Keeping Christmas

by Stokker, Kathleen

• ISBN13: 9780873513890
• ISBN10: 0873513894
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-10-01
• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Pr

Summary

A fascinating description of Norwegian Christmas folk traditions and their evolution in the U.S., with hundreds of evocative stories, recipes, and photographs. Describes and traces the development of the holiday's folkways from their origins to their practice today.

Author Biography

Kathleen Stokker is a professor of Norwegian at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction The Norwegian Jul Meets the American Christmas	xv
PART ONE Christmas in Norway
Roman and Viking Roots: How the Norwegian Christmas Began	3	(15)
Advent: Preparing the Way	18	(43)
Christmas Eve: The Focus of the Feast	61	(26)
Christmas Day and Romjul: Taking Time for Family and Friends	87	(13)
From New Year's Eve to Epiphany: New Beginnings as Christmas Ends	100	(17)
PART TWO The Norwegian American Christmas
Pioneers: Christmas on the Prairie, 1850--1900	117	(40)
The New American Christmas: Twentieth-Century Changes	157	(40)
Jul i Vesterheimen: Mirroring the Norwegian American Experience	197	(23)
Julebukking: Christmas Masquerading Norwegian Style	220	(19)
Lutefisk, Lefse, Rommegrot: The Culinary Emblems of Ethnicity	239	(37)
From Stagnation to Revival: Weathering the Twentieth Century	276	(25)
Notes	301	(38)
Bibliography	339	(8)
Index	347