On Sunday, December 1, the public is invited to the Advent Worship service at the old log church at 2 p.m. The event is hosted by the Norway Lake Lutheran Historical Association (NLLHA), which built the log church and an adjacent museum to remember and honor the Norwegian pioneers who settled the Norway Lake community in the latter part of the 19th century. Construction of the log church and museum complex began in 1997-1998. The log church replica was dedicated in August 1999.
The attached video features the full Advent Worship service held one year ago this weekend.
"The original log church was in use here for about 7 years," said John Hansen, NLLHA president who provided the introduction to the worship service on December 3, 2023. "Did they do Advent?"
"It's not all clear to me, but they did not hold service here every week. They had obvious transportation and weather issues."
"For Norwegians in that era, Christmas did not begin the day after Halloween, or the day after Thanksgiving, or even during Advent season."
"For those pioneers, Christmas began on Christmas Eve."
Hansen then spoke about how one of the NLLHA founding members, the late Russell Hande, recounted the preparation of those pioneers for Christmas.
"Part of what they did prior to Christmas Eve was to make sure the animals were fed properly and to make sure their family's food was ready. Then Christmas kicked off with Christmas Eve and the days that followed."
Reader Comments(0)