A Taste of Norwegian Christmas: The Stories Behind Five Festive Favourites

For many Norwegians, Christmas begins long before the presents are opened. It starts with a familiar package appearing on a shop shelf, the scent of spiced biscuits, or the first glass of julebrus. These small rituals connect today's celebrations with the flavours of Christmases past.

Here are five festive favourites from Norwegian Foodstore, one from each of five much-loved categories: chocolate, Christmas soda, marzipan, cakes and cookies, and Christmas brown cheese. Our selection is guided by net units sold during the last completed Christmas season, from 1 October to 31 December 2025.

1. Christmas Chocolate: Stratos Christmas Figures

Chocolate has become part of the anticipation of a Norwegian Christmas: a little treat in a stocking, something sweet to share after dinner, or a festive bowl brought out when friends visit. Seasonal shapes turn an everyday favourite into a small celebration.

Stratos Christmas figures bring this tradition to life with the brand's familiar airy milk chocolate. The Christmas connection is in the festive shapes and the ritual of sharing, rather than in a different kind of chocolate. They are a playful way to bring a taste of a Norwegian sweet cupboard to your own holiday table.

2. Julebrus: Ringnes Christmas Soda

Julebrus means Christmas soda, but the name describes a seasonal tradition rather than one single flavour. Different Norwegian breweries have their own versions, and choosing a favourite can be a surprisingly serious family discussion. For many people, the right bottle is simply the one they remember from childhood.

This non-alcoholic festive drink belongs alongside Christmas meals, biscuits and cosy evenings at home. Red or brown, sweet and sparkling, it offers a Christmas toast that does not need to be an alcoholic one.

Ringnes Christmas Soda combines Norwegian champagne-soda flavour with notes of red berries and caramel. It was the leading Christmas soda in our sales results for the selected 2025 season.

3. Christmas Marzipan: Nidar's Little Pig

Marzipan's story begins with two simple ingredients: almonds and sugar. Long before it became a familiar supermarket treat, this rich sweet belonged to a European confectionery tradition associated with special occasions. In Norway, Christmas gave it a particularly affectionate home.

The marzipan pig is one of the season's most recognisable shapes. It is also closely associated with the hidden-almond tradition: an almond is tucked into a bowl of Christmas rice porridge or rice cream, and the lucky person who finds it may receive a marzipan pig as a prize. Small enough to hold in your hand, it carries a whole Christmas memory.

Nidar Marzipan Pig 65 g is made with 37% almonds. It is a lovely little stocking treat, a festive gift, or a prize for your own almond-finding tradition.

4. Christmas Cookies: Berthas Gingerbread Hearts

The Norwegian Christmas baking tradition is often summed up as syv slag, or seven kinds of Christmas biscuits. There is no single list that every family follows. The important part is the abundance, the preparation and the pleasure of bringing out something sweet for guests.

Pepperkaker, Norwegian gingerbread biscuits, are among the best-known Christmas favourites. They belong to a wider European tradition of spiced baking, when aromatic spices helped distinguish festive food from everyday meals. Today, their scent is enough to make a kitchen feel like Christmas.

Berthas gingerbread hearts are flavoured with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pepper. Serve them with coffee or a glass of julebrus, or make them part of a mixed Christmas biscuit plate.

5. Julebrunost: A Christmas Twist on Brown Cheese

Brown cheese has roots in the Norwegian tradition of making use of the whey left from cheesemaking. As the whey is heated and reduced, its milk sugars develop the distinctive sweet, caramel-like character that makes brunost so different from an ordinary savoury cheese.

Julebrunost brings that familiar everyday tradition into the festive season. Think of it as a Christmas variation on a Norwegian staple, rather than a separate ancient Christmas dish: a comforting flavour made a little more special for the holiday breakfast table.

TINE Christmas Brown Cheese Spiced 500 g is made from cow's milk and flavoured with cardamom. Thin slices are delicious on bread, crispbread or waffles, especially with a warm cup of coffee and time to enjoy a slower Christmas morning.

Bring a Little Norwegian Christmas Home

You do not need to recreate an entire Norwegian Christmas dinner to enjoy these traditions. Start with gingerbread hearts, a little marzipan pig and a bottle of julebrus. Add chocolate for sharing and julebrunost for breakfast, and you have a lovely introduction to the sweet side of the Norwegian festive season.

Explore our Norwegian Christmas collection to discover more seasonal favourites.

Norwegian Foodstore ships worldwide. Availability varies through the season. Before ordering, please check whether the products you choose may legally be imported into your destination country, especially dairy products.