2-969-842 - /Heritage Images

Winter in Norway - from a picture by Adolphe Tidemand, 1856. 'With Christmas begin the national festivals...During this season all work is stopped...and the feasts are celebrated with the hospitality and simplicity of the olden time. It is also an old custom that even the phantoms of superstition must share in these winter fetes, as well as the animals of the earth and the birds of the air. A dishful of oatmeal-porridge is placed by the women of the house under the steps of the staircase, to regale the goblin (or brownie) of the farm. Out of doors, a long pole is setup in front of the house, with a bunch of oats at the top, to serve as fare for the little birds...boys play in the snow with the "ski", or snow-skates; and the woman on the right is strewing pineleaves at the entrance of the gallery, or "Swalgang". This strewing of leaves is also a sign of feasting and rejoicing'. From "Illustrated London News", 1856.