Av Luiza Gabriella Reis
Experiencing Christmas in Egersund was a special experience that allowed me to reflect on tradition, celebration, preparation, rest and sense of community. Coming from Brazil, where Christmas takes place during summer and is marked by long days and heat, celebrating Christmas in the Norwegian winter felt completely different.
From a Christian perspective, Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation of God, the moment when Jesus Christ enters the world in humility, love and simplicity to save the humanity from sins and give us eternal life, light and hope. Celebrating Christmas in a place marked by winter gave this meaning a deeper dimension.
The four candles of Advent that we're turning on every Sunday before Christmas made me think about the importance of having an active waiting period. Verses such as “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5) felt especially real and present during this time.
Also Advent candle reminded me that Christmas is also about the longing/”forventning” for the return of Christ Jesus!
Besides lighting the Advent candle, another Christmas tradition I enjoyed was the julekalender. I received a handmade Christmas calendar from a Norwegian friend, and during 24 days I had to look at a letter that would then form words and then a sentence, the final sentence was: “Ekte julestemning her i Norge”. I loved it!
In December, I, Bowie and Murilo also participated in a juleverksted, a Christmas workshop, with some families, which was very koselig!
And another tradition that I really enjoyed, and unfortunately I don’t have in Brazil, was singing songs around the Christmas tree, a time when everyone dances, sings, and celebrates together.
I also ate a lot of pepperkaker, I learned to like pork by eating ribbe... I like so much the jul food!
On December 24th evening, I, my teammates from Hald - Bowie (from Hong Kong), Murilo (also from Brazil), and also other two friends from Hald - Erick and Smith (from Bangladesh), who are currently doing their internships in Oslo, celebrated Christmas in Egersund, together with Ingun and Ivar Barane’s family.
Before eating, we read the text that narrates the birth of Jesus, in Luke 2, in four different languages: Norwegian, Portuguese, Cantonese and Bangla. Hearing the same text read in such different languages made me think about our cultural diversity, and how, despite our differences, we can come together to celebrate the birth of our Savior, and be part of the same body of Christ!
Well, on 24th we ate traditional Norwegian Christmas food – pinnekjøtt and kålrotstappe, and we also had pavê (a brazilian dessert that we usually eat during Christmas in Brazil) and shrimp toast, a chinese food.
In this Christmas with Barane’s family there was even a real Santa Claus who brought a present for the child! For me, that was a lot of fun. Also, me and the other Hald students also received many gifts from our contact persons in Egersund, which was quite a surprise. I had never received so many gifts at Christmas! And they were very special gifts.
Two days later, on December 26th, I, Bowie, Murilo, Erick, Smith with Svein Ivar and Sigrund Berge’s family had an unexpected and memorable activity at Skadbergsanden - one of the spots that I most like in Egersund.
Despite it being winter, during this Christmas week, we were surprised by cold but sunny days in Egersund, which made the landscape at the beach especially beautiful. We eat sausage on fire and played some games that were pretty funny.
Well, as I return to Brazil and prepare for future Christmas celebrations, I want to carry some of these Norwegian traditions with me, and I will always remember this Christmas in Egersund fondly.