Ole and Lena

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Ole and Lena are characters persistent in jokes by Scandinavian-Americans, particularly Norwegian-Americans, dominantly in the Upper Midwest region of the U.S., particularly in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota where Scandinavian immigrants and Lutherans are common.

Contents 1 Context 2 Examples 3 Sources 4 See also

[edit] Context

Ole and Lena jokes are self-deprecating (usually told by Americans of Scandinavian heritage about their own). This self-effacing humor comes, at least in part, from the strongly egalitarian sense permeating the cultural code in the Nordic countries. It was brought to America by emigrants from these countries, who frowned upon attempts to appear to elevate oneself or claim to be better or smarter than others. It is strongly related to the emphasis on social equality and fairness that also appears in Upper Midwestern social movements like Populism - a consensus oriented and issue oriented approach to problems and an unwritten law to stress social equality and emphasize fairness for all. This cultural code has been described in Sandemose’s Jante law, which captures the underlying philosophy by emphasizing its less favorable aspects. None-the-less, self-deprecating or self-effacing humor of this sort gives us the ability to laugh at ourselves; to make fun of our human foibles and maintain a sense of perspective. It is also powerful in defusing confrontations.

A major aspect of the humor is in the heavy scandinavian accent given to the characters.

[edit] Examples

Ole and Lena jokes can be long and drawn-out stories, or as short as two or three sentences. Lena is typically portrayed as the smarter of the two, often explaining where Ole went wrong in his misadventures. Another common character is Sven, who usually shows up in jokes along with Ole, making Sven and Ole jokes, though all three may appear together. Sven isn't as bright as Ole and Lena, but he means well. Ole and Lena are typically Norwegian, and Sven and his wife are Swedish.

An example of a joke involving all three:

Ole, Lena, and Sven are lost out in the freezing wilderness, when they stumble across an Arabian-style lamp.

Lena says "Hey, this looks like one of them Genie-lamps like in the movies!"

So Ole says "Hey, let's rub it and see what happens!" So they do, and a ghostly figure emerges.

"I am the Genie of the North," says the spirit, "and will grant you each one wish. Think carefully now, and choose your wishes."

Lena takes the lamp and says "Well, gee, it's awfully cold here, and we've been lost for days. I really wish I was back home in front of the fire!"

Says the Genie, "It shall be done!" He claps his hands together and Lena vanishes, leaving the lamp on the ground.

Ole then picks it up. "Well, home in front of the fire sounds good to me. I wish I was home with Lena!"

Says the Genie, "It shall be done!" Again, he claps his hands, and Ole vanishes.

So Sven picks up the lamp and thinks for a bit. "Well, it sure is cold here, and I'm feeling a bit lonely out here all by myself. I really wish Ole and Lena were back here with me..."

—Heard on the radio program A Prairie Home Companion

Sven says, "Hey Ole, you may want to invest in some drapes for your bedroom. Last night I kinda saw you and Lena going to town."

Ole says, "The joke's on you, Sven; I wasn't even home last night!"

Ole and Lena are driving in the rain. Ole isn't sure the blinker is working so he gets out to check. "Is it working, Lena?" Lena replies: "Ja, no, Ja, no"

So Sven and Ole run into one another at the hardware store, and says "Hey Ole! How's it going?"

"Oh jeez, Sven. Not so good," he says.

"Well, what seems to be the problem, Ole?"

"Well, you see, Lena and I just haven't been able to get any sleep for weeks, Sven, donchaknow. See, we've got this family of raccoons living under our house and they just keep chattering away all day and all night something awful!"

"Oh, Ole. You should have come to me before," says Sven. "I know just what you've got to do. You've got to take some lutefisk and throw it right there under the house and the raccoons, they'll go away."

"Huh," says Ole. "You know, today's Sunday, and every Sunday Lena makes something special. And that something special for the last 46 years has been lutefisk. So if she makes lutefisk today and there's any left over, I might just throw some under the house and see if the raccoons go away."

So they both bid farewell and go their separate ways.

Well, the next week, they run into one another again at the hardware store, donchaknow. Sven says to Ole "Hey Ole! How's it going?"

"Oh jeez, Sven. Not so good," he says.

"Well, what seems to be the problem, Ole? Didn't you try the lutefisk trick?"

"Ya," he says.

"Well, what happened?"

"Well, we tried the lutefisk trick and the raccoons went away, but now we've got a family of Norwegians living under our house."

A Norwegian joins a terrorist organization and his first assignment is to blow up a bus. He fails when he burns his mouth on the exhaust pipe.

It was a Norwegian who invented the toilet seat. It was an American who got the idea to cut a hole in it.

Q. How do Norwegian dogs get flat noses?

A. From chasing parked cars.

A Norwegian girl gave up using the Pill. It kept falling out.

[edit] Sources

In addition to the Prairie Home Companion joke books, there are various collections in print under the name of editor Red Stangland.

[edit] See also

• Uff da