The Mystique of Lutefisk, a Christmas tradition, from John Louis Anderson's "Scandinavian Humor & Other Myths"

[betsuni]

"Every nation has at least one inedible national dish that its people cherish with perverse sentimentality. ... Undoubtably developed during a period of cruel famine, lutefisk is codfish dried on racks in the icy Nordic air, and then soaked in lye... . While it's understandable that our poor, starving ancestors ate lutefisk to stay alive throughout the long, hungry Nordic winters, it's a cruel mystery why the emigrants brought it with them... .

"With up to half the population of various Scandinavian countries emigrating to America, the Pan-Nordic Lutefisk Lobby recognized that there were unlimited profits to be made... . They were well aware that there were no codfish fleets plying the waters of South Dakota. ... What the emigrants wanted was a reminder of how terrible conditions were back home. The Lobby ... set out to stir up a false sense of nostalgia for Lutefisk. After the nostalgia for eating lutefisk started losing its grip, the Lutefisk Lobby began a new campaign stressing the macho aspects of eating something so disagreeable. Eventually ... the whole campaign just fell apart when the makers of a Tuna Hot Dish mix put up posters depicting a Christmas feast disrupted by nausea after the Lutefisk was passed around.

"Now lutefisk is making another comeback. ... We have forgotten our grandfathers' stories of biting into a chunk of unwashed lye during Christmas dinner. We are lulled by the claims of the New Lutefisk Lobby (Neo-Lutefiskians as they are known) that lye is no longer used in the manufacture of lutefisk... . Lutefisk's qualities are hard to describe in mere words. At least in decent words. It's surprising the word 'lutefisk' hasn't become an expletive itself, considering how often one reverts to vulgar and base language to describe the experience of eating it. ... It's time we stopped thinking of this dangerous substance as a test of our courage, or a public proof of what ordeals we will endure to prove our membership in the Scandinavian/American gang."