Norwegian Thanksgiving

Yes, we do have our own Thanksgiving in Norway. No, we don't have a history of genocide against First Nation people to celebrate like Americans do. Yes, we do love consumerism like Americans do. A man came up with the concept of Norwegian Thanksgiving to make money, and it worked.

His name is Tomas Sorenstam. He owned a company that distributed foods like fois gras and serrano ham, and he wanted a holiday for the end of the winter quarter so he could show big profits to his stockholders. He invented a knight named Tomas who went to the Crusades and faught valiantly in the name of Norway. On his way back to the country, he was waylaid at a castle and had to live off fois gras for six weeks.

It became a hit, and now he sells tons of the stuff every November. Though I thought the whole thing was a crock, I too am a Norwegian, and while I was in Brazil, I was a little nostalgic. So I bought me a little fois gras and some wine, and thought about the fjords and seal beating. It felt good.