GOD PÅSKE (HAPPY EASTER)

Easter Service at Kirkelandet

It is now Easter Monday, a holiday in Norway.  Yesterday was a cloudy, snowy day and today is starting off much the same.  Today is a day for relaxing after a busy Easter weekend.

The Good Friday service was very meaningful, even if it was mostly in Norsk.  The organist's son played beautiful violin music as prelude and to accompany the hymns.  It was such appropriate music for the day.  A video clip of the passion was shown in English with Norsk subtitles so that was great for  us.

After the service we went home and changed into warmer outdoor clothing, then headed for the park for our pølse roast.  Soon the fire was just right for roasting and we were enjoying our picnic lunch.  I was comfy sitting on a log topped with a reindeer hide.  The kids had fun playing in the snow and Nora had her first sleigh ride with Emmanuel supporting her at the back.  He loves roasted marshmallows and his little mouth was black after each one.  One of the girls even roasted a snowball!  Kristy had brought hot tea and we had the usual snacks - chips, cheese twists, Doritos and so on.  Laurel, Todd, and I, along with Nora in her buggy, walked down to the harbour so that Laurel could see the Atlantic Ocean.  The water in the harbour was so clear.  Sail boats were lined up along the shore, a novel site for prairie girls!

Nora loves being out in her buggy.

Laurel at the harbour, with the Hurtigruten just leaving Kristiansund

Laurel and the Klippfisk Lady at the harbour

Saturday was a work day. I got busy making pie crust, mixed up the pumpkin filling and soon two pumpkin pies were baking in the oven.  Todd, Kristy, Nora and Laurel went to the church and were busy setting up tables and decorating the basement area for our after service gathering on Easter Sunday.

We took time for some Saturday afternoon shopping, first downtown and then out to the mall.  I found some Porsgrund mugs on sale at Glas Magasin so had a start on souvenirs.  Laurel enjoyed shopping at Barne's Hus, a children's store.  She found a "wet suit" for Ashley as she loves splashing in the puddles.  In Norway they say there's no bad weather, only bad clothes!  Children have rubberized playsuits so they can be outdoors rain or shine.  The stores closed at 4.

Nora loved playing with Kristy's bottle of "brus",  Norsk pop

Kristy made a delicious baked salmon supper with risotto and veggies.  She and Laurel roasted and carved the turkey for Sunday so we didn't have that to worry about in the morning.  The stuffing ingredients were ready to mix and bake in the crockpot. We enjoyed watching a slide show and videos on the computer from our trip to Norway in 2010 when we went on a six day Mediterranean cruise and spent Easter Sunday in Lillehammer on our way back to Kristiansund.

 We remembered to turn the clocks an hour ahead so we wouldn't be an hour late for morning service at 11!  Then we were off to bed by midnight.

Easter Sunday dawned with clouds and large snowflakes so no walking to service as we had on sunny Good Friday or Langfredag as it is called here.  The church bells were ringing, calling all to worship.  The Easter service was close to two hours long.  There were two baptisms for a Sofie and a Maxwell, nine hymns (no verses left out either!)  a solo, a choir anthem, several readings, a sermon plus the communion service.  During the offering the plates are not passed around the pews. The people brought their gifts to the altar, lining up on the left, walking behind the altar and back to their pews.  No disposable cups are used for communion, but silver cups laid out on a tray.  Each person took a cup to the communion rail and the pastor filled each one in turn.

Following the service we formed a precessional and went down a side aisle instead of the centre. Each one of us was presented with a fresh daffodil that had a yellow tag tied to the stem with a yellow ribbon.  The tag read: "Frykt ikke!  Jeg vet dere søker Jesus, den korsfestede. Han er ikke her, han er oppstått, slik som han sa."  Matt. 28: 5-6

Cakes and coffee were served in a room at the rear of the church.  The Hansen, Johnson, and Ramstad         families gathered in the basement for our turkey dinner.  I guess we would call it an organized potluck, kind of like our Christmas smorgs at Trinity.  We had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries, a green salad, waldorf salad and cooked carrots.  For dessert there was pumpkin pie with your choice of whipped cream or ice cream topping.  Most of the guests had never tasted pumpkin pie as the only pumpkins they have here are for jack-o-lanterns!  It was a very special gathering and we felt right at home with Todd and Kristy's Norsk "family"on Laurel's first visit to Kristiansund.  She fit right in and was busy helping with prepartions and clean up.

Our "family dinner" with 10 adults, 8 children (3 in highchairs)

Herman, 11 months and Nora at 6 1/2 months sharing toys
(Nora took the rattle away and he is playing with her new ball)

When we got back to the house, we checked our emails and made some phone calls.  We discovered that there was an exciting event in Kirk and Shauna's garage that afternoon.  A deer had run in though the open side door of the garage, tried to get up on the counter by the window, ran around the Yukon and out the door again!   Kirk's three and Laurel's three kids were in the garage at the time, their favourite place to play.  Shauna heard screams but by the time she got to the door the deer was gone, leaving some hair behind on Lindsay's socks and other places. No injuries or scratches to the vehicle or the kids!

Todd and Laurel are off exploring the city today so she may have more pictures to post when they get back.  I will sign off for now.  I see some blue sky so the weather is changing this afternoon, as forecast.