All Things Nordic #5
Your Scandinavia and Nordic Countries Weekly Digest
Introducing Jul 🎄🧑🎄 Throughout Scandinavia, most people use the term ‘jul’ to refer to the week from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve 🛷🥌⛸️⛷️🥂🍾
A three-week celebration of Sibelius on New Year's Eve Osmo Vänskä's tenure as Minnesota Orchestra music director brought the ensemble international renown, plus a Grammy Award. New Year's Eve program of Finland's national composer celebrations will add further to its standing (StarTribune)
…and the Danes kept the term ‘Jul’ for Xmas Let's decode Christmas festive traditions in Denmark 🧑🎄☃️🎄 (Cphpost.dk)
Faroe: Brits before the Vikings? Although the Faroe Islands were settled by Viking explorers in the mid-9th century CE, recent studies (Sci-News) suggest an earlier (3-4 centuries?) occupation by people from the British Isles, possibly Celts from Scotland/Ireland.
Huge Ice Cave Discovered in Iceland A new, unusually large, ice cave was discovered on the east side of Langjökull glacier in Iceland. (Icelandmonitor) Employees of Amazing Tours and Sleipnir Tours started improving access to the cave, made sure ice wouldn’t collapse, and designed and installed lighting.
Sweden: highest inflation in 13 years Inflation in Sweden increased unexpectedly in October, and it now amounts to 3.1%, the highest since the beginning of the financial crisis. (Norwaytoday) The data was revealed by the Swedish agency Statistics Sweden.
New airports opening in Greenland (2024) The airports under development in Nuuk and Ilulissat are “going to open a lot of opportunities” so A.K.Knudsen, Executive Project Director at Kalaallit Airports. (Flightradar24)
Ane Brun, Norwegian songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Since 2003, Ane Brun has recorded ten albums to wide international acclaim, and also re-recorded Kate Bush's part on the 2011 version of "Don't Give Up” featured on Peter Gabriel's studio album New Blood. She subsequently performed with him as support act and back-up singer on the New Blood tour. Of Sami origin, Brun has lived in Stockholm since 2001, where she runs her own label, Balloon Ranger Recordings.