Second Sunday in Advent

8th December

Nisse service, collected over many years

The beginning of December always means  a change in our household. A change of crockery and usually a change of furniture positions to make room for all the Christmas paraphernalia we have collected over the years. My first conscious Christmas possession began even before I left my parent's home. The Norwegians are very house proud and like to spend most of their socialising within the home rather than going out to restaurants. So any excuse to decorate for any festive season is done with gusto, none more so than Christmas.

Every year the Nisse service
feature in magazines

Many Norwegians have a Christmas dinner service that comes out each year on December 1st to mark the beginning of Advent and the festive season to follow. I too have such a service, obviously called 'Nisse' service. For those of you that do not know, Nisse is a small spirited elf that was renowned for looking after Norwegian farms, the upkeep and the prosperity, but they had to be looked after or they could turn nasty. These Nisse adorn many decorations around Christmas time. My service and those of many others come from the Norwegian Porsgrund Poselen, Norway's equivalent of the British company Wedgwood. This means of course being porcelain, buying the service comes at a price. So for most people is not affordable. The solution? To buy it bit by bit and start very young! My first piece was bought for me by my grandparents when I was 16 and from there on in a piece or two was added to each year by them, sometimes my parents and other friends and family and as I grew older, I added to it myself. I now have a substantial collection of which I love to bring out every year.

The design of this dinner service was drawn by the factory managers eleven year old daughter in 1909. The design was inspired by a mischievous child like elf and has now become a part of Norwegian history and culture. Each year Porsgrund porselen (PP) add new pieces to entice us all to buy more! This year I have my eye on the large salt and pepper mills! PP hope that their service will become family heirlooms and be passed down from generation to generation. It has already begun in many households. 

The wine glasses are very special to me as they were my 18th birthday present from my grandparents.  The glasses are made by another respected firm in Norway called Mangor Glassverk and the red lines are hand painted.  I never put these in the dishwasher and try very hard to look after them.  Unpacking them from their box and bubble wrap makes me excited every year.



 

 




 


The serviettes are an affordable way for everyone to have a little bit of the Nisse service in their home.  Of course over the years other companies have designed their own Christmas services and there is now a great variety to be had, but the majority of those that have Christmas services will have the Nisse service.



PP also produce a Christmas plate every year, which become collector pieces and fun to collect. I have an eclectic mix of years. Looking at them you can see the change in fashion and trends in design, just look at the difference between the plates from 1969 and 1999!

Today is the second Sunday in Advent and tonight we will light our second candle. It means we are half way through Advent and Christmas is just around the corner. There is still so much to do and to fit in with an already busy life and I might have to pull some late nights in the coming days. I leave you today with a little glimpse of snow.  Coming in late this year, but snow has arrived today at mamma's house.  It will be white for Christmas in Norway after all.

This beautiful photograph was taken last year by my friend Anne-Marie looking out from her cottage onto the morning sun and snow.  To me, this sums up the time of year no matter where in the world you are: beauty, warmth, awe and happiness.  Thank you for letting me share this with the world Anne-Marie.