Paris 28 December 2006 Les på norsk

Norwegian Christmas in London

**FULL SPEED** In the kitchen everything went at the speed of light through the day, and many had volunteered. We peeled 40 kilos of potatoes and a lot of swedes before we could finally sit down around the table.

LONDON: The Christmas holidays are ususally the time when you miss your relatives and friends the most. The food, social life and family traditions go deep inside most people. So also for us at Underveis. We weren´t prepared to take any chances, but got on the train to London and the Norwegian Church Abroad there, where we had the most Norwegian style Christmas in our lifetimes.

**JESUS AND SANTA** The traditional Norwegian Christmas is a mixture of Christian and pagan customs, but in the Church abroad there is room for everybody, no matter which faith or background they have. Also for Christmas, when hundreds of expatriate Norwegians visit the beautiful church in the Docklands of London.

FACTS ABOUT THE NORWEGIAN CHURCH ABROAD/SAILORS CHURCH:

The church is a voluntary organisation, founded in 1864, and affiliated with the Norwegian State Church. Its main office is in Bergen, Norway.
The church consists of 32 churches, five students chaplains, four vickars and eight priests catering for the oil industry in the North Sea.
The church and its mobile service is present on all continents, in 16 countries and areas. Every year, 700,000 Norwegian citizens use the services provided by the 49 units world wide that make up the Sailors Church - Norwegian Church Abroad.
The church is a Christian, cultural and social rendez-vous piont for all Norwegians abroad. They have competence in the fields of crisis- and emergency services, networkbuilding and counseling in marriage.
As the Norwegian society has changed, so has the church. From being primarily a church for sailors, the church today caters for all Norwegians staying abroad for a shorter or longer period of time.
All the Norwegian Churches abroad perform baptisms, confirmations and funerals. Many of them also conduct wedding ceremonies.

(Source: www.sjomannskirken.no)

**GOOD FORTUNE AND HAPPINESS** Rune lights a candle for his niece Silje Elisabeth back in Norway. Silje is two years old and a real heartbreaker. Uncle thinks about her and misses her every day, on board and ashore.

**CHRISTMAS GRUB** Chef Monica Kvarv had prepared the traditional Norwegian Christmas menu for a month already, and nothing was missing!

**AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE** After dinner we sang old and dear Christmas carols.

**CHEF** Chef Monica had visitors coming from Norway. her parents Kato and Astrid brought several Norwegian fish dishes in their luggage.

**FINAL INSPECTION** Little Magnus (8months) checks that the decorations are all ticketi-boo before Christmas service.

As we speak, we are back in Paris, where we intend to stay for a few days and enjoy ourselves before we celebrate New Year and start thinking about setting sails again. A very nice surprise for us was the Christmas letter from 5th grade at Røst Elementary school, containing drawings and a Christmas decoration. We really appreciate it! They have chosen our voyage around the world as their three-year geography project, and will be following us closely on our journey. The weather in the Bay of Biscay has been very bad of lately, but we are optimistic as always. Rune has to go to Baku for a short time, to organize his next and final semester at university, and a couple of small repairs have to be conducted on board, before we are good to go again. A new year is approaching, with new cards to be dealt. Soon Underveis will be on her way again, her bough pointing to new horizons, new sunsets and new exciting encounters with people from many countries and cultures. We look very forward to that. We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Happy New Year and all the best for the future! NORSK

Paris, 28.12.2006