No Easter without an old-fashioned murder mystery

In Norway, Easter break is longer than in many other European countries. The Easter holidays start Wednesday afternoon before Maundy Thursday, and end on Tuesday morning after Easter Monday. This makes for a nice long Easter weekend in Norway!

Norwegians like to decorate a lot during Easter, especially with yellow chicken figurines, drawings, etc. Outdoor lovers often spend Easter break skiing on one of Norway’s popular ski resorts.

A quite peculiar national trait in Norway is solving crimes during Easter. Publishers churn out series of books known as “Easter-Thrillers” or Påskekrim. Even the milk cartons change to have murder stories on their sides!

Nils Nordberg has been producing murder mystery serials for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation since 1984. He says this tradition of Easter mysteries can be traced back to the surprise success of the railway-heist thriller Raid on the Bergen Express, which was published at Easter, 1923. Since then Norwegians have taken light fiction, especially murder mysteries, on their Easter skiing holidays. The Easter trend for solving murders has now extended into living rooms, with families congregating around nightly detective dramas.

This tradition is rooted in the universal experience of spring as a time of natural and spiritual renewal, writes Timesonline.co.uk.

Easter in Norwegian is Påske.

Source: Goscandinavia.about.com / Timesonline.co.uk.