by Henrik from Oslo asks Santa about movie night, learns about Norway’s fjords, and hears about the mischievous nisse folklore
Dear Santa, my name is Henrik and I am eight years old. I live in Oslo, Norway, where my bestefar says our fjords are so deep and so still that the water sometimes looks like a mirror someone forgot to put away.
Dear Henrik, I have flown low over those fjords many times, and your bestefar’s description is exactly right.
Santa, I have three questions.
My first question is, have you seen the Christmas Party movie? My family has a tradition of movie night with popcorn every Christmas Eve before the presents.
I have caught pieces of it, mostly between deliveries, and popcorn before presents sounds like an excellent tradition. I fully approve of any pause for a bit of buttery snacking before the big moment.
My second question is about the fjords. My teacher says they were carved out by huge sheets of ice long, long ago. Is that true?
It is, Henrik. Norway’s fjords were carved by massive glaciers moving slowly over thousands of years, cutting deep, narrow valleys that later filled with seawater. Flying between those steep cliffs on Christmas Eve is one of the most spectacular parts of my entire route.
My third question is about nisse. My grandmother leaves out a bowl of porridge in the barn every Christmas Eve for one. Why does she do that?
That is a wonderful old Norwegian tradition, Henrik. A nisse is a small, mischievous folklore figure believed to protect a farm, and leaving out a bowl of julegrøt, porridge, on Christmas Eve is meant to keep him happy and content, so no mischief happens to the household through the winter. Julenissen, as I am sometimes called in Norway, has always found the nisse to be good, if slightly unpredictable, company.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Henrik Andersen
Oslo, Norway
P.S. Have you ever met a nisse in person?
Once, Henrik, in 1975. He hid my hat for three days. Very mischievous, very charming.
