A Roll in the Universe

Happy 2017! Time to look back in order to look ahead. Or not, considering how awful 2016 was. 2016 was rough. Thanks to social media, it felt like one beloved and/or influencial public figure after another left us in a continuous stream throughout the year. Even for those of us not experiencing death personally, there were other things that hit hard, like the US election and other events. I am still upset on behalf of the 1/3 of my immediate co-workers who were downsized out of their jobs this fall. I think we all need good news moving forward, so that's my wish for all of us: That 2017 heals the hurts of 2016 and gives us good news. Happy New Year That's Not 2016!

I hear Americans go on about a war on Christmas because someone says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". Bizarrely, Norway seems to be showing up the Americans on how to actually wage a war on Christmas. There are some true and some fake stories about a war on Christmas here in Norway. From a serving tray painted by my grandma, Marion Beale Mundal So let's start with the Muslims: Muslims in Norway are not upset that we have marzipan pigs for Christmas (that was a humor site's joke). Nor that we sing songs with words like "Jesus" and "Yule" in them. One Muslim blogs [in Norwegian] about why she loves this time of year . I'm tickled by the idea of a gingerbread mosque. The Muslim I eat lunch with at work loves this time of year, too. All the lights! All the "pinnekjøtt" (steamed ribs of mutton, a traditional West Norway Christmas dinner)! However, the cancellation of the school Christmas mass in nearby Voss