Music and Rituals

Because I am from Norway, I would say I have a different feel/view on music and rituals compared to American rituals and music. One of my favorite times of the year, Christmas, is a great example of rituals and music. Christmas is a bit different back in Norway compared to the United States. We celebrate it on December 24th, most Norwegians go to church in the morning, spend the day with friends and family, and lastly we open up the presents at night. Anyways, I would say there is always a certain type of music that you will only hear at certain occasions/rituals, such as Christmas. In Norway, we have a choir of young children called "Sølvguttene" that sings specific songs on Christmas day that are being broadcasted all over the country for everyone to see. The children that are members of the Choir are the best of the best singers, which is why they are also so popular due to their beautiful voice and skill. It is a tradition for many Norwegians to watch "Sølvguttene" performing live on tv, and it's also very common for most Norwegians to attend church on Christmas day.

I don't exactly know how I would describe our music on Christmas day, but in general it's mostly use of something called "orgel", it's like a huge and complicated piano. When this is played, often the people in attendance of the church sings along with the priest and melody. We all receive a list of the songs and lyrics that we will be singing when we participate in the church, therefore everyone can sing along with the lyrics. 

Down below is an example of how it sounds like when "sølvguttene" performs (fast forward 3 minutes);



Another ritual we have at Christmas day, is a specific melody coming from a star inside the church at the very end. Not all churches does this in Norway, but at least in my hometown we do this every time. When the last melody is played, the star in the church starts spinning and makes a beautiful melody. This is especially very emotional and popular for the "elders", where many of them start shedding a couple of tears. I had a tuff time finding a video of this specific occasion, but down below is a picture you can see. On the top, you can see the star. At the end of church, it starts spinning and makes a beautiful melody👇🏼




Comments

  1. oliviagiarrizziMarch 7, 2023 at 4:10 PM

    The children's choir is so cool, their voices are pretty, and they look professional. I think its neat that they're broadcasted and that people watch them from everywhere. Also the melody coming from the star is super cool, and i dod not know that there was such thing. Thank you for this, it was really cool to learn about.

    ReplyDelete
  2. martha-bryanMarch 11, 2023 at 7:27 PM

    Wow! I loved the performance of "Sølvguttene"! It seems like such a fantastic way to kick-off Christmas! Reading about the differences in how Christmas is celebrated in Norway vs. the U.S. was also very interesting - I never realized that some places don't celebrate Christmas in the 25th.

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