GRANDMA´S CHRISTMAS FEAST

GRANDMA´S CHRISTMAS FEAST

by Finn Bringsjord

Illustrated by Finn Bringsjord

Every 3rd day of Christmas, in the evening, held grandmother Christmas party for family and served all sorts of goodies such as bluish cultivar blackberry juice and wafer biscuits filled with raspberry cream. This was the night when the grandmother right beat the big drum; emptied the coffee pot for old grut and served freshly ground coffee to all adult guests.
Large and small enjoyed themselves while with the good stuff, and it lasted a long time before eating ended and the table could be cleaned and made ready for the evening's highlight; CHRISTMAS BINGO!

And now I know about that yourself thinking: Playing bingo in Christmas celebration is "Harry" (uncultivated and silly) and totally inappropriate at the home of one of the founders of "China mission Woman Association in Aa parish." But such thoughts about bingo did not exist in the whole of Norway at the time. This was years after the war and grandmother's game was one of the first bingo games in Norway. Aunt Lydia had taken the game with her from Chicago where the master and millionaire fit occasions socialized with employees playing bingo.

As you see there was genuine US bingo at Bringsjord. Great stuff ... The numbers went from 1- 75, and they emerged with the petition rising reeled on a nickel-plated device that could resemble a smaller version of the blank cash register at stores . All were given one bingo card, and chips (or corn) to lay over the number that was called out - if it existed on board. Bingo prize was caramels, small chocolates etc. purchased at the general store in "Hansefrøknene" in Nygård, or other small parts from the america package that year.

For the adults was not winning the most important; but to get confirmation that the goddess of fate smiled at them. But we kids did not think so, and grandmother kept wisely by any "prizes" to children and schoolgirls who never achieved to get a full number "bingo-line" on the board.

After bingo was light in kerosene lamps subdued and match-box has found, for now would the seven small candles on the Christmas tree igniting matchstick lights of fumbling schoolgirls while others sing the verse:

When mother igniting all candles,
so no place is dark.
She says the star shone so
throughout the worlds desolate areas.

Some "walk" around the small Christmas tree on phonograph cabinet was simply not feasible, for the grandmother's "wilderness" was the two small lodges over furnished and this evening overcrowded. No, in this flickering "starlight" it was time for nuts, figs and dates and stories of the old days.

First came perhaps daring Christmas stories from the time when the church imposed each farm to brew a keg strong beer for the holidays and it was fined by bishop if so was not done. Then did you honor God the Father and neighbors by dragging around and savor brewed; "Keeping Yule."
This old-fashioned - almost heathen - Christmas celebrations did not fit for innocent children's ears, so a switched fairly quickly over the stories about psychic fortune tellers who knew little birds the song and spoken language and could locate lost animals and humans.

Wise -Todne was best known for such supernatural abilities here in Lyngdal. Yes, she was so widely known in his time that many people outside the valley called the star sign Orion for "Wise -Todnes spinning wheel".
Today everybody knows that her prediction that " Kvås waterfall shall soon be so that the salmon can go up to Lygne", has turned into. (Last year, a salmon staircase opened there).
Her prediction that "when the river overflows" King Brings bridge "(the Bank), is the world's end near", has fortunately not hit. But we may as well add "EVEN", for it is only one year since it happened...

To this big Christmas party came also Grandaunt Theodora, the youngest sister of the grandmother, and her husband Thor Krogh, reputedly the cousin of the painter Christian Krogh. Theodora told stories about "ghosts" from Tjersland, Dragland and Hægeland so we guys boys got chills down spine.

In olden times went church road from Hægeland and Dragland over the heath to Tjersland (where grandmother also had close family, "halvkusine", I think is right familial designation, when her grandfather had 13 children in two marriages; six of the first seven in the others) and further down to Skoland where they crossed over river Mosk to Bringsjord.

On a farm along this road, could overnight guests at night be waked by creak in the floorboards and slow shuffling steps across the floor. The footsteps stopped at the bed's end. So began someone - or something - to pull the covers, first slowly, slowly ... But if the guest grabbed the covers and held back, it could be a powerful tug.

A red-eyed and sleepless overnight guest from Bjerkreim, told his household the next morning that the pull on the covers were so strong that he just by taking heels against beds end managed to hold it back in bed. Trollskapen disappeared first from the room when he was seated upstairs covers, and with outstretched, clasped hands got power to loudly recite "Our Father" from end to end.

Best I remember the story of a guest bed at Grandma's elder sister, Amalie on Hægeland. Out of the night could bed begin to breathe, yes, gradually the asthmatic breathing be so enervating that no one could sleep in the bed, although one was never so tired. And two time in the morning had it been commerce as guest had not ventured down to night pot under the bed.
One sent emissary, who would hold revival meetings at Old Ekjowe chapel, which was then moved to Draland, were kept awake all night even though he had put the Bible, opened to Matt. 6, 9 -13., under the pillow. The next morning he had suffered such serious scruples that whole revival had to be canceled.

When they a snowy Sunday after Christmas bar out bed and straw mattress in a snowdrift, and set fire to the entire unit, exploded in a pitch-black cloud of smoke and a pungent sulfur odor spread out across the yard, and it was said that even cow Fagerros was upset in the stall and began to bleat like a goat buck.

Grandtante Theodora believed that all this was clear evidence that a "teufel" (german for demon /devil) had lain hidden in the mattress. But Thor Krogh, who had sailed on the seven seas, was skeptical. He believed that the incident did not show other than that the cavity of the straw stalks, over the years were filled with old nitrogen and released fart.

"There are plenty more between Heaven and Earth than anyone knows," said Theodora with persuasive voice, and the rest nodded tacit staring realist in floor, except Thor Krogh who pulled skewed smile and put it away: "My father said it now so; there are more things between heaven and earth than any other place".

That night we lay long awake in our room and listened for murky "breath" from the straw mattress. It had been filled with new straw de day before Christmas Eve, and it was big and soft and delicious, but one could never know, a small barn-tåifel could have followed into with the straw.
Vi only calmed us down when we heard regularly snoring away from the bed to big brother Ludvig. But somewhat later jumped up having bristling neckline when a cracked, strange voice sounded hollow out in the darkness: "Tåifel in the mattress! - Tåifel in the mattress!"

The picture shows f.l. Thor Krogh, Uncle Theodor Abrahamson of Wisconsin, grandma (Marie Abrahamsen), Theodora Krogh and Aunt Lydia Abrahamsen. Foto: Ttorhild Greipsland

This story was printet in the newspaper "Lister" on Saturday 31 December 2016.