posted on 22nd April 2011 under Food, Habits, History, Nature, Spring
Easter Bunny or hare eggs dates back to pagan times and is more about fertility and celebration of spring than recent Christian Easter traditions. Honoured in many rite-of-Spring festivals, during the span of history, eggs represented mystery, magic, medicine, food and omen. So it represented the rebirth of the earth – the long, hard winter was over – the earth burst forth and was reborn just as the egg miraculously burst forth with life. The egg, therefore, was believed to have special powers: It was buried under the foundations of buildings to ward off evil or pregnant young Roman women carried an egg on their persons to foretell the sex of their unborn children. French brides stepped upon an egg before crossing the threshold of their new homes.
Why a rabbit lays eggs?
In the pagan spring celebration, they worshipped the goddess Eastre, the goddess of fertility and springtime and her earthly symbol was the rabbit. It was no ordinary animal, but a sacred companion of the old goddess of spring. The Easter bunny has its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. The Hare and the Rabbit were the most fertile animals known and they served as symbols of the new life during the spring season. I’ll get back to our family tradition later, but just try to illustrate why spring when nature wake up from hibernation is significantly celebrated in Norway:
After a long, dark, cold winter: snow has gone and spring is in the air!
Feeling guilty about arriving late one spring, the Goddess Ostara saved the life of a poor bird whose wings had been frozen by the snow. She made him her pet and filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly, she turned him into a snow hare and gave him the gift of being able to run with incredible speed so he could protect himself from hunters. In remembrance of his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs – in all the colours of the rainbow – but only on one day out of each year. The eggs should be given to the children attending the Ostara festivals that were held each spring. The tradition of the Easter Bunny Eggs hunt had begun:
Hunting Bunny Eggs in the woods:
Outdoor recreation goes with my family – especially in weekends and holidays – and hunting the Easter Bunny Eggs is a tradition I can remember since I was big enough to sit in my father’s rucksack. Every year the feeling of anticipation and excitement takes me down the memory lane. You may say I’m a bit childish, but I’m just fine with that and it’s important to get the right spirit – and of course: you have to love being outdoors too. Here are more photos from last ears hunt, to give you an idea (click pics to bigify & enjoy):
Left: Egg catch of the day! Right: Capturing the catch & share by mobile phone.
Spring outdoor recreation:
Beside the thrill of the Easter egg hunt, this is also about enjoying spring – outdoors – after a dark and cold season. Since settlement of mankind in Norway, thousands of years back, we take advantage of, are celebrating and enjoying the feeling of spring – a significant change in seasons – and therefore an important part of our rituals and habits. Let me give a clue with a few example photos from last year:
Grill hotdogs on a stick on the bonfire.
After the ice on the sea have melted: Left: Skipping stones – Right: Kayoing
We are soon on our way to my home town to meet my parents and sisters family for this adventurous tradition. When I post this in advance this year, it is to give you all the chance to have fun the same way. Have you tried? Or would you like too? Tell me what you think in comments please!
I have of course posted about this over the years and here are the previous ones:
Spring Equinox and an Easter Egg hunt
Hunting Easter Bunny Eggs in snow
Easter Bunny Eggs Hunt in Norwegian Woods
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posted on 21st April 2011 under Culture, History, Spring
Oslo’s Bygdøy island museums present; The Kon-Tiki Museum showing the legendary expeditions of Thor Heyerdahl; the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History; the Viking Ship Museum; the Norwegian Maritime Museum and the ship Fram, used by Roald Amundsen on his polar expeditions. Bygdøy is one of Norway’s oldest cultural landscapes with a rich history. It has beautiful parks and forests and some of Oslo’s most popular beaches, including the Huk ordinary and nudist beach. Actually a peninsula, its only 20 min bus ride or a quick ferry ride from Oslo’s Warf:
Boat trip from Bygdøy back to Oslo takes about 20 min.
Two of our blog friends, Ginnie from Georgia, US and Astrid from the Netherlands, could not make it to the Oslo Blog Gathering in August 2010. So they came in April this year instead, to explore and have a taste of Oslo and Norway; our culture, history, traditions and habits. This post is from their second day of four, exploring Bygdøy and some of the museums.
On the photo to the left you see Ginnie & Astrid photo shooting Fram Museum from the boat trip around the Oslo Fjord we had the day before (click to bigify & enjoy).
The Polar Ship Fram:
The Fram Museum tells the story of Norwegian polar expeditions, honouring three great explorers; Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen. This Scottish-Norwegian-built vessel is the strongest wooden ship ever built and has been immaculately preserved, both inside and out.
It was launched in 1892 and was built by the famous ship builder, Colin Archer; a ship that would withstand the rough ice conditions on its way to the North Pole. It was built to pop up on the ice when the waters froze in instead of being crushed by the ice and drift with the ice flow until melting out again.
At the museum you can step into the ship, to visit his cabin, steam engine and discover its history. In the pic you see us on deck steering the boat : -)
Fram (meaning Forward) is the ship that brought Roald Amundsen to Antarctica in 1911 for the race against the English man Scott, to be first to the South Pole – he won! With Fram he also discovered the Northwest Passage and attempt to reach the North Pole. Famous Arctic explorer, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize awarded, Fridtjof Nansen also used Fram on his polar voyages.
The Kon-Tiki Museum:
It houses a collection of boats and artefacts from Thor Heyerdahl’s expeditions, an unique example of Norwegians seafaring pioneers. On exhibit is his original Kon-Tiki balsa-wood raft, used on his 1947 expedition from Peru to Polynesia to prove that the Polynesians originally came from South America.
Blog friends beside RA II – Read below:
Another is The Ra Expeditions, across the Atlantic Ocean by papyrus boats (1969-1970): You see, during the expedition to Easter Island in 1955-1956, Heyerdahl became interested in reed boats and their seagoing properties. The archaeologists’ excavations had uncovered pictures of large reed boats with masts and sails engraved in the buried statues and painted on flagstones in prehistoric houses. It soon became clear to Heyerdahl that not only balsa wood rafts, but also reed boats, with pre-Incan sailors could have carried the earliest South Americans out over the open Pacific Ocean.
Norway Open Air Museum:
If you want total immersion in Norway, the best bet is The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norsk Folkemuseum), giving you Norway in a nutshell, presented with 150 houses and numerous exhibitions from it’s major regions. The open-air display includes wooden barns, stables, storehouses and dwellings from the 17th through 19th centuries.
Here visitors can also go inside an 800-year-old stave church from Gol. These churches, the greatest achievement of medieval Norwegian architecture, are built with wooden planks, called “staves,” in a multi-storeyed design that soars upward. They are decorated with elaborate carvings common to Viking ships and once were a common sight in Norway. In the picture you see Ginnie & Astrid together with Diane and me in front of Gol Stave Church.
I have posted about this museum before, so just click if you want to see more: Lefse and rural farmhouse from Norway and Historical Architectural and Cultural journey in Norway
This is the last post from our Blog Friends Astrid and Ginnie’s adventures and I hope you have enjoyed reading them as well as learned something more about Norway; our history, culture and traditions. Here are the two previous posts:
1: Top Oslo Sightseeing tips: Exploring the Fjord
2: Top Oslo Sightseeing tips: Norway Opera House
Maybe you want to visit and explore by yourself too? Just give me a hint – I gladly guide you around too : -)
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posted on 15th April 2011 under Culture, Travel Norway
The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national Opera Theatre in the city at the head of the Oslo Fjord, is the largest single culture-political initiative in contemporary Norway. It’s the largest cultural building to be raised in Norway since Nidarosdomen (= Cathedral) and an important symbol of what modern Norway represents as a nation. The building’s expression of openness and accessibility both indoors and outdoors, appeals to a wide range of users. The roof landscape is clad in artistically formed white Italian marble – actually, this opera house is the world’s only were you can walk on the roof:
My photo on Flickr with most hits (more than 20 000 hits)
Two of our blog friends, Ginnie from Georgia, US and Astrid from the Netherlands, could not make it to the Oslo Blog Gathering in August 2010. So they came in April this year instead, to explore and have a taste of Oslo and Norway; our culture, history, traditions and habits. This post is from their third day of four,exploring the Oslo New Opera House (click all pics to bigify & enjoy):
Left: All Blog Friends at the entrance of The Opera – Right: Ginnie & Astrid in front of The Opera
Two days before we saw the Opera house from the seaside on our Oslo Fjord boat sightseeing trip:
Left: Ginnie photo hunting – Right: The new Opera House.
Guided tour in Norway Opera House:
Up to 50,000 persons visit the new monumental building at the Oslo waterfront each week most of them for a recreational adventure outdoors. This really shatters the myth about a cultural building like the opera being dull and difficult and only an indoor adventure and shows that the opera is more than entertainment for the bourgeoisie. However, a guided tour inside is worthy too and we always try to find time when blog friends are visiting:
The House is workplace for 600 people divided between more than 50 different trades and professions – among them about 100 seamstresses:
Left: Ginnie & Astrid in the sewing room – Right: Costume for the Nutcracker.
This production section holds all facilities that are necessary for the production of an opera or ballet: workshops, storerooms, dressing rooms, cloakrooms, offices as well as audition and rehearsal rooms – with an inspirational view to the Oslo Fjord:
The acoustics are the most important criteria for success for the new Opera House. It has therefore been a primary objective that the acoustics in the Main auditorium are of best quality. Experience shows that a horseshoe form is the best design for achieving optimum acoustics in an opera theatre, which is why the design was adopted:
Materials are also important for tone and timbre. Modern preference is for timbre, where music is prioritised over song and speech. In the Main auditorium, the objective is to achieve a resonant solution that meets requirements of reverberance, early decay time and loudness.
This is day three of four from our Blog Friends Astrid and Ginnie’s adventures – so stay tuned for more in the next posts!
Update:
Go read Ginnie’s first post from their adventures in Norway!
…. and of course my wife DianeCA’s post about their visit too!
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posted on 7th April 2011 under Spring, Travel Norway
A guided tour on the Fjord provides Oslo in a nut shell: From the Town Hall harbour you’ll pass Akershus Fortress and the New Opera House as well as Kon-Tiki Museum, the Polar ship Fram and the Maritime museum – not to forget a tour through a maze of picturesque islands with small summer houses. So if you want to explore the capital of Norway from a different angle, appreciate nature and want an alternative experience form the stressful, urban life: all this is to be experience from the boat just 10 minutes after departing Oslo city.
Two of our blog friends, Ginnie from Georgia, US and Astrid from the Netherlands, could not make it to the Oslo Blog Gathering in August 2010. So they came in April this year instead, to explore and have a taste of Oslo and Norway; our culture, history, traditions and habits. This post is from their first day of four, to explore the Oslo Fjord by boat:
Departure from the Town Hall (in the background); Ready with camera: Astrid left – Ginnie right.
Before reaching the island, you’ll pass some landmarks, nice to see from the seaside (click pic to bigify & enjoy):
Left: The Akershus Fortress – Right: The new Opera House.
The Oslo Fjord – a deep inlet of the Skagerrak:
Oslo occupies an arc of land at the northernmost end of the Oslo fjord. The fjord, which is nearly bisected by the Nesodden peninsula opposite Oslo, lies to the south; in all other directions Oslo is surrounded by green hills and mountains. There are 40 islands within the city limits, the largest being Malmøya and Hovedøya, and scores more around the Oslo fjord:
Still some ice since its beginning of April – increasing the adventure!
Below: Two of the many light houses in the Oslo Fjord
The Museums on Bygdøy Island:
If you really want to explore Norway’s history, culture and traditions; Bygdøy is the place – easy to access 20 minutes from Oslo city centre by bus or boat (click links to read more about them in my earlier posts):
The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a large open air museum featuring typical buildings from various periods in our history. The Viking Ship Museum; in addition to two 1100 year old Viking-ships (apparently the best preserved in the world), it also contains various other Viking artefacts and a Viking burial chamber, complete with ancient skeletons. Closest to the fjord, we passed:
Norwegian Maritime Museum which houses a huge collection of ships and boats and records the impact of Norway’s seafarers on our own country and the world. The Kon-Tiki Museum which displays Tor Heyerdahl’s balsa raft Kon-Tiki and Ra II, as well as some other artefacts from Easter Island. The Fram Museum features the vessel Fram, the world’s first ice breaker and the last polar expedition ship made of wood, and presents a history of polar exploration (with a strong Norwegian focus!)
This is only the first day of four posts from our Blog Friends Astrid and Ginnie’s adventures – so stay tuned for more in the next one!
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Easter Bunny or hare eggs dates back to pagan times and is more about fertility and celebration of spring than recent Christian Easter traditions. Honoured in many rite-of-Spring festivals, during the span of history, eggs represented mystery, magic, medicine, food and omen. So it represented the rebirth of the earth – the long, hard winter was over – the earth burst forth and was reborn just as the egg miraculously burst forth with life. The egg, therefore, was believed to have special powers: It was buried under the foundations of buildings to ward off evil or pregnant young Roman women carried an egg on their persons to foretell the sex of their unborn children. French brides stepped upon an egg before crossing the threshold of their new homes.
