs

Last week I wrote about the hubbub surrounding the Norwegian Olympic curling team's "flashy" trousers. Since then, Norway's athletes have had a great showing at the games. (As I'm writing this, a quick check of my “NBC Vancouver 2010” smart phone app tells me that they have six gold, three silver, and five bronze medals.) But as far as I can tell, nothing about Norway's participation in the 2010 games seems to be garnering as much attention—or global media buzz—as those pants. A Google search for "Norway curling team pants" yields 137,000 results. On Facebook? You can join the nearly 370,000 fans of “The Norwegian Olympic Curling Team’s Pants.” And it's not at all surprising that Norway's King Harald V has weighed in, describing the the harlequin-pattern slacks as "the coolest pants I've ever seen," according to a BBC report issued today.

One can only imagine what's next. A bidding frenzy for a pair of the jester pants on eBay? A team appearance on "The Tonight Show"? Endorsement deals? I sincerely hope for all of the above.

2010 Olympics: Wherein Norway Shakes Up the International Curling Establishment . With Their Pants!

Winter Olympics fever is running high in my house. We watched the opening ceremonies and my three sons got almost as excited when the Norwegian delegation walked into the stadium as when Team USA did! If you have a smart phone, I highly recommend NBC’s “Vancouver 2010” app.

My family’s favorite feature is “Medal Count,” which updates and ranks each nation’s gold, silver, and bronze medals throughout every day of the games. There’s also video updates, schedules, and Twitter feeds from the likes of Apollo Anton Ohno, and you can set up “Favorites” so that you’re always getting updates on your favorite countries. How else would I know that “Norway’s curlers hope two-time Major golf winner John Daly’s passion for garish, brightly patterned trousers can inspire them to Olympic gold”? Apparently the team trained in blue, grey, white, and red diamond-patterned golf pants from the same company that supplies Daly and is considering shaking up the conservative curling establishment by wearing them for competition.

Sure, it’s trivial—but my boys will be so impressed when I share that inside scoop with them at the dinner table tonight.

A Family Who Barneløpets Together Sticks Together

This July, my three brothers and their families, my mother, and my husband and I and our kids will gather at a northern Minnesota resort for a three-day family reunion. If this reunion is anything like the last one, the highlight of our time together will be “Norwegian Heritage Night.” Each family will be charged with preparing a lesson or activity on some aspect of Norwegian history or culture. When we did this three years ago, Heritage Night included making woven paper hearts and watching a hilarious video on Norwegian geography that was produced by my brother, starred his two pre-teen kids, and used Norwegian rap (who knew?) for the background soundtrack.

This July, inspired by International President Dan Rude’s “Velkommen” letter in the February issue of Viking, we’re going to make a barneløpet (children’s race) a part of our Heritage Night festivities. My oldest brother Mike, a Colorado resident and avid triathlete with several Hawaiian Ironman races under his belt, happily volunteered to organize it—especially once I told him he’d be off the hook for preparing a history lesson. The plan is to have all 10 grandchildren participate in some kind of relay race, details TBD.

For both my personal planning reasons and for possible use in upcoming issues of Viking magazine, I’d love to hear how you’ve celebrated your Norwegian heritage at family get-togethers. Please email vikingeditor@mspcustomcontent.com.

Norwegian Literature Making Headway in the U.S.

Anytime I come across words like “Nordic” or “Norwegian” in U.S. mainstream media, I gobble up the information. So it was exciting last Friday when, during my regular morning scan of the Wall Street Journal, I came across this headline: “The Strange Case of the Nordic Detectives.” The near full-page article by Laura Miller delves into the “growing appeal of Scandinavian crime fiction.”

Miller writes about authors I’m familiar with, but have yet to read (Stieg Larsson and his Millennium Triology, for example), but also introduces authors I’ve never heard of and am putting on my must-read list, including Norwegian Karin Fossum. Miller called Fossum’s book, The Indian Bride, “heart-rending.” Last year, The Indian Bride picked up the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for best mystery.

“Counterintuitive as it may seem,” Miller writes, “the Scandinavian brand of moroseness can be soothing in hard times. Its roots lie deep in the ancient, pagan literature of the region, preserved in sagas that were first written down in medieval Iceland.”

The genre seems a perfect accompaniment to the gray and glum Minnesota winter we’ll be trudging through for another two or three months. I can’t wait to dig in.

Viking magazine alert: Look in the April issue for recommended Påskekrim (“Easter Thrillers”) to read.

Smitten with These Mittens

Every year about this time, I find myself pining for winter wear—or even just an accessory (a hat, a scarf) to freshen up my tired Minnesota winter uniform of black down coat and black fleece-lined boots. Rather than venturing to Macy’s or REI, I decided to do an Internet search for “Norwegian mittens” and happily came across helloyarn.com, a website that celebrates all things knitting.

Hello Yarn is a knitting shop in Pennsylvania, and its owner, Adrian Bizilia, is a self-proclaimed knitting fanatic who raves about Selbuvotter: Biography of a Knitting Tradition, Terri Shea’s book about traditional Norwegian stranded mittens. Bizilia blogs, “It is filled with so many beautiful patterns. One pair, called NHM #10, are especially gorgeous and dainty. They are copied from a pair of mittens housed at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, WA, that feature a lovely scroll on the back, as well as the date (1932) and someone’s initials.”

Now the amusing part: I’m not even a knitter. But my mother is, and I can’t wait to give her this book—and maybe some yarn so that she can get started right away on my first pair of Selbu mittens. As she and I discover the tradition of Norwegian Selbu knitting together, I might finally catch the knitting bug, too. My mom would be thrilled!


Photo from http://www.visitselbu.no/eng/museer.html

A Look Back at Christmas 2009

I packed up our Christmas decorations earlier this month and, as I seem to do every year, found myself wondering if I’d done enough to bring my Norwegian heritage into my family’s holiday celebration. As a 100-percent Norwegian American married to a “melting pot” American, it’s up to me to carry the heritage torch for our young family—three boys ages seven to three with a fourth addition set to arrive this spring.

This year, as every year, we decorated a small Christmas tree with Norwegian flag garland and knit heart ornaments. We had a traditional meal of torsk, lefse, and Swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve. (My mom reminds us every year that the Swedes “stole” the meatball recipe from the Norwegians, so we’re not being too traitorous in including Swedish meatballs in our Norwegian feast.) On Christmas day we snacked on open-face sandwiches topped with rollepølse and spike mör mail ordered from Renner Corner Locker, in Renner, South Dakota. And my siblings and I shared some stories with our kids about the Christmas celebrations we experienced at our grandparents’ farm in Baltic, South Dakota—a bicentennial homestead settled by my great-great grandparents in 1864 when they emigrated from Trondheim.

But in comparison to my childhood Christmases, which were infused with Norwegian food, baking, language, music and traditions, the Christmases that I’m creating for my children seems much less culturally rich. Was our 2009 Christmas rich in other ways? Absolutely. In fact, my husband and I agreed that, in my ways, this was our favorite Christmas yet.

Still, the hope for a “more Norwegian” 2010 Christmas celebration persists. As a contributing editor to Viking magazine as well as a Sons of Norway member, I would love to hear how your family celebrated your Norwegian heritage this holiday season. Send your ideas and inspirations to me at hpearson@mspcustomcontent.com.

The Future's So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades)

Greetings everyone! Welcome to the 2010 version of the Sons of Norway blog. As you probably noticed there was a bit of a hiatus in blog posts recently--sorry couldn't be helped. BUT now that we return to business, I've got some great news to share. Starting today I've got a couple new blog contributors who I am really psyched about!

That's right, in addition to my little missives there will be some fresh, new content by a couple of VERY talented writers who also happen to work on Viking magazine. They are going to be contributing weekly to the blog with their clever insight, astute observations and ever-welcome input.

Oh, and did I mention they are both Sons of Norway members? How cool is that?

So, with that, allow me to introduce Amy Boxrud and Heidi Pearson!

Amy Boxrud is editor of Viking magazine. The mother of two grade-schoolers, Amy and her family live in Northfield, Minnesota where she is a member of Nordmarka 1-585. Amy is a Nordic folk music enthusiast, and when she’s not working or parenting, she can often be found making music with friends. She is a founding member of Northfield’s Nordic Roots Session and performs with the groups Scandium and Hütenänny.


Sons of Norway member Heidi Pearson serves as a consulting editor to Viking magazine and has written stories for the publication for ten years. A “full-blooded,” fourth-generation Norwegian American and mother of three young children, Heidi is always on the lookout for ways to infuse her family’s busy life with touches of their Nordic heritage. She lives in the Twin Cities.

I'm really excited about this because I think that both Amy and Heidi are going to make some really awesome contributions to this little corner of teh interwebs. Both of them come from very interesting professional backgrounds and I, for one, think this portends great things to come for Sons of Norway and the blog.

Join me in welcoming Amy and Heidi. Their regular blog posts will begin later today and each week there will be plenty of new content for you to enjoy!