# Norwegian: Julebord



## Grefsen

Flere av mine norske Facebook-venner har vært nevner "Julebord" mye i sitt siste innlegg.

Several of my Norwegian Facebook friends have been mentioning "Julebord" a lot in their recent posts.

Er en "Julebord" typisk en "pre-Christmas" fest for arbeidskolleger eller kan det også være en ferie fest for medlemmer av en klubb eller frivillig organisasjon?  

Is a "Julebord" typically a pre-Christmas party for work colleagues or can it also be a holiday party for members of a club or volunteer organization?

Her er et eksempel på en nylig post:

Here is an example of a recent post:

Jeg er klar for Julebord.


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## Cerb

Having a julebord is also very common for clubs and volunteer organizations and even just among friends  "Julebord" is used for any pre-Christmas party where food is served and is typically thrown by organizations and companies as a social event and reward for employees at the end of the year (at least that's how I felt about it when I got free drinks and food  ). As the name would suggest people tend to serve traditional seasonal foods. The backside to it is that it often involves a lot of drinking which usually is the object of some attention in the newspapers this time of year. 

"Julebord" is neuter, "et julebord". I'm assuming you meant "holiday party", but "ferie" doesn't really work here as "feriefest" translates to vacation party rather than holiday party. You could use "høytidsfest" instead, but that has some religious connotations to it. I can't really think of anything else to use for "holiday" here. 

Remove "har vært" from the first sentence and change it to "flere av mine norske facebook-venner nevner "julebord" mye i si*ne *siste innlegg". There are a number of ways to rewrite it as well. I can't think of any other good sentences at the top of my head. Modifiers tend to give a lot of grammatical grief in Norwegian, hehe.


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## Södertjej

In some contexts I find Xmas buffet to be a good translation for julbord (Swedish for julebord). Whether it's a party you're invited to or a special offer on the restaurant you usually go for lunch on working days (don't expect to be invited, but paying as usual) the obvious part is Xmas food. Then depending on the context it could be the traditional Xmas party companys throw every year for their employees, arranged by clubs or friend as you suggest etc and that will be more than just a meal but also drinks, maybe dancing. But be certain there'll be a lot of delicious Xmas traditional food in all cases. A party with "julbord" implies that's the kind of food you'll be served.

Maybe your friend just meant (s)he has been on a diet to get ready for Xmas food excesses (a lot of people do that) and now (s)he's ready to eat non-stop without regretting it after New Year.


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## missTK

In Norwegian in this context I'm almost completely sure that it means a (usually work-related) Christmas party. In the cases that Södertjej mentioned, I think a Norwegian would say "julebuffet" rather than "julebord".


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## Södertjej

missTK said:


> In Norwegian in this context I'm almost completely sure that it means a (usually work-related) Christmas party.


Without Christmas food?


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## Wilma_Sweden

Interesting... as Södertjej mentions, julbord (in Sweden) is the traditional Christmas buffet with umpteen different items - the more, the merrier! It doesn't matter where you eat it, the focus is on the buffet itself, and if served at a restaurant you usually get to eat as much as you want at a fixed rate. Thus, excessive eating rather than drinking, is the main problem... 

It's possible that we have a cultural difference here as I'm unsure whether the buffet-style Christmas food is as common in Norway as in Sweden. I imagine you eat Christmas food, of course, just not necessarily a buffet.

/Wilma


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## kirsitn

Wilma_Sweden said:


> It's possible that we have a cultural difference here as I'm unsure whether the buffet-style Christmas food is as common in Norway as in Sweden.



Norwegian julebord always involves drinking, whereas Christmas food is optional. (There has to be food of some kind, and preferably the nice kind, but not necessarily typical Christmas food). Also the julebord tends to take place in the evening with dancing and more drinks after the dinner.


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## Wilma_Sweden

I'll add this to my 'false friends' list:

julebord -> excessive drinking party
julbord -> excessive eating party


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## Södertjej

Thanks for the info. If I'm ever invited to a Norwegian julebord I'll make sure I eat a lot before going, just the opposite to a Swedish julbord, where you normally skip the previous meal to be able to at least try everything.


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## kirsitn

Södertjej said:


> Thanks for the info. If I'm ever invited to a Norwegian julebord I'll make sure I eat a lot before going, just the opposite to a Swedish julbord, where you normally skip the previous meal to be able to at least try everything.



No need to eat before, there's always food at the Norwegian julebord. There's just a bit more emphasis on the fluid part of the meal...


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## Gule

I don't know about Wilma and Södertjej, but in my experience there is a lot of drinking going on at the swedish julbord, and I thought Norwegians celebrated in a similar way. If I were to explain the julbord to a foreigner, I would market it as a christmas version of the internationally well known Smörgåsbord. Excessive eating and excessive drinking.


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## Grefsen

Gule said:


> I don't know about Wilma and Södertjej, but in my experience there is a lot of drinking going on at the swedish julbord, and I thought Norwegians celebrated in a similar way. If I were to explain the julbord to a foreigner, I would market it as a christmas version of the internationally well known Smörgåsbord. Excessive eating and excessive drinking.


Tusen takk for ditt bidrag til dette emnet *Gule.  

*Også god julaften og velkommen til nordiske språkforumet!


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## Södertjej

Gule said:


> I don't know about Wilma and Södertjej, but in my experience there is a lot of drinking going on at the swedish julbord, and I thought Norwegians celebrated in a similar way.


That's what I thought too, that it'd be similar, Swedish celebrations are not exactly known for being alcohol-free, but since no one in Sweden would describe a "julbord" as mainly focussing on the drink and not the food and Kirsitn says the focus in Norway is on the drink I assumed it may be more like what the Swedish would describe as "drinkar + tilltugg" than "julbord".


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## vestfoldlilja

It’s usual for workplaces to host julebord before the 24th. There is always food, and where there is a large group of people merrymaking, in Norway there is also a lot of alcohol. And in general Norwegians are quite heavy drinkers when we first drink, and I think that is what Kirsitn mean. After the dinner it is common for people to go to clubs, or perhaps the place the dinner is held has live music. Food, drinking and partying are the keywords. 

One can also be invited to julebord to family and friends, but then it will need to be a large group of people and maybe people who don’t normally spend much time together. It’s more common to just say julemiddag, but that is more personal and fits if the people attending know each other or at least have some familiarity with each other. 

I don’t think the different between julebord and julbord are that great, I would say they’re the same. I wouldn’t count them as false friends in any case.


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## Grefsen

vestfoldlilja said:


> It’s usual for workplaces to host julebord before the 24th. There is always food, and where there is a large group of people merrymaking, in Norway there is also a lot of alcohol.


Could a Norwegian party that basically fits the definition of a *"julebord"* be called a *"romjulebord"* if it is held between Christmas and New Year's or should it be called a *"romjul fest**" kanskje?
*


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## basslop

*Romjulsfest*


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## Grefsen

basslop said:


> *Romjulsfest*


Tusen takk for det basslop. 

I thought my only choices were "romjulebord," "romjulfest" or "romjul fest," but I didn't even consider "romjulsfest."


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