Grinchen Som Stjålet Jul
By Mitch Berg
Without baked goods – Rosettes, krumkake, lefse, and all the other varieties of baked sweets that make Norwegian cuisine such a joy during the holidays – having a Grinch steal Christmas is really more or less irrelevant.
And “lack of butter” is the grinch this year:
An acute butter shortage in Norway, one of the world’s richest countries, has left people worrying how to bake their Christmas goodies with store shelves emptied and prices through the roof.
The shortfall, expected to last into January, amounts to between 500 and 1,000 tonnes, said Tine, Norway’s main dairy company, while online sellers have offered 500-gramme [That’s about 14.4 ounces – Ed] packs for up to 350 euros ($465).
More reasons to give thanks you’re an American…
December 15th, 2011 at 6:56 am
Further proof that socialism and collective farming don’t work! 😉
December 15th, 2011 at 7:29 am
1 kilo is about 2.2 lbs, 500 grams should be 1.1 lb
December 15th, 2011 at 7:56 am
No butter in Norway? What, a mad cow epidemic? All the farmers go on strike? Nothing like that – the problem is government, of course, and taxes on imported butter to protect Norwegian butter makers.
The government taxes imported butter enough that a black market for butter smugglers exists. Popular ourtry forced a butter tax holiday for the holidays but it’s temporary.
There is no problem so bad that it can’t be made worse by government.
December 15th, 2011 at 8:56 am
The explanation I read said that high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets are all the rage in Norway just now, and demand has exceeded supply. But Nate’s explanation makes just as much sense to me.
And just to slip into my comfortable pedant suit, I think it ought to be “Grinchen som stjelet Jul.” “Den Grinch” indicates one Grinch among many, the “-er” suffix indicates present tense, and the definite article is unnecessary for “Jul.”
Aren’t you glad I stopped by?
December 15th, 2011 at 9:11 am
And here I thought Walker was an English name. Well done, Lars!
December 15th, 2011 at 9:20 am
My great-grandfather, named Kvalevaag, changed his name to Walker in America. Which I’ve always considered pretty brave, considering the fact that he couldn’t pronounce “W.”
December 15th, 2011 at 9:26 am
Lars,
Actually, I am. I’m in the process of starting to learn some Norwegian – I want to go there one of these years – but I had to rely on Google. Obviously.
December 15th, 2011 at 9:32 am
Good on you. This cannot help but make you a better, brighter sort of person. And the chicks dig it.
December 15th, 2011 at 9:36 am
Oh. I just looked it up. It should be “stjålet.” To make the å (in Windows), hold down your ALT key, and use the number pad on the right side of your keyboard (not the number keys at the top) to type “134.”
You’re welcome.
December 15th, 2011 at 9:44 am
Its the diet fad and the protectionist legislation. Sweden says they have surplus butter to send to Norway, but Norwegian laws prohibit it.
For those wanting to learn Norwegian, there is Mindekirken in South Minneapolis. They do church services in Norwegian, and offer language and culture classes. I have attended here on occasion and would maybe join if it weren’t an ELCA affiliated church.
http://mindekirken.net/
December 15th, 2011 at 9:46 am
Mitch, in your opinion what is the best way to start learning a foreign language?
December 15th, 2011 at 10:00 am
jpmn, in the case of my dad, it was to start first grade and not knowning one word of English. He said he learned fast. And of course it didn’t hurt any that school rules were that only English was allowed to be spoken on school property, including on the playground.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:29 am
Én légpárnás hajó feltölik az angolna.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:33 am
Jeg ved overhovedet ikke hvorfor man ville lære norsk. Sproget er bare dansk men stavet og udtalt forkert.
😉
December 15th, 2011 at 10:51 am
A moose bit my sister once.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:59 am
I don’t why one by overhovedet would learn Norwegian. Sproget is only Danish but spelled wrong and udtalt.
This is the on-line translator conversion of jdm’s post.
December 15th, 2011 at 11:07 am
I don’t know why anyone would even want to learn Norwegian. It’s only Danish but spelled wrong and spoken badly.
😉 – still applies
December 15th, 2011 at 11:41 am
I thought Danish was English spelled wrong and spoken badly . . .
December 15th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Chuck, your Dad would have liked my grandpa. The family legend is that his folks emigrated from Quebec to Delavan, by Mankato, but the schoolteacher said he was a dumb Cannuck and sent him home until he could speak English well enough to attend school without disrupting class.
Dang, I never got that break when I was in school!
December 15th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
Chuck my father who spoke only Finnish learned the same way. I however, do not have the luxury of going back to first grade.
December 15th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Who said that Scandahoovians were phlegmatic types with no sense of humor?
December 16th, 2011 at 8:34 am
jpmn; Rosetta Stone, although expensive, is the fastest way that I know of to learn another language, follow closely by Pimsleur.
December 16th, 2011 at 9:42 am
Unfortunately, Rosetta Stone doesn’t do Norwegian. You can get Danish or Swedish though.
December 16th, 2011 at 10:57 am
Hey Mitch-Tom Petty-Oslo-June 15, 2012-who’s in?