Vigdis and I have been in Norway since Thanksgiving and enjoyed Christmas with our family. As it is almost everywhere in the world, December is a busy time for Norwegians. One of the most important events in December is the awarding of the Nobel Prizes. Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have been presented on December 10th, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. As stipulated in Nobel’s will, the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine and Literature are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, while the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway.

In Stockholm, Laureates receive the Nobel Prize medal and diploma from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. This year a Norwegian was honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature. Jon Olav Fosse, born in 1959 is a Norwegian writer, poet, playwright, translator, and literary scholar who writes in “Nynorsk,” the second official language (the other is called “Bokmål).” Fosse is prolific and has written over seventy works; novels, stories, poetry collections, essays and plays and even several books for children. He has been translated into over fifty languages. Fosse's plays have been performed in all European countries, mostly in Germany and France, but also, for example, in Poland, England, USA, Brazil, Australia, Cuba, China, Japan and Malawi. He has also rewritten several plays and fiction books himself. Fosse has never published anything in “Bokmål.” In the 1980s, he wrote normal, anti-purist Nynorsk; but, after the year 2000, he uses a more classic Nynorsk with, among other things, an ending in the infinitive. I must admit that I have not read any of his books, mainly because I never learned “Nynorsk” properly. What I have discovered during and after his visit to Stockholm is that his stories deal with questions we all have in life and may have to deal with the language barrier, maybe start with English. Fosse is only the fourth Norwegian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in literature. The first was Norway's Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson who received the prize in 1903; Knut Hamsun was awarded it in 1920, and Sigrid Undset won in 1928.

Another big event in December was the luncheon their Majesties the King and Queen hosted at the Royal Palace in honor of the 18th birthday of Prince Sverre Magnus who is third in line for the Norwegian throne after his sister, Princess Ingrid Alexandra. Queen Sonja welcomed the guests to the celebratory luncheon and offered some words of advice to the Prince: “Magnus, I would like to say something important to you and to other 18-year-olds in our country today. It’s enough to be who you are. What counts is believing in yourself and listening to your own voice,” the Queen stressed, concluding, “The ability to empathize with others and be a good friend is far more important than being ‘clever’ at all sorts of things. I hope you will help to give other young people the comfort and security this understanding brings. Taking care of the people around us is a job for every one of us.”

Another event of major importance in Norway this past December was a visit by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. President Zelensky’s official visit was at the invitation of Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Mr. Støre and Mr. Zelensky had political discussions on Norway’s continued support for Ukraine among other things. King Harald granted President Zelensky an audience with Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in attendance after which Their Majesties hosted an official luncheon at the Royal Palace in President Zelensky’s honor attended by Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess; the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö; the President of the Storting, Masud Gharahkhani; Prime Minister Støre; Supreme Court Justice Toril Marie Øie; and Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide.

During his visit, President Zelensky and Prime Minister Støre also engaged in a Nordic Summit that included Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. President Zelensky’s purpose was to ask these Scandinavian leaders for support in the form of more money and additional equipment. He is, of course, concerned that other conflicts in the world are taking the focus away from Ukraine.

With all this activity going on, the most important event for me in December is still the precious time with family and going to church on Christmas Eve. This year we celebrated at my son’s home in Asker, just outside Oslo. Due to the travel involved, we decided to follow the church service on TV. It’s not the same experience but getting older makes us much more careful about too many stops in one day. Maybe next year we will attend church in Asker or perhaps Washington, DC.

Finally, before we welcome in the new year, we must listen to His Majesty King Harald’s traditional New Year's Eve speech from the Royal Palace in Oslo. More than one million Norwegians listen to this speech every year, making it part of their celebration. It has long been our tradition to dress up even if we are just a few family and friends gathered together. We stand in front of the television and listen to the King’s speech followed by the national hymn with live feed pictures from all over the country. Then we share a glass and propose a toast to the King and his family.

This year the King began by quoting from a poem written by Nobel Laureate Jon Fosse, “Invisible hands hire us.” According to the King, “These invisible hands can be so much different: love, friendship, a belief in God, will, hope. We all need some invisible hands. And many of us need them a little extra now. Both here at home and in the world around us.” He encouraged everyone to light a candle for those who suffer in wars and conflicts, a light for people we miss and a light for hope.

Moving on to the importance of community, King Harald said, “We are a small but spacious and beautiful word. Because we, it embraces us all. It is the opposite of us and them. The opposite of putting each other in stalls. Together, we contribute to creating a good environment at school, at the workplace and in our local environment. Together, we have agreed that in Norway we must take care of each other, so that we all have the opportunity both to give and to receive during our lives. Together we create an understanding of right and wrong so that we can behave properly towards each other and take care of the trust between us.” The King continued, “to be able to create this fellowship in real, we will need to listen, and to tell the truth about the reality, and be patient.”

“Listening gives hope for a community with room for everyone. Because something a little magical can happen when we actually listen to each other; We will be seen. We are taken seriously. We straighten our backs. It's almost too easy and good to be true! And that is something we can all achieve.

The King addressed his concerns about many people -- young and older alike -- not feeling recognized, included, and understood. The King is afraid that this could create anger and frustration that could be harmful. “Listening, and speaking honestly, I think is crucial for a community. And then we need the difficult patience.”

But there are areas where the last thing we need is more patience, according to King Harald, referring to the many children that present him with their concerns for the environment and lack of effective measures in the fight against climate change. The King applauded their impatience and stressed the importance of taking decisive action before it is too late. “Young people are about to give up on adults who don't take strong enough action, and not fast enough. I share the concern of young people, and their impatience. The hope is that the new goals set by world leaders will be followed by action. We now need everyone's impatience before time runs out for us.”

“We cannot take peace and freedom, resources, and common goods for granted. We must stand guard! Norway's preparedness is, when it comes down to it, the sum of everyone’s resilience. We build on this positive force all the time through good partnerships. Through strong local communities. By standing up for each other, in the belief that there is a common good. It gives me great hope because this is something we can all be part of. The King continued: “It is natural for us to help each other. To comfort. Sharing. We must cherish this good spark within ourselves. Because this is us, this is us. My New Year's hope is that we will be the invisible hands that hire each other.”

I hope you enjoyed hearing about all the events of December in Norway reading my partial summary and translation of the speech of the Norwegian King. Perhaps it will give you something to think about going into February, the second month of the new year. The December/January article and this article are written to you from Norway, influenced by what the Norwegians are talking about. I am no exception, and I am inspired by the events of the holiday season. My personal theme for 2024 is HOPE, and with leaders like King Harald, I believe we all can be inspired and able to see hope manifested. It comes down to individual people, whether in Norway or in the United States.