Next week most of my Norwegian friends and family will enjoy one and a half week of vacation without using more than three of the 25 mandated vacation days. This is courtesy of the moving religious holidays known as Easter.

Most people don’t celebrate Easter as a religious holiday, unless you count sun worship and being out in nature as a religion. It is the official end of winter and beginning of spring. I always miss Norway this time of year, mostly because its a relaxing holiday and there is no way an American can take that much time off to celebrate the return of sun, light, and green things.

Sons of Norway asked if I could write a piece on how to do Easter, Norwegian style for their Viking Magazine. It was a fun piece, and although it has been liberally cut, I still ended up with a front page and six pages within the book. Check out pages eight through 13 in the magazine. You can learn about food traditions, hiking snacks tips, the uniquely Norwegian Easter crime tradition, and get your Norwegian on!

Easter, Norwegian Style