Advent and Christmas 2026 · Oslo
Christmas concerts and services in Oslo, 2026
Norway keeps Christmas in its churches. Through Advent, Oslo Cathedral fills night after night with boys’ voices, brass and candlelight, and on Christmas Eve the bells ring the season in at five o’clock. Here is every Christmas concert and service for 2026 that we could confirm on the churches’ and organisers’ own pages on 12 November 2026.
Updated October 2026
Advent at Oslo Cathedral
Oslo Cathedral, the Domkirke on Stortorvet, opens Advent with Handel’s Messiah, conducted by Oddgeir Kjetilstad, on Saturday 28 November at 5pm and Sunday 29 November at 7pm. The boys’ choir Sølvguttene gives the OBOS Christmas concert there on Monday 23 November (5.30pm and 8pm) and its own traditional Christmas concert on Saturday 5 December at 4pm and 6.30pm.
The cathedral’s great Christmas concert, Klinge skal et jubelkor, brings all its choirs together: the Boys’ Choir, the Trinity Girls’ Choir, the Youth Choir, Consortium Vocale Oslo and Oslo Domkor, with harp, brass, timpani and organ, and carols for everyone to sing. There are five concerts: Friday 11 December at 7pm, and Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December at 4pm and 6pm.
On Wednesday 23 December at 5pm, the cathedral’s organist Tjark Pinne plays Jul med Bach, Christmas with Bach (NOK 150 at the door or on Ticketmaster; students and children go in at no charge).
Our advice: Klinge skal et jubelkor always sells out, with numbered seats, so book now. Sølvguttene’s seats are unnumbered: arrive in good time.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Anne-Sophie Ofrim · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsOslo Cathedral: what’s on VisitOSLO: Klinge skal et jubelkor
Christmas concerts in the cathedral
Two of Norway’s favourite Christmas tours stop at the cathedral. For vår jord brings Anita Skorgan, Karoline Krüger and Sara Skorgan Teigen together on Wednesday 16 December at 6pm and 8.30pm, from NOK 645, in three-part harmony built around the song Anita wrote for Karoline in the 1980s.
The next evening, Thursday 17 December at 6pm, Rein Alexander marks ten years of his concert Deilig er jorden, joined this year by Elisabeth Andreassen and Kim Rysstad.
VisitOSLO: For vår jord VisitOSLO: Deilig er jorden
Lucia and the Opera’s concerts at Trinity Church
Oslo sings the Swedish Lucia at the Swedish church, Margaretakyrkan, where the women’s choir VOX Margareta and Margaretakyrkans Kammarkör sing on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December at 6pm and 8pm (NOK 300). A children’s Lucia follows on Sunday 13 December at 3pm. Tickets are sold through the church and cannot be cancelled.
The Norwegian National Opera takes Christmas to Trinity Church, Trefoldighetskirken. On Monday 7 December at 8pm, the five singers of its young artists’ programme bring Christmas songs from Norway, New Zealand, the USA, Austria and Slovenia. On Wednesday 16 December at 6pm, the Opera’s Children’s Chorus sings Light a Candle!, with Deilig er jorden and Mitt hjerte alltid vanker, accompanied by strings, harp, piano and organ.
Our advice: the children’s concert lasts an hour, a good choice for families.
Svenska kyrkan i Norge: Lucia concerts Operaen: Young Opera Singers Celebrate Christmas Operaen: Light a Candle!
The big Christmas concerts: Lise Davidsen and Sølvguttene
The soprano Lise Davidsen gives her Christmas concert at Oslo Spektrum on 5 December 2026, with the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra (KORK), Grete Pedersen, the Young Soloists’ Choir and the pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. On Tuesday 15 December at 7.30pm, Helene Bøksle and Sølvguttene return to Oslo Spektrum with traditional carols and Christmas classics.
VisitOSLO: Christmas with Lise Davidsen VisitOSLO: Helene Bøksle and Sølvguttene
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the cathedral
Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December, is the heart of a Norwegian Christmas: families go to church in the afternoon, and at five o’clock the church bells ring Christmas in. Oslo Cathedral holds Christmas Eve services at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.
The midnight mass, Julenattsmesse, begins at 11pm on Christmas Eve, with singers from Oslo Domkor conducted by Henri Raeck and Tjark Pinne at the organ. On Christmas Day, Friday 25 December, the festive high mass is at 11am, with high mass again on 26 and 27 December at 11am.
Our advice: Christmas Eve is a quiet evening in Oslo, with most restaurants closed; book dinner well ahead, or plan to eat at your hotel.
Oslo Cathedral: services and concerts VisitOSLO: Norwegian Christmas traditions
Questions and answers
What time are the Christmas Eve services at Oslo Cathedral in 2026?
On Thursday 24 December 2026, Oslo Cathedral holds Christmas Eve services at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, and the midnight mass (Julenattsmesse) at 11pm. Christmas Day high mass is on Friday 25 December at 11am.
When is Klinge skal et jubelkor at Oslo Cathedral in 2026?
Five concerts: Friday 11 December at 7pm, and Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December at 4pm and 6pm, with all the cathedral’s choirs. Tickets are numbered seats on Ticketmaster and the concerts always sell out.
Where can I see a Lucia concert in Oslo?
At Margaretakyrkan, the Swedish church in Oslo, on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December 2026 at 6pm and 8pm (NOK 300), with a children’s Lucia on Sunday 13 December at 3pm.
Every concert and service from the church’s or organiser’s own page or the official tourism board (Oslo Cathedral on kirken.no, visitoslo.com, operaen.no, svenskakyrkan.se), checked 12 November 2026. Prices are as each organiser prints them. Check before you go.