O is for Oh Land

About a year ago, my boyfriend introduced me to a singer, who very quickly became one of my favourites. Oh Land is the stage name of Nanna Øland Fabricius, a Danish singer/song-writer and record producer.

She started her career as a musician after suffering an injury in her back. Before that, she was enrolled in both the Royal Danish and Royal Swedish schools of ballet.

Oh Land says “I want my music to feel like 2050 meets something really classic, like meeting a stranger that feels as familiar as an old friend.” And I can certainly see that she has achieved that. The album that these two songs appaear on is said to be about balancing life in the city and nature. This really comes through in the song “White Nights”.

The following quote is from Oh Land’s website: “Her multi-sensory approach to songwriting has been present from the beginning. Before Oh Land had a name, or even songs, she was a restless child on the outskirts of Copenhagen, where she wove together imaginary languages, characters, and magazines. Though she didn’t know it then, this sense of play would develop naturally into the skewed and rich aesthetic of Oh Land’s music and performance style”. I just had to share this with you, isn’t it such a lovely thought? You can really see the creativeness of this wonderfully talented lady when listening to her lyrics and watching her spectacular music videos. Please visit her website and browse through her other videos, I promise you will not be disappointed! 

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N is for Nøkken

I know that this post is late, I'm sorry! I had to give a presentation yesterday, in Norwegian. It was quite scary. In a few days I have to take an exam, so I might be a little late with my posts and comments, but I am doing my very best and looking forward to sitting with a great big cup of tea and reading all of your wonderful posts! PS: The Norwegian "Ø" is pronounced kind of like "ur" as in "further". 

Nøkken is the Norwegian name for a certain type of water spirit. This water spirit is otherwise known as the 'näck' in Swedish and 'nykr' in Old Icelandic. I believe the nøkken is known as the ‘nix’ in English. The nøkken was able to shapeshift but is more commonly known as a male water spirit, who played an enchanted violin in order to lure women and children to their deaths, in either a lake or stream. This happened most commonly at Christmas or Midsommar’s eve, and among the most vulnerable to this creature were pregnant women and children who had not yet been baptized. To this day, the waterlily is known in Scandinavian language as the ‘nix-rose’.

The nøkken will become unhappy if he does not have access to water. There are tales of one water spirit who went to live with a human after they had fallen in love, but was unable to stay, due to the deep yearning to return to the water.

It is not easy to describe the appearance of this creature, due to his tendency to shapeshift, however he is often depicted as a rather elegant man, playing the violin, sometimes in a waterfall. He can also be depicted as a brook horse.

Between this creature and the Huldra, have I frightened you enough about swimming in Scandinavian lakes? Luckily it is said that the nøkken will teach you to play beautiful music if you bribe him with a little animal blood or some Brennivín and if you are attacked, the nøkken will die immediately upon hearing his name.

Have you heard of this creature before? Do you have a favourite folktale or creature, that is found in your culture? I’d love to hear what sort of stories you have in your country!

(Pictures lovingly taken from here, here & here)

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M is for Moomin

I've been looking forward to writing this post for such a long time! Today I’m going to introduce you to the Moomins!

The Moomins were created by Tove Jansson, a Swedish speaking Finn. They live in Moomin Valley and have been very popular ever since they were created in 1945. I would like to introduce you to each of my favourite characters and tell you a little bit about them.

Mumintrollet (Moomintroll) is the very adventurous main character. His best friend is Snusmumriken (Snufkin) and it is quite clear that he is in love with Snorkfröken (Snorkmaiden). Moomintroll loves to collect things and is fascinated by nature. Curious and brave, Moomintroll is also very sensitive and enjoys being with his friends and family.

Snorkfröken (Snorkmaiden) is very girly and dreamy and often flirts with Moomintroll. People find her irritating because she is fickle, but she is my favourite character of all. She is pretty and looks after herself and, being a slightly different species from the Moomins, changes colour according to her mood.

Snusmumriken (Snufkin) is a very curious character, always out exploring and enjoying the journeys that he takes himself on. He has a warm heart and is loved by the other characters, however, it seems that he prefers to travel alone. He is usually seen fishing, playing the harmonica or walking around in the moonlight.

Lilla My (Little My) is Snufkin’s half sister and is so tiny that she sometimes sleeps in his pocket! She lives in the Moomin house and loves going on adventures with them. She can be very irritable but is never intentionally mean. She is realistic and reliable, often helping the others to see the bigger picture and bringing them back to earth when they’re dreaming. She wears her hair in a little top knot – Björn sometimes calls me Lilla My when I wear my hair like that when I’m going to sleep! (And maybe because I can be grumpy when I wake up!)

Muminmamma (Moominmamma) is calm and sweet and very loving. She runs the Moomin household and loves to make sure that everyone is happy. She doesn’t get angry if someone breaks or ruins something, she often looks for the bright side in everything. She likes to spend quiet moments by herself collecting shells and she carries a handbag with all kind of important and useful things inside. She is a peacemaker, finding solutions to the problems that the others might experience.

Have you read any of the Moomin stories? Maybe you’ve seen the TV show? Who is your favourite character?

(Pictures lovingly taken from here, here, here, here & here)

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L is for Letters from Iceland

A few years ago I was given a book of poetry for my birthday and it quickly became one of my favourite books.

Letters from Iceland is a book comprised of letters in the form of poems, sent home from a journey through Iceland. It is a travel book, but not at all in the traditional sense.

“Now the winter nights begin

Lonely comfort walls me in;

So before the memory slip

I review our Iceland trip-

Not for me romantic nor

Idyll on a mythic shore

But a fancy turn, you know,

Sandwiched in a graver show.”

The book doesn’t present a particularly positive view of Iceland, however, it is so beautifully written, so clever and so witty, that it is very much worth reading. With a mixture of poems, notes and tourist information and tips, it is a perfect little book to read before a trip to Iceland, particularly because it is so much more fun and enlightening than your average guide book.

“No shields now

         Cross the knoll,

The hills are dull

         With leaden shale,

Whose arms could squeeze

         The breath from time

And the climb is long

         From cairn to cairn.

Houses are few

         But decorous

In a ruined land

         Of sphagnum moss;

Corrugated iron

         Farms inherit

The spirit and phase

         Of ancient sagas

Men have forgotten

         Anger and ambush,

To make ends meet

         Their only business:

The lover riding

         In the lonely dale

Hears the plover’s

         Single pipe

And feels perhaps

         But underfined

The drift of death

         In the sombre wind

Deflating the trim

         Balloon of lust

In a grey storm

         Of dust and grit.”

So beautiful! Do you have a favourite book of poetry?

(Please email me if you'd like the references from the book or for any more information. The pictures are my own, for a change. If you'd like to use any of them, feel free, but please link back to me :)

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K is for Koselig

In Norway there is a word that I hear all the time: 'koselig'. It means cozy, however it is used for many more situations that the English word.

For instance, a place can be cozy and some clothes can be cozy, but a person can also be cozy. It's not just a sensation or a feeling, for example, you could meet a person and decide that they were a ‘cozy’ person by the way that they spoke and behaved. It’s quite difficult to explain, but since I moved to Norway, I found myself using the word ‘cozy’, or, ‘koselig’ much more often.

It almost feels like part of the culture here. As I explained in my F-post, people enjoy spending cozy evenings in. In November I went for a ‘cozy’ walk by the river, on a night where they switched of all of the lights and lit hundreds of candles. My bedroom is cozy, with it’s ornaments, books and fur cones lining the shelves and last semester we had the coziest little birthday party for my best friend!

Do you like being cozy? What’s your favourite way to feel all warm and toasty and cozy and lovely?

Ha en koselig dag! (Have a cozy day!)

(Pictures lovingly taken from here, here & here)

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J is for Joik

In the Northern regions of Sweden, Norway and Finland live the Sami. The Sami are a very traditional people and are the only people in the Nordic region who are allowed to herd the reindeer. They have their own language which is endangered and which, quite unsurprisingly, I’d quite like to learn!

A joik is a traditional form of song, used by the Sami. It is often without lyrics and is a strong form of Sami cultural expression. Joiks can be for a person or a place, an animal or a plant. Interestingly these joiks are used to reflect the person or place, that is to say, they are not about the person but they sort of are the person. I read online that it is the same concept as when you are painting. You do not paint a picture about someone, you paint a picture of someone and it is the same concept when it comes to joiking.

Joiking is still used today and I’d like to show you an example of this in a song sung by a Swedish lady called Sofia Jannok. She has a very pretty voice and I recommend looking out for her other songs. I’m also glad to show you this song, since the video contains such beautiful, Scandinavian scenery:

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I is for Inspire Nordic

I have just got home from a very long day and am so very sleepy. I was going to write my post for the letter 'i' tomorrow, but then my little brain kept on mumbling that I wouldn't be completing the challenge properly and then I got competitive with myself. So here I am, in my monkey-pyjamas, making up a little something for the letter 'i'. 

I first made this blog about a year ago (a year ago in three days, actually). I am one of those who has had about 15 blogs over the years and has never really stuck with any of them. However, I have always enjoyed blogging and since I love everything to do with the Nordic region (you might have noticed), I decided to come up with a blog with a Nordic theme. 

My biggest problem when I was creating this blog was picking a name. I wanted it to reflect on how I felt about Scandinavia and I sort of wanted it to show the purpose of this blog as well. I actually have synesthesia too, which means that my letters of the alphabet have colours in my mind, and I get 'feelings' towards certain words and phrases. It's difficult to explain, so I won't go into it in any more detail, other than to point out that my synesthesia is largely the reason why my blog name isn't necessarily grammatically correct. It just kind of felt right to me.

So there you have it, I apologise for this not being a particularly Nordic-related post and for my lack of comments recently. Tomorrow things should be back to normal and I will be popping by your place to say hi and see how you are getting on! I hope in any case you enjoyed reading about my blog and about me :)

Here I am. And here is a big bunch of flowers for you all, for being so nice to me :)

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