A Christmas card from our team to you

Published · Updated

A message from your editor

Christmas card design: Ingrid Sampson

Dear readers and friends,

Now we are coming to the end of another year, as the wheel—jul—comes round full cycle. Soon, it will once again be Christmas Eve—julaften—a day we all love, for it is a time when we celebrate all the traditions we hold dear with our nearest and dearest.

In the olden days in Norway, preparations for Christmas began very early, with the work needing to be done before the start of Advent. And today, here at The Norwegian American, it is still not much different. We have to start planning our holiday issues many months in advance to make sure they are extra special for you.

With this Julehefte, we are happy to be bringing you content directly from Norway, including a feature about the history of the Norwegian Christmas card—with some spillover from Sweden and the amazing work of the Swedish artist and illustrator Jenny Nyström, who had a strong influence throughout all of Scandinavia. As I researched and wrote the article, it brought back so many fond memories, since I have been living with these images all of my life. I hope these articles will have the same effect on you, too. Many thanks to our own resident postcard collector and Travel Editor Cynthia Elyce Rubin for her help on all of this.

And then, there are always new memories to be made. It has been so much fun to work with the entire team, both here and in Norway. Thanks to our Norwegian contributors Mona Anita K. Olsen and Tove Andersson, we have direct coverage from Oslo. I don’t know about you, but it is always inspiring to read about Christmas in Norway. I know of no one else who does it quite the way the way the Norwegians do!

And then, once again, our team pulled together to bring you a food sections surpassed by none. Under Taste of Norway Editor Kristi Bissell’s direction, we have put together a new Christmas menu with a Norwegian twist that I hope you will try. Each of the recipes can be made and enjoyed on their own, but served together, they will make for a yuletide feast not to be forgotten.

And for you sports fans, we have a winter sports preview brought to you by our resident expert, Business & Sports Editor Michael Kleiner. And yes—the Norwegians are expected to excel this winter season.

There are so many people I have to thank when it comes to a special issue like this, including outside parties. For me it was thrilling when Lise Davidsen’s management reached out to me to interview her. I hope you will enjoy reading about her Christmas release—and yes—I highly recommend this wonderful new recording, which I am listening to right now as I am writing to you.

Most of all, I want to thank all of you readers for a great year. In the new year, we will talk more about our recent reader survey. Thank you for completing it, and rest assured, we will take it to heart.

I also want to thank those of you who placed  personalized holiday greetings in this issue. It helps us bring you our special Julehefte, and we love seeing your names in print.

And then, we cannot forget our Holiday Gift Guide Auction, which was a great success. A big shout-out to all the bidders, and a big TUSEN TAKK to the generous donors who made it all happen.

Finally, on behalf of the entire team here at The Norwegian American, I would like to send you our warmest of holiday greetings. We hope you will feel the love that we have put into our Christmas issue and look forward to reconnecting with you in the new year.

Click on image to enlarge

This article originally appeared in the December 2023 issue of The Norwegian American.

Lori Ann Reinhall

Lori Ann Reinhall

Lori Ann Reinhall, editor-in-chief of The Norwegian American, is a multilingual journalist and cultural ambassador based in Seattle. She is the president of the Seattle-Bergen Sister City Association, and she serves on the boards of several Nordic organizations.