I did the #APHinktober2018 with the focus on Norway. (2/6)

6. Traditional Food

7. Children/Young Versions

8. Fashion

9. Olympics

Okay, so I got another Pop! Around the World. This time it's Nora the polar bear from Norway. I guess it's a punny name?

This one's fun to me because, while I have Norwegian ancestry, I don't really know much about it. So I had to do some Googling about the significance of polar bears and Nora's outfit to Norway.

First of all, polar bears don't have the largest population in Norway by any means. But one of the only places you can go see polar bears in the wild is the island Svalbard.

The "snowflakes" on Nora's sweater are actually the selburose, a knitting pattern that originated in Selbu, Norway. Apparently it was originally meant to be a rose, but internationally came to be seen as a star or a snowflake. It's often found on winter or Christmas sweaters.

For the most part, the painting on Nora is pretty good, though a bit wonky around the ears and nose. She looks very happy to have caught her fish. I like that her outfit is more neutral gray, with the knit design popping in red and blue.

I'm guessing the icy insert is supposed to represent Svalbard? Not bad. It was put upside down in my box though. 😂