Norwegians have for centuries had a tradition of inauguration Christmas with three shoots from a firearm. One shot was fired by the house, one by the barn and one by the stable. Some only fired one shot, but it was considered bad luck to only fire two shots.

The shots were often answered from the neighbouring farms. If no one wanted to be the one to fire the last shot the shooting may continue until the powder horns were empty. Norwegian black powder shooters know better than to waste good powder in that fashion, considering today's powder situation.

Some shot to scare goblins and trolls f, while others used the shots to inaugurate the Christmas celebration. After the shots were fired silence should prevail and no one should break the Christmas peace. I think this is a fine tradition and I encourage everyone to take up this tradition. It is perhaps not the smartest thing to do if you live in a city, but if you live in the countryside it should be possible to shoot a couple of rounds. Make sure you use black powder. Trolls aren't scared of smokeless powders!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!