Tirje Birkedal, President of Sons of Norway Bernt Balchen Lodge in Anchorage, Alaska, writes:

"Though Norwegian Americans practically define who they are through the eating of lutefisk during the Christmas season, I have found to my surprise that the vast majority of Norwegian Americans know nothing about the practical reasons behind the making and eating of lutefisk. When you ask them why Norwegians prepare and eat this unusual dish, most just stare blankly back at you with silly grins on their faces—it is clear they just eat it because that is what most Norwegian Americans do at Christmastime. Others, slightly more informed, eagerly begin to tell you tall tales and goofy stories about its origins that they heard when they were kids."

https://www.norwegianamerican.com/the-great-lutefisk-mystery-solved/

Bob Kamman
Descendant of Thomas Olsen, who came to Iowa at
age 4 from Christiana, back before it was called Oslo