Norwegian Christmas descends on London again this month with the 61st traditional Christmas tree from the city of Oslo being lit on Thursday 6 December in Trafalgar Square. The following day will see a jazzy Christmas concert in St-Martin-in-the-Fields with a rare solo performance from trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær and bewitching hushed tones of celebrated jazz singer Solveig Slettahjell.
 
In between the Christmas shopping, drop by exhibitions such as Ørnulf Opdahl’s winter landscape in Newcastle, and Eline McGeorge’s new solo exhibition in London. For those running out of ideas for Christmas presents, check out our suggestions below.
 
The Royal Norwegian Embassy's Section for Press, Culture & Information would also like to take this opportunity to send you our best wishes for Christmas and the New Year! God jul og godt nyttår! We hope to see you again in 2008!

The 61st Norwegian Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square will be lit on Thursday 6 December in the annual ceremony that attracts thousands of spectators. The first tree was brought over in 1947 as a token of Norwegian appreciation of British friendship during the Second World War. 
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The Royal Norwegian Embassy’s traditional Christmas concert at St Martin-in-the-Fields features two of Norway’s most revered jazz musicians. The concert will open with a rare solo performance by trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær, whilst the second half features the bewitching hushed tones of singer Solveig Slettahjell and her quintet.
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Hate it or love it, shopping Christmas presents can honestly be an annual nightmare. What to get? How much to spend? And most importantly, when will you find the time to face the crowds and fight your way to the tills? Well, we’re making the job a little bit easier for you with some great ideas for what you can put under the tree this year.
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Along with four other artists, Norwegian painter Ørnulf Opdahl presents his visions of man’s vulnerability and mortality through winter landscapes at a new exhibition in Newcastle. Ørnulf Opdahl, born in 1944, has been one of the leading painters of his generation in Norway since the 1970s.
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Erlend Øye, singer with the popular acoustic duo Kings of Convenience, is juggling several balls and now releases a new album, 'Dreams', with his new band The Whitest Boy Alive. ‘Dreams’, is an off-kilter blend of minimal percussion, subtle melodies and folk-esque guitars, exploring minimalist pop with amazing results.  
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Commotio, Oxford's leading performers of contemporary choral music, will be singing Norwegian composer Svein Møller's 'Ave Verum' in December at two locations in the UK. Commotio perform primarily lesser known material of the 20th and 21st centuries, and have been very much involved in performing Norwegian music in recent years. [+] Read more

Photographic book ‘The Norwegian Way’ by Jørn Tomter, published in the UK on 20 November, is a documentary of the world's most excessive end-of-school celebration called ‘Russ’ which seems to turn Norway up-side-down every May. Norwegian Jørn Tomter lives in London and Oslo, where he works as a freelance photographer. [+] Read more

Great Yarmouth will once again be incorporating a strong Norwegian theme at its annual Christmas fayre that opens for three days on Friday 30 November. The Norwegian choir Lardal Kantori will also be performing Christmas carols at St. Nicholas Chruch on 1 December in connection with the fayre.
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Norwegian artist Eline McGeorge returns to Hollybush Gardens, London, for a new solo exhibition in which carrying forward the spatial and conceptual focus of her practise. The exhibition will also add further elements introduced in her latest solo show at Fotogalleriet in Oslo in May 2007.
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Norwegian musicians Arne Hiorth and Helge Nysted will be playing four jazz-influenced Christmas concerts in London in December. They will perform music from their album ‘Snow’, which is a collection of well-known traditional Norwegian and international Christmas songs.
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Norwegian Christmas celebrations are of course based on the same religious message as everywhere else in the world. Nevertheless, Norway also has some particular ways to celebrate, including some die-hard traditions that go back to pre-Christian times.
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