Culture

Education: As from 1997, Norwegian children start school during the calendar year in which they reach the age of 6. Compulsory education covers 10 years and consists of three stages: primary stage grades 1-4 (age 6-10); intermediate stage grades 5-7 (ages 10-13) and lower secondary stage grades 8-10 (age 13-16). Upper secondary education lasts for three years. It consists of either general or vocational studies. General studies comprise the Foundation Course (first year), Advanced Course I (second year) and Advanced Course II (third year) leading to the Certificate of Upper Secondary Education.

Food: Norwegian cuisine in its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in Norway and its mountains, wilderness and coast. It differs in many respects from its continental counterparts with a stronger focus on game and fish. Though they have their traditional foods they are globalizing and have lots of pastas, pizzas and the like are as common as meatballs and cod as staple foods, and urban restaurants sport the same selection you would expect to find in any western European city.

Literature: Several Norwegian authors have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, namely Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1903, Knut Hamsun in 1920 and Sigrid Undset in 1928 for Kristin Lavransdatter. Henrik Ibsen is probably the most famous. Also, Norwegian literature attained international acclaim in the 1990s with Jostein Gaarder's novel Sophie's world (Sofies verden) which was translated into 40 languages.

Arts:


"The Scream". The National Gallery, Oslo, Norway. by Edvard Munch


Music: Music based on traditional Norwegian form usually includes minor or modal scales (sometimes mixed with major scales), making a sober and haunting sound. Pure major key dance music forms also exist.
Religious and traditional (folk) music were dominant throughout this era in rural areas, though again scant records exist to document their nature. In the last half of the 20th century, Norway, like many other countries in the world, underwent a roots revival that saw indigenous music being revived.

Sports: Norway is a small but a very sporty country.

Winter sports: Skiing because there's a lot of snow.
any kind of skiing is enjoyable to the Norwegians, such as cross-country skiing. Skiing is the most popular sport for most Norwegians.

Other sports: Handball and Football (known to us as "Soccer") are some of the most popular sports. Football is known as a summer sport to them. More girls usually play handball while boys perfer football and basketball.