Perhaps I dreamt it but, I believe en husnisse lives in our crawl space
In Norsk folklore, nissen are mischievous little elf-type characters that take care of and protect the home. And just as a little side-note and as strange as it may seem, they will cause havoc if they are not fed grøt (porridge) at Christmas. BTW, the mischievous NVO creates havoc when he does not get berlinerkranser at Christmas, too.
Although I have not seen him with my own eyes, I have a strong feeling that en nisse lives in our crawl space. It's the only thing we can come up with that explains why we feel like we are always protected. Angels formerly lived in the home. After I met the NVO and this home became ours, I'm quite sure the angels left, as their work here was finished. Perhaps they left to help someone else who was in need or perhaps the NVO scared them off. ;-) In any case, it's quite possible that the angels have been replaced by en husnisse. (More on the angels to come, they will have a post dedicated to them one day.)
We are particularly fond of our nisse so he receives grøt all year long, not just at Christmas time (sort of like the NVO and the berlinerkranser) and it is of utmost importance that that there's a pat of smør (butter) in his grøt. To make him feel welcome, we have prepared a little door in our hallway, that if your imagination is like ours, is the entrance down into the crawl space or to his "space." In order to erase all doubt regarding to whom this door belongs, "Husnisse Stua" has been painted on the door along with a bowl of grøt and a pitcher of melk (milk).
Packaged Nissen Food
(Not to be confused with homemade)
Although I have not seen him with my own eyes, I have a strong feeling that en nisse lives in our crawl space. It's the only thing we can come up with that explains why we feel like we are always protected. Angels formerly lived in the home. After I met the NVO and this home became ours, I'm quite sure the angels left, as their work here was finished. Perhaps they left to help someone else who was in need or perhaps the NVO scared them off. ;-) In any case, it's quite possible that the angels have been replaced by en husnisse. (More on the angels to come, they will have a post dedicated to them one day.)
We are particularly fond of our nisse so he receives grøt all year long, not just at Christmas time (sort of like the NVO and the berlinerkranser) and it is of utmost importance that that there's a pat of smør (butter) in his grøt. To make him feel welcome, we have prepared a little door in our hallway, that if your imagination is like ours, is the entrance down into the crawl space or to his "space." In order to erase all doubt regarding to whom this door belongs, "Husnisse Stua" has been painted on the door along with a bowl of grøt and a pitcher of melk (milk).
The husnisse door stands about 2 feet tall.
In fact, we have named and painted all the doors in the hallway so that the "mischievous" homeowners will not doubt which room is used for what. Sometimes it gets very confusing. ;-)
Bathroom
Troll Office
Guest Room
Master Bedroom
Our Norsk language teacher tells us the "Elske Reir" might be somewhat inappropriate; I was trying to translate "Love Nest" into Norwegian. He said I may have been better off using "Kjarleighet Reir" instead. I really don't want to re-paint, so please know that my intentions were in the right place. ;-)
Here's to hoping that you have en husnisse that protects your home, as well.
Your doors are gorgeous, did you paint them yourselves?? Rosemaling is a fabulous art! Love the husnisse door...and I'm extremely curious about the angels...since I can't prove that nisse and angels don't exsist, then a part of me believes in their possibility. What's the harm right? Since my mom passed, I want more then anything to believe she is watching over us, the most beautiful angel of all...
ReplyDeleteHa en strålende dag!! Klem fra Norge :-)
Ps- your fish dish sounds YUMMY, we can't get pecans very easily over here, so I've used almonds with salmon and that is wonderful...and yes, trout would be ørret and I think it's just as good as salmon- some would disagree with me but to each his own opinion! ;-)
Hei Astri:o)
ReplyDeleteNydelige dører!
Husnissen er en lystig fyr,så jeg syns apsolutt det passer med elske reir:o)
Selv om norsk læreren din har helt rett.
Du lager så mye lekkert. Jeg blir virkelig inspirert vær gang jeg kommer hit til deg:o)
Ha en fin dag:o)
Amy - I'm so sorry about your mother, she very well may be watching over you, if you feel it then it's more than likely true. Coincidently, my angel(s) story begins at the same time of my father's passing. I miss him so much. I will write about the angels soon; it's a long story.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree salmon and almonds go well together, too. I think my norsk blood tends to make almonds my favorite nut.
Oh and yes, I painted the doors myself. I taught myself to rosemal (very much a beginner though) from a couple of you-tube videos I found from the rosemaling.com blog. The blog was written by a wonderful warm woman that I never met nor will ever meet as I stumbled across it after she passed away from brain cancer. So sad. The link to her blog will remain on my blog list for as long as it remains online. I refer to it often.
ReplyDelete