Book Review: Happy Times in Norway

Happy Times in Norway, by Sigrid Undset

Years ago, a brief reference in one of E. B. White's essays caught my attention. Titled A Week in November from his book One Man's Meat, the essay contains a reference to a Norwegian tradition of giving any animals on the farm an extra feeding on Christmas Eve. I never forgot the tranquil picture this created in my mind, but until a few months ago--on the eve of a trip to Norway--I had never bothered to find the source that White quoted. When I finally did, I discovered the Danish-born Norwegian author Sigrid Undset and her unforgettable book Happy Times in Norway.

Undset was a Nobel Prize winning writer who became a devout Catholic in her later years. In Happy Times in Norway, she lovingly describes the Norwegian traditions surrounding Christmas, Syttende Mai, and the mountain sæter that many Norwegian farming families migrated to during the summer months. For me, she brings to life so much of the culture that I learned from my Grandpa Howard and on my own as I began to study it more earnestly in recent years. Her descriptions of life with her children and extended family will resonate with anyone who longs for simpler times.

Undset describes her family during the years just before Word War II, including her children Anders, Tulla, and Hans; her mother and various aunts, uncles, and cousins; her housekeeper Thea and driver Boe as well as various neighbors and townspeople.

The original quote that so intrigued E. B. White was:

"For Norwegian peasants, or farmers, have always loved all living creatures. Christmas night they used to go out to the stable and give the horse and cows and goats and sheep an extra feeding: 'Eat and drink, my good cow. Our Lord is born tonight.' So from the earliest times we know anything about our country, even until the Germans came, overrunning and plundering it, a sheaf of grain has been set out for the little birds at every home at Christmas."

Julenek, Christmas 2024

In homage to this tradition, my wife and I put up our own julenek, or oat sheaves, this year--the beginning of what we hope will be a tradition in our own family. In Norway, julenek are placed outside, where the birds can get to them. We waited until New Year's day to put them outside, but as far as I can tell, the birds in our neighborhood haven't figured out what to do with sheaves of oats.

The middle third of Undset's book focuses on traditions around Syttende Mai. Describing life in Lillehammer (where she had settled after divorce), she tells of the town's various celebrations, including fireworks, public speeches, a Boy Scout parade and other events. She includes this description of the young women dressing in their bunads:

"Most of the girls were dressed in the glensman's costume of the Gudbrandsdal region. Their everyday dress is so pretty and practical--a skirt of narrow-striped red and black and gray wool, a Scottish plaid bodice, full white sleeves and a headdress of starched white batiste knotted becomingly. Some wore copies of the old styles in the museum [at Maihaugen] and these were glorious--large-checked or broad-striped skirts embroidered all over with flowers, vests of yellow or red or green silk brocade, and on their bosoms or at their throats large filigree brooches. And everyone--men, women, and children--wore a bow of blue and white and red silk ribbon on his breast."

Prepare to be exhausted after following this video of a dairy wife at the seter.

The final portion of the book describes life on the sæter, or seter: The dairy lands and mountain pastures on which Norwegian farmers grazed their animals during the summer months. She describes the hard lives of the dairy women who spent their time milking cows or goats, separating cream from the milk, making cheese and butter and brunost--all while caring for children far from the comforts of home.

But she describes more pleasant times, too:

"The afternoon hours, from the time the dairymaids finished with the cheese making and until the cows came home, the womenfolk at the sæter could take things quietly. They went visiting from sæter to sæter , having coffee together and talking, always with a piece of needlework in their hands. Mother also laid aside her writing and accompanied Hanna to Bjorge sæter, or down to the Prestang sæters, or over to Ledumssla, where Hanna's married sister took care of her own sæter and had all her children with her. Hans very much liked these afternoon coffee parties, for everyone served seven different sorts of cookies and cakes with the coffee, as well as freshly made waffles. And everywhere there was something new and interesting to see..."

Undset did not set out to document Norwegian traditions. Rather, she describes--in simple and loving terms--her experiences from a time in her life before World War II. Filled with joy and gratitude for the heritage bequeathed to her, she captures what so many of us who feel drawn to Norway experience: the familiarity of pattern and tradition and memory.