Christmas in Norway: Related Days

In Norway the Christmas season is peppered with saints’ days and other related celebrations. Many Norwegians celebrate St. Lucy’s Day on December 13. In the past, however, most Norwegians understood the Christmas season to start on December 21, St. Thomas’s Day.

Norwegians also celebrate St. Stephen’s Day, December 26. In the past bands of men rose before dawn and galloped from village to village singing folk songs about the saint. These robust performances awakened householders, who then refreshed Stephen’s men with ale or other alcoholic beverages. Today one can still see bands of young men, often in traditional costumes, singing folk songs from door to door on St. Stephen’s Day. Many Norwegians spend the day visiting with friends and family members.

Norwegians greet New Year’s Eve with a fresh round of noisemaking and parties. On January 6, Epiphany, the star boys roam the streets singing Christmas carols. The Christmas season ends on St. Knut’s Day, January 13.