While in the UK many families will be joining the easter bunny to head off on an Easter Egg hunt, in Norway you are more likely to find folk settling down for a good murder.
Before you cancel your Easter trip to Norway in the fear of some re-enactment of The Purge, where the citizens head off on some mad killing spree, fear not – this is a murder fest in cinematic, TV and book form.
The tradition of Påskekrim (Easter Crime) is now so firmly established in Norway that it’s probably the first thing residents would name if you asked them what they associated with the holiday period.
For non-Norwegians, the link between bloody crime and Easter may seem a strange one, but much like Coca-Cola adverts shaped the face of modern Christmas in the UK and USA, the roots of Påskekrim can be found in the world of advertising.
In February 1923 two struggling authors, Nordahl Grieg and Nils Lie decided to write a crime novel. The Sunday before Easter they launch an advertising campaign in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. The novel’s title ‘Bergen train looted in the night’ is run on the front page with many readers thinking the story is fact, not fiction. The advertising stunt works, the book becomes a huge hit over the Easter period and a tradition was born.
Norwegian culture has further played a part in the growth of Påskekrim to be a much-loved tradition – with many residents taking advantage of one of the longest Easter holidays in Europe and heading off to their hytte (cabin) there’s plenty of leisure time to fill.
Today Påskekrim remains a huge marketing operation, with TV stations and publishers lining up new releases to cash in on the event. Adverts for Påskekrim run on TV long before the holiday and bookshops are full of displays tempting readers to stock up for easter reads.
So what will Norwegians be looking forward to this Easter season?
For 2024, one of the biggest draws for TV viewers will be the long-awaited season four of Wisting, which airs, two years after season three, in Norway on 24 March. All four episodes in the season will land on Viaplay in Norway on launch day, giving Norwegians a chance to binge-watch Jørn Lier Horst’s famous detective. Wisting has been the most expensive drama produced in Norway and so there are high expectations for the latest instalment.
State broadcaster NRK is entering into the Påskekrim spirit by hosting a reality TV show that features celebrities competing to carry out a range of Easter-related tasks, with those performing poorly ‘murdered’ by a mystery killer. Viewers will be given daily clues to the killer’s identity before their identity is revealed at Easter.
Readers are spoilt for choice, but current bestseller Pascal Engman’s Bestselger (Bestseller) looks certain to be a popular Easter choice. The sixth book in the Vanessa Frank series is the current number 1 crime best seller in Norway, as big a hit in the translated Norwegian version as it was in the original Swedish. English readers hoping to catch up on the series have a bit of a wait, here in the UK we’re expecting the second book in the series, The Widows, to be published on March 28 and so have a bit of a wait until book six makes it into English.
Giving Bestselger a run for its money in popularity stakes is Hanne Gellein’s Aldri Være Trygg (Never be Safe). A taut psychological thriller, this is Gellein’s third book featuring forensic pathologist Silje Andersen, though as yet these have yet to be translated into English.
Another popular entry on Easter wish lists is Jesper Stein’s latest book Demoner (Demons). Billed as Denmark’s answer to Norwegian literary superstar Jo Nesbø (whose latest novel Kongen Av Os is released in Norway in June and, as Blood Ties, in the UK in October), is still a relatively new name in Norway. His six-series Axel Steen series has just been re-launched into the Norwegian market to great acclaim. English readers can enjoy the first two books in the series, Unrest and Die for Me.
Whatever Norwegians end up reading and watching over the Easter holidays, the season continues to be a major moment in the entertainment calendar for the country, as integral a part of Easter as painted eggs, eating oranges and Kvikk Lunsj.
What is your Påskekrim pick for this Easter?
