Andre søndag i advent (Second Sunday of Advent)

The snow-covered mountains, the Schwibbogen (German candle archs very popular in Norway) and Julenisse (the Scandinavian equivalent of Santa Claus who is, unlike the bishop St. Nicholas (by the way, it's his day today!), is a family man with wife and children) in the windows... Norway is a Winter Wonderland!
However, not only Norwegians can admire the beautiful trees of the Norwegian forests in their city centres but also people of London. Every year Oslo sends a huge evergreen to the largest city of Europe. It's a tradition that started in 1947 and expresses the gratitude of the Norwegian nation for the support of the British during World War II when the circumstances forced the king (King Haakon VII, the grandfather of the present king of Norway Harald V), the royal family and the Norwegian government to exile from Oslo to London. This is what Trafalgar Square looks like in Advent time:

London, 2010

Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland is another lucky city that has been given a Norwegian Christmas tree as a present every year since 1952.
We lit also the second candle on the Advent wreath, so let's see what the poem of Inger Hagerup says after the first candle.

Så tenner vi to lys i kveld,
to lys for håp og glede.
De står og skinner for seg selv
og oss som er tilstede.
Så tenner vi to lys i kveld,
to lys for håp og glede.


We light two candles tonight
We light them for hope and happiness
They stand there and light for themselves
and for us who are there
We light two candles tonight
We light them for hope and happiness...

Two more stanzas to come.