For the second year in a row, Christmas shopping increased: Norwegians spent almost 130 billion Norwegian kroner (US$ 14 billion) on Christmas shopping in November and December 2021

The Church of Norway is attracting record numbers of new members after years of decline; they are mostly young adults who’ve had their first child and researchers think they’re attracted more by the emphasis on fellowship, than just worship

Cocaine use in Oslo has tripled in the past four years and the city Oslo has the highest cocaine use of all Scandinavian cities taking part in the EU Drug Agency study, an analysis of wastewater from sewage systems in over 100 European cities

Oslo recorded a temperature of 16°C at the end of last week; skiers complain about the lack of snow on neighboring hills and mountains, where it has been raining instead of snowing

Labour Party, deeply troubled lately, now has the highest support of all 10 parties in Parliament; Labour’s leader Støre has a chance to return as PM in the September election after the most stunning turn of events in Norwegian political history