Smokketrær i Norge

Abstract

Parents often find it difficult to persuade children into giving up their pacifiers. One method used is to hang the pacifier on a dedicated pacifier tree as a rite of passage. Such trees may have been invented in Denmark in the 1960’s, but are now found in all the Nordic countries, and increasingly outside this area as well. This paper provides details on such trees in Norway – their age (often poorly documented), distribution, and the kind of trees used. Pacifier trees seem to have made their first appearance in Norway in the early 1990’s, but are now found at scattered sites all over the country. The purpose obviously receives greater attention than the trees as such. These may be found both indoors and outdoors, in built-up areas or out in the forest, and include both spruce <i>Picea abies</i>, pine <i>Pinus sylvestris</i>, rowan <i>Sorbus aucuparia</i>, and ornamental and artifical trees.