It was a cool Friday evening while Erling and I were driving to the family cabin when the question ‘What are we having for dinner?’ appeared in the group chat with my mother-in-law… My hubby instructed me ‘Answer that we wanna have taco, it’s Friday after all.’ His mom immediately sent a smiley face and thumbs up. I thought it was some kind of internal joke between them and laughed (I tend to just laugh when I don’t understand something).
Later that evening we were sitting in front of the TV, enjoying our tortilla wraps containing minced meat, cooked with special spices and souses, vegetables and a thing called rømme, which is basically a sour cream. All of a sudden there goes a commercial with a nice happy family singing ‘Get everything you need for your Taco Friday’. I looked at Erling with my suspicious face and asked ‘Is today some kind of a special Friday?’. He looked at me like I was an alien from a galaxy far, far away and said ‘Every Friday in Norway people eat taco’. Oh, yeah, sure … like obviously.
So, welcome to Norway everyone - Norwegians have a tradition to eat taco on Fridays. Don’t worry, there isn’t a taco police (at least not yet), so it is not mandatory to follow this tradition, but I consider it to be a good solution when I am tired or have a big gathering with friends. Historically speaking, American food was highly imported to Norway in the 60ties and taco, at it’s American variation, was very popular back then.
The funny thing is that this trend is still going on and there are tons of products you can buy to prepare whatever flavour you prefer. I also call Fridays 'the taco battle’, because every week supermarkets are offering discounts on the taco products to attract the hungry population.
Funny enough for me and sadly for Norwegians, Sweden beats Norway in taco consumption per-capita …
One of the first things I did as a newcomer in Norway is to visit my husband's office, full of curiosity about the corporate atmosphere. Right after entering the door it felt more like a visit to a spa center - everyone was walking around calmly with a coffee or a tea cup, and some were actually wearing slippers… like cozy home fluffy slippers.
Norwegians have a specific term for the comfort man feels at home - hjemmekos. Since mental health and balance between work and private life are both essential here, people tend to bring hjemmekos at their workplaces. This is a total contrast from the tense and often stressful workdays in Bulgaria (and pretty much around the whole world) where you need to be dressed for the occasion.
I just wonder who was the first person that was like - ‘Hey boss, I am not relaxed enough in here, let me get my slippers!’.
Again there is a unique term you should right down - Påskekrim (Easter crime stories). Norwegians are basically people who enjoy reading horrifying stories while eating cute chocolate bunnies. Tell me that’s not weird. Again, no one knows how did this become a thing, but it is popular among the nation, so be aware that Norwegians are polite and cute but might chop off your hand slowly and painfully.
This is a chocolate snack called ‘quick lunch’. When and where do you think people enjoy kvikk lunsj? When they are hiking on a top of a rocky cliff of course! No matter how bad the weather might be, no matter how much your legs are hurting from climbing like a wild goat, no matter how heavy your hiking bag is, there is the all-problem-solver kvikk lunsj. You eat it and you feel the blood moving trough your veins again. This is how a true Norwegian will explain the concept of kvikk lunsj. If someone claims to you that he/she is a Norwegian you now know how to test this thesis. You’re welcome!
Found out that the first commercial for kvikk lunsj aired on TV in 1937 and the highlight is ‘it is made for your tour’… so, if you’re considering to enjoy kvikk lunsj on the sofa, the taste just won’t be the same. In general, people are obsessed with it for almost a century now and we should all respect it.
I think Norwegians’ favourite word must be ‘takk’ *. This is one grateful nation. Not that other countries lack thankfulness skills, but in the land of fjords it peaks extreme levels. I mean if there is a record to break, Norway will totally win. See the next examples to get my point:
a) Takk for i dag - Thank you for today: almost mandatory to say to your colleagues when you are done at work; to your sports instructor at the gym and to everybody you had spoken to more than thirty minutes. In case you use this expression, you can skip saying goodbye.
b) Takk for mat - Thank you for the food: if you don’t pronounce these sacred words after you have eaten it means two things: 1) you didn’t like the food or 2) you are an evil human being that should be avoided.
NB. very important to say to your Norwegian future parents-in-law to show that you have good enough manners and to give them hope that you will build a strong relationship with their child, based on a profound respect.
c) Takk for det - Thank you for this: universal expression which you can use whenever you receive some kind of service, a compliment or you just don’t know what you should be thanking for. Just say it for God’s sake!
But the most mysterious of them all is
d) Takk for sist - Thank you for the last: it means thank you for the last time we spent time together. It is obviously used only when you already have met the person you are thanking, so don’t say it on a first date, because you will be labeled as a psychopath. I find this expression charming and very polite, but it is also dangerous - if someone says to you ‘Takk for sist’ and you don’t reply immediately with the same, while smiling from ear to ear, it leads to a dead end. The conversation just cannot be continued.
Again, if you don’t say it, that can only mean to things: 1) you didn’t enjoy the person/ the time you spent with that person or 2) you are unable to communicate like a normal human being and should go back to the cave you came from. Someone must have created this expression like a part of a sociology or psychology test. If you pass the test, you are granted happy normal life and if you fail, you shall not be allowed public appearance.
Tip: if you add tusen* in front of takk, you gain people’s trust as reliable person;
Tip 2: if you say tusen hjertelig takk (thousands of heartfelt thanks), you are officially a pro in Norwegian etiquette.
In conclusion, there are not enough ways to express how thankful you can be.
Tusen takk for that you read this article, inspired by the observations of a person who was not born and raised in Norway.
* Takk: the Norwegians way of saying thank you
* Tusen: thousand