#24 Halloween in Norway listening exercise [på norsk] [pronunciation]

In this episode, I contrast two traditions that shape this season in Norway. Halloween on October 31 brings costumes, door-to-door visits, and the classic trick-or-treat phrase. All Saints Day, observed the first Sunday in November, invites a quieter vocabulary—candles at the cemetery, memories of loved ones. Halloween took hold in Norway during the 1990s while All Saints Day remained an older, less common tradition with Catholic roots.

Using a clear, repeatable structure—slow sentences, English translation for grounding, then natural-speed Norwegian—to help you hear every sound, catch the rhythm, and build confidence without getting overwhelmed.

To make the practice stick, we build in space for repetition, shadowing, and accent variety, moving from Eastern-accent Bokmål to a Bergen accent so you can tune your ear to differences you’ll hear in real life. You can follow without a transcript while walking, or use the linked text to mark stress, note vowel length, silent letters, highlight new words, etc. 

Skip the first part iwith translations f you want pure pronunciation work, or loop back to the slow pace if normal speed feels too fast. 

If this helped, subscribe, share the episode with a friend learning Norwegian, and leave a quick review telling me how you found this episode :) 

Chapters

• 0:14 Why A Halloween Listening Lesson
• 0:46 How The Exercise Works
• 2:29 Tips For Skipping Or Repeating Parts
• 3:14 Part 1 Begins: Guided Bilingual Practice
• 6:18 Halloween Vs All Saints Day Explained
• 8:24 Traditions: Costumes, Candy, Candles, Memory
• 9:42 Norway’s Adoption Of Halloween
• 10:53 Part 2: Norwegian Only, Standard Accent
• 12:26 Part 3: Norwegian Only, Bergen Accent
• 13:40 Study Advice And Vocabulary Building

Transcript

Halloween og Allehelgensdag er to forskjellige tradisjoner.
Halloween and All Saints’ Day are two different traditions.

Men de har felles røtter.

But they have common roots.

Jeg skal snakke litt om begge.
I will talk a little about both.

Halloween feires trettiførste (31.) oktober.
 Halloween is celebrated on October 31.

Halloween er en kommersiell versjon av Allehelgensaften.
Halloween is a commercial version of All Saints’ Eve.

Allehelgensdag markeres første søndag i november.
All Saints’ Day is observed on the first Sunday in November.

På Halloween kler barn og unge seg ut.
 On Halloween, children and young people dress up in costumes.

De går fra hus til hus.
 They go from house to house.

De sier «knask eller knep».
 They say "trick or treat."

De får kanskje godteri.
 They might get candy.

På Allehelgensdag går noen til kirkegården.
 On All Saints’ Day, some people go to the cemetery.

De tenner lys på gravene.
 They light candles on the graves.

De minnes sine døde.
 They remember their dead ones.

Halloween handler om lek, kostymer og godteri
 Halloween is about play, costumes and candy.

Allehelgen handler om minner, lys og stillhet.
 All Saints’ Day is about memories, candles, and silence.

Halloween kom til Norge på 1990-tallet.
 Halloween came to Norway in the 1990s.

Det ble vanlig rundt år 2000.
 It became common around the year 2000.

Allehelgen har eksistert i Norge i mange hundre år.
 All Saints’ Day has existed in Norway for many hundreds of years.

Det er en katolsk tradisjon.
 It is a Catholic tradition.

Allehelgen er ikke en veldig vanlig norsk tradisjon.

All saint’s (Day) is not a very common Norwegian tradition. 

Feirer du noen av dem?
 Do you celebrate any of them?