Author: Henrik Smith

A Symbol of Heritage

Small fjord villages, large counties, and big cities alike, all have their own kinds of bunad designs. A wide range of fabrics, colours and patterns, makes every bunad unique while still keeping the traditional look. Being widely accepted as a festivity attire, the bunad is commonly seen large celebrations and cultural events, as well as smaller events like baptisms, confirmations and weddings. Some Norwegians even marry in their bunad, visualizing the bond between regions of Norway. 

In the arctic areas of Norway, it is usual to see another prideful dress alongside the Norwegian bunad. The gákti, the Sámis’ traditional clothing, a sign of heritage and culture is often used in the same setting as the bunad. We highly suggest reading more about the gákti in our story, The Sámi’s Prideful Clothing.

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The Day of the Bunad

There is no day the bunad is more in use than on the Norwegian Constitution Day, the 17th of May. If you haven’t had any opportunities to use your bunad the past year, The Constitution Day is your yearly occasion to brush the dust off your bunad and get ready for the celebration. On The Constitution Day, millions of bunads are in use all across Norway, making the celebration a colourful, and spectacular sight.

Speaking of the Norwegian Constitution Day, we just published a blog post, dedicated to the momentous day. Learn more about The Constitution Day in our post, Celebrating Norwegian Values, Culture, and Freedom.

Old Traditions

Most of today’s bunad traditions and designs have roots from the 18th century, but there are some dating all the way back to the middle ages. A couple of hundred years ago, the bunad was not commonly used in festivities, but this changed around the middle of the 1900s. After the second world war, the trend of having a bunad spread quickly. After years of occupation, Norwegian romantic nationalism grew, and people began following older Norwegian traditions to a greater extent than before. Bunads became a symbol of Norwegian culture and a highly demanded product.

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Valuable Clothing

Being hand made by craftsmen across the country, the Norwegian bunad can become very expensive. The craft, the fabrics, knives, gold, and silver may cost over 50.000 Norwegian kroner all together, equating to around £4000. The 2,5 million bunads in Norway have an estimated value of over 30 billion Norwegian kroner, roughly 2,3 billion pounds. Although the price might be steep, the sedimental value and pride from having a bunad heavily outweigh the economic cost. You can put a price on craft, but you can’t price pride.

Great Design

Alongside the bunad, there is another spectacular design present in The Constitution Day celebrations. Tomorrow, on the 8th of May, we release the 17th of May limited edition Nuet Dry Aquavit. Wrapped in a Norwegian coloured ribbon and with a silver rose, the design adds a little luxury to this special occasion. Just like the bunad, Nuet Dry Aquavit is handcrafted with love and passion. From washing to filling to labelling, the entire process of making the tasteful and refreshing drink is done all by hand. Buy your Limited Edition Nuet Dry Aquavit in our store, and experience true Scandinavian moments from the first taste.

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Interested in Scandinavian culture? Here at Nuet, we publish weekly blog posts about everything Scandinavian. Read more at nuetaquavit.com/stories, and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new posts directly into your feed

We Ride at Dawn

With only 24 hours at our disposal, we have to make use of every moment the Constitution Day has to offer. To make the most of the day, many Norwegians start off by arranging a Champagne breakfast, inviting friends and family to kick off the best day of the year in great fashion. There is no better way to begin the day than with a feast of fresh pastries, crisp greens, sparkling bubbles, warm laughter and joy. 

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The Constitution

As the name implies, the Constitution Day is the day we celebrate the Norwegian constitution and the values it represents. For hundreds of years, Norway was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway, but as a result of the loss at the Battle of Leipzig in October of 1813, Norway was ceded to Sweden in January of 1814. In response to the ceding, Crown Prince Christian Frederik of Denmark-Norway started the Norwegian Independence Movement, and in April 1814 he gathered 122 Norwegian men, forming the Norwegian Constituent Assembly. For five weeks, the assembly drafted the constitution. On the 16th of May, the constitution was agreed to by all members of the Assembly, and it was signed the following day, declaring Norway an independent kingdom. Thus making the 17th of May the Norwegian Constitution Day.

Nation-wide Parades

The first thing many Norwegians think about when it comes to the Constitution Day is the parades. All over the country, millions of Norwegians march proudly in long parades around their home town, singing the national anthem, waving the flag, and celebrating the Norwegian freedom, values, and national pride. Thousands of happy Norwegians dressed in the Norwegian colours waving thousands of Norwegian flags is a truly remarkable sight.

A Day of Diversity

The Constitution Day is not just for ethnical Norwegians, this is a day for everyone, everyone living in Norway, everyone in love with the Norwegian country and culture, and everyone taking part in the Norwegian society. It is not uncommon to see other countries’ flags waving alongside the Norwegian flag in parades and on balconies. This is a day celebrating our including values, and everyone is welcome, whether you are from Tromsø or Kabul. Around 90% of non-western immigrants in Norway celebrate the day just like other Norwegians, a true sign of the welcoming Norwegian culture and values.

A Sign of Belonging

There are few things we Norwegians are more proud of than where we are from, and one of the proudest signs of our heritage is the bunad, the Norwegian traditional folk suit. From the smallest fjords in the north to the highlands in the west to the big cities in the east every area has its own bunad design. It is estimated to be over 2,5 million bunads around the country, with an estimated value of over 30 billion Norwegian kroner. We have posted a story about the bunad which you can read here.

The Norwegian Sámis celebrate this day by wearing their gáktis, the national costume of Norway’s indigenous people. Alongside the bunad, the gákti is a sign of heritage and pride. Read more about the gákti in our blog post about the Sámi’s Prideful Clothing.

Ice Cream Day

For many Norwegians, especially the young ones, this day is associated with ice cream. Averaging on around 30 million freezing cold ice creams consumed in a single day, the consumption equals six ice creams per Norwegian. This is five times the amount sold on even the hottest summer days. The phenomenon has even gotten its own saying referring to the ice cream demand.

“It sells like ice cream on the 17th of May.”

Norwegian saying

Bringing the Celebrations to You

As not everyone can be in Norway on this momentous day, we decided to bring the celebrations to you, wherever you may be. On May 8th we launch our own webshop, and we release our 17th of May limited edition bottle, which will be on sale during all of May. Same delicious content, with a festive wrapping. Order yours from our website on Friday, May 8th, and join in on the celebrations.

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Interested in Scandinavian traditions and culture? Here at Nuet, we publish weekly blog posts about everything Scandinavian. Read other interesting stories at nuetaquavit.com/stories, and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new blog posts, straight to your feed.

Bearer of History

Established in 1070, Bryggen has been essential to Norwegian trade and culture for almost a millennium. For centuries the alleys and markets of Bryggen were thriving with trade, and there is an endless amount of stories from what happened inside the walls of Bryggen.

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The German Influence

Located on the Norwegian west coast, Bergen has easy access to the North Sea, making trading with Europe a breeze, especially with the British and Germans. In 1350 the Hanseatic League, an organization of German merchant communities, founded the Hanseatic Office on Bryggen, resulting in an explosion in trade with the Germans. The Hanseatic merchants controlled the import of wheat from Germany and the export of stockfish to Europe, thus giving the Germans a key role in the operation of Bryggen.  As a result of the German activity, Bryggen has been referred to as Tyskebryggen (the German dock), although the name isn’t commonly used nowadays.

The Inferno of 1702

Throughout time Bryggen’s wooden construction has been an inconvenience, and Bryggen has experienced quite a lot of fires. On the 19th of May 1702, a fire started close to a nail factory in downtown Bergen. The fire grew quickly, and soon there was an inferno ravaging the city. For 13 hours the fire destroyed large parts of the city, and after a while the fire also spread to Bryggen, burning many important and historic buildings to the ground. The Hanseatic Office, the German merchant’s headquarters was completely destroyed, leading to a temporary halt in trade with Germans while the offices were rebuilt. During the fire, as much as 7/8 of the city’s inner core were heavily damaged or burnt to the ground. Bryggen, as we know it today, is the result of the reconstructions after the city fire of 1702, and the only construction dating before the fire is the stone cellars from the 14th century. After the last fire in 1955, it was finally installed a fire protection system, hopefully preventing the spread of fires in the future.

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Thriving Fish Industry

For a long time, Bryggen ran most of Norway’s export of stockfish. Large batches of stockfish from Northern Norway were transported to Bergen, then exported to the European market by the Hanseatic traders. During spring almost every storage facility in Bryggen were loaded with huge amounts of northern Norwegian stockfish ready for Europe. Today, Bryggen is no longer the main Norwegian stockfish exporter, but fish is still a great part of Bryggen’s life and culture. Located right next to the Bergen Fish Market, Bryggen’s restaurants are delivered fresh fish straight from the Norwegian sea every day.

Architectural Heritage

Due to its key role in Norwegian and European trade, Bryggen was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. It is regarded as one of mankind’s most precious cultural sites, alongside world-famous masterpieces like the Taj Mahal, The Vatican and the Statue of Liberty. Even though Bryggen is no longer the thriving trading hub it once was, the history alone is worth protecting.

“Bryggen bears the traces of social organization and illustrates the use of space in a quarter of Hanseatic merchants that dates back to the 14th century. It is a type of northern “fondaco”, unequalled in the world, where the structures have remained within the cityscape and perpetuate the memory of one of the oldest large trading ports of Northern Europe”

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

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Modern Handicrafts Central

Although times have changed and the thriving trade is gone, Bryggen still might be one of the top shopping destinations in Bergen. In the alleys of Bryggen, you find high-quality design shops housing freelancers and groups of designers focusing on Norwegian culture and design. The boutiques mainly sell handcrafted items like paintings, local foods and beverages, and clothing. Bryggen is also the home of Julehuset, a year-around Christmas shop, which we’ll cover in a later blog post. 

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Interested in Scandinavian culture and history? Here at Nuet, we publish weekly blog posts about everything Scandinavian. Read our other stories at nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new blog posts straight to your feed.

Since its completion in 1216, Gol Stave Church has been a symbol and prime example of Norwegian architectural pride. For centuries this church was the only one of its kind, the only one of this form, but that has changed and today the historic church has copies across the globe.

Near destruction

In the years following its completion Gol Stave Church was a key part of the local community. As the primary church of the area, it was an important gathering point for the locals. As the population grew the church became too small to fit all locals, so in 1880 it was decided that Gol would build a new and bigger church, and the original stave church was to be demolished and replaced. The Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments was not happy with this decision and quickly decided to buy the materials in order to re-erect the iconic church elsewhere. In 1881 King Oscar II of Norway and Sweden financed the relocation of Gol Stave Church to make it a part of his collection of characteristic older Norwegian buildings. Today the original Stave Church and the rest of the king’s collection is located in The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.

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Returning Home

The Gol locals thought that the move of the church was a tragic incident, a waiver of their culture, and a loss of an old pride. Therefore, just a century after the move of Gol Stave Church the local society decided to build a replica of the original church that once prided their home town. In 1994, 113 years after the move of the original, New Gol Stave Church was inaugurated and is now honouring the original that once was there.

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The American Twin

In addition to Norwegian copy, Gol Stave Church has been copied across the Atlantic as well. In the autumn of 2001, the Scandinavian Heritage Association in North Dakota unveiled the Gol Stave Church Museum, an exact full-size replica of the historic Gol Stave Church in Oslo. The replica was built as a memorial for the pioneer immigrants that moved from Scandinavia seeking the American dream in the American Northwest. Besides the North Dakotan one, the historic stave church has yet another copy in The States. Although it is not an exact copy, the stave church in the Norway Pavilion in Disney World, Orlando is heavily inspired by the designs of the famous church.

A Tribute to God

At first, the church might look big, but the majority of the building is purely decorative. Stave churches were built as a grand tribute to God, a majestic piece of architecture reflecting God’s power. Therefore form was sometimes prioritized over function, making room for fewer visitors than other churches. The church’s nave, the central part where people are seated is quite small. When everyone is seated the church only fits about 30 people comfortably.

Although stave churches are spread across Scandinavia and parts of north-western Europe, the Norwegian ones are the most famous and influential, and the majority of stave churches left are located in Norway, therefore stave churches are commonly associated with Norwegian architectural history.

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Interested in Scandinavian culture? Then this blog is the place for you. We at Nuet publish weekly blog posts about Scandinavian culture, cuisine, outdoors, and more. Read our stories at nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get updates on new blog posts straight to your feed.

Back to Their Roots

Throughout history, indigenous peoples around the world have faced hardships and prejudices. The same goes for the Sámi people of Northern Scandinavia. Just half a decade ago there was still a negative attitude towards the Sámi from the society. As a result, many Sámis abandoned their Sámi heritage in fear of harassment. This led to some families losing their Sámi culture altogether. In recent decades the prejudice against Sámis have declined, and the conception of the Sámi culture has taken a positive turn. A lot of media attention around Sámi artists, singers, and other media personas has led to an exploding interest in the culture. Many are doing genealogical research to find out more about their Sámi heritage, and for some being a Sámi is now pride.

The Pride

People of Sámi descent have started embracing their Sámi heritage and taking back the culture that once was crushed. Especially the youth have started learning the Sámi language and wearing the traditional gákti as a symbol of cultural pride. Especially during big events like the Norwegian constitution day (May 17th) and the Sámi national day (February 6th), the streets are filled with people of Sámi heritage representing their culture in a beautiful and colourful way.

I wear my gákti with pride. Not only does it represent a copious and beautiful culture, it also represent my Sámi identity. An identity I am proud of.

Elisabeth Regine Myrland (19), Alta Finnmark

Symbolic Design

The gákti’s design bears a lot of symbolism, and every little design feature has a meaning to it. The Gákti is a colourful dress, reflecting the diversity of Sámi people. Although you could use almost every colour imaginable, the most common main colour for the Loppa gákti is navy blue. The navy-blue symbols the use of and life at the sea. Fishing was one of the main sources of food for the Sámis living in the southwestern parts of Finnmark, thus making this a key element in the design. The green represents the lushness of the lands, the forests and the agricultural part of the Sámi life. Red is the colour of strength indicating the strength and willpower of the Sámi people.

What differentiates the Loppa gákti from other gáktis is the yellow jags on its brim and collar. The yellow colour is a symbol of life and hope. It represents the midnight sun, shining all day, all night, an everlasting hope.

The Devil in the Details

During its lifetime the gákti’s various designs have faced a lot of hardship. In the late 19^th century and early 20^th century, most of the Sámi people were very religious. A prejudice society exploited their faith in God claiming the devil lived in the gáktis’ jags, and wearing Satan’s jags was a terrible sin. As a result of these claims, this design feature quickly disappeared from gáktis and other Sámi handicrafts. This gives the phrase “The devil is in the details” a whole new meaning. In recent years the jags have been brought back to the Loppa gákti to preserve the old traditional design, and now the jags that were scrapped are a symbol of hope.

A Passion for The Gákti

The growing interest in and demand for the incredible piece of clothing has made this a growing trade, enabling many craftsmen to sew gáktis full-time. One of the people that sew gáktis for a living is Torill Kaino. In a little over two decades Torill as sewn around 400 gáktis for people all around Northern Norway. She sews 14 different gáktis from different regions of Sápmi, among others the one Loppa gákti pictured in this blog post. She gets so many requests that the waiting list sometimes stretches to over half a year. If this isn’t a sign of a growing trade, nothing is.

I think it’s great that the youth want to embrace and take back their culture and heritage.

Torill Kaino

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Although most of the prejudice surrounding the Sámi culture is long gone, it is still important to remember our history in mind so this won’t happen again. Keeping a unique and colorful culture alive is priceless and something we should all strive to achieve.

Interesting read? Here at Nuet, we publish weekly blog posts about Scandinavian culture, crafts, cuisine and outdoors. Follow us at @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on our blog posts right in your feed.

Although the Lyngen horse is considered Norway’s oldest horse breed, we know little about it. The Lyngen horse wasn’t even classified as an own breed until the 1930s, and therefore its earlier history is unclear. We know for a fact that it is an ancestor of the way more popular Icelandic horse, and that it might have ties to the Mongolian horse breeds.

A visit by Genghis Khan

It is believed that the Lyngen horse is a distant relative of the Mongolian horses used by Genghis Khan and his army. History shows that some Mongolian groups indeed travelled all the way to the Baltics, but whether the Mongolians visited Norway is unknown. However, veterinarians have matched the genes of the Mongolian horses with the Lyngen horse, so there is definitely a chance that the Lyngen horse has some warrior blood in them despite their calm demeanour.

Workhorse

Mongolian or not, the Lyngen horse is an exceptional, strong horse. Its versatile nature has made it an essential part of farming in Norway, throughout history. The work mostly consisted of ploughing fields, transporting people and goods, and towing logs from the forests. This small, but sturdy horse has an eagerness to work, and making these duties were no challenge for the strong and well-muscled creature.

During the winter these horses experience all the snowstorms, hail and freezing temperatures that the Norwegian climate has to offer well above the Arctic Circle. They’re used to this hardcore weather, and often stay outdoors even when they have stables to seek shelter in. During heavy snowfall they stand completely still in order to build a blanket of snow on their backs, isolating their fur and keeping them warm.

“The Lyngen horse is a robust and versatile horse. A horse you can use for everything. It is made for northern Norwegian nature and climate”

Yvonne Larsen

Rimfakse The Saviour

Due to setbacks in breeding during the second world war, there were at some point only 15-20 Lyngen horses left. Only one of these was a stallion, and his name was Rimfakse. He single-handedly saved the entire breed, and as a result, all of today’s Lyngen horses descend from this one horse. This makes Rimfakse the by far most famous Lyngen horse to ever have lived. The work of saving the breed was hard but manageable. At the start of this millennium, the breed was no longer in acute danger of extinction. Today there are around 2500 Lyngen horses around Northern Norway, but the numbers are dwindling, and the breed is still endangered.  

A passion for horses

One of the people dedicated to keeping the Lyngen horse breed alive is Yvonne Larsen. She’s “born on the horseback” and has been living with horses all her life. Although she’s had several different breeds of horses, the Lyngen horse is definitely her favourite.

“Having a horse is a lifestyle, a lifestyle I couldn’t live without. “

Yvonne Larsen

Taken care of for generations

Yvonne lives on a farm in Lyngen in Northern Norway. For six generations the farm has been in her family, and many of the farm’s buildings date back to the 1840s. For almost two centuries the farm has housed all kinds of animals, and at some point this was one of the largest farms in the area, employing dozens of people. Today, the farm isn’t thriving as it did a few generations ago, but it doesn’t mean that the stables are empty. The farm houses three Lyngen mares, two of whom are pregnant, due in June.

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Empowering women

Historically, the use of a horse was a man’s work because of the horse’s tall body. The Lyngen horse, on the other hand, was low enough for a woman to handle, thus enabling women to do farm work alone, when the men spent weeks, maybe months fishing at sea. That’s why the Lyngen horse played an important part in empowering independent women in Norwegian society.

” A life without horses is like a church without Chirst.”

Karoline (10), stable girl

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Diminishing workload

As tractors became more widespread in the last half of the 20th century, the need for workhorses diminished. Therefore, the Lyngen horse is used for sports and recreational activities nowadays. In the summer some horses and their riders go on long trips in the Lyngen area and sometimes climb up the steep mountainsides of the Lyngen Alps. This is an extreme adventure through one of Norway’s largest mountain ranges. We’ll cover this journey in a later blog post.

Interesting read? Here at Nuet, we publish two blog posts about Scandinavian culture every week.  Follow us at @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new posts. While you’re at it, check out our other posts right here at nuetaquavit.com/stories!