So I’m finally going back to Norway, to spend my first Jul, or Christmas, with my boyfriend and his family. Yes, that’s right, I’ve never celebrated Christmas before! I’m Jewish, and growing up I wasn’t allowed to help my friends decorate their Christmas trees, and I was carefully instructed by my parents to not inform all the other kids that Santa wasn’t real. It was a little intimidating thinking of having my first Jul overall, but the fact that I’ll be meeting more of my boyfriend’s family for the first time is a little scary (and exciting, too!)

Being me, a million thoughts ran through my head. Norway in winter? I mean, I guess I have to get used to it eventually. But damn, isn’t it supposed to be insanely cold? Thankfully, I was relieved to find that in Oslo, it’s not actually that much colder than New York City most of the time– it tends to hover around the freezing level the majority of the winter. It is, however, much more of a wintry wonderland cast in snow, as opposed to the dreary streets of a cold New York that occasionally get shrouded in a dirtied, blackened snowy mush.

In my head I’ve begun to romanticize it; the snowball fights and the warm, cozy Norwegian sweaters (okay, so I still have to get one of these) and warming up with some Akvavit or wine. Watching kids’ faces as they open up their presents and excitedly play with them, and of course, huge family meals. My boyfriend, knowing my curious palate as he does, has generously painted word pictures of foods that might be seen: special Jul sausages, ground pork patties in sauce (medisterkaker), reindeer (reinsdyr!), Jul sodas (Jul brus), chocolates, and liquors. I’ll be bringing along a little Menorah to have a part of tradition and home with me while I’m there, and get to share it with him. Maybe if he’s lucky, I’ll have room for latke mix in my suitcase that I can share with him as well.

In the meantime, I’ve been stocking up on socks, tights, leggings, and other thermalwear! I plan on getting some appropriate boots once I’m there, since mine are a bit lacking, to help safeguard me from wintry doom. I’m getting very excited for my first Christmas, and my first Norwegian Jul. 🙂