There are several different traditions of Christmas main dishes, served on Christmas Eve, around Norway.

In Western Norway (Vestlandet), mutton ribs (Pinnekjøtt, lit. "woodstick meat") is a common dish, while near the town of Voss, mutton head (Smalahove) is eaten. Lutefisk is another common dish. In Northern Norway, boiled cod is more common. In Eastern Norway, pork ribs (Svineribbe) is the most common dish. With all these dishes, mashed swede and boiled potatoes are usually served.

To some, Christmas Eve dinner begins with rice porridge (rommergrot) which contains one almond that wins a prize. A bowl is traditionally put out for the unpredictable Nissen so that he will continue to watch over the animals and not turn mischievous.

Almost all Norwegian breweries produce traditional Christmas beer (juleøl), which is darker, stronger and has more flavor than the common Norwegian lagers. Breweries also produce a special Christmas soda (julebrus), which in some parts of the country is a red raspberry soda, with a Christmas label on the bottle. Akvavit is also common.

Christmas dishes are also served on julebord, where people from work gather in a restaurant around early December to eat Christmas food and drink.

Also, a large variety of Christmas cakes or cookies (julekaker) are common. Traditionally, the mother of the house is expected to bake 7 types of julekaker.

Julebukk, Nyttårsbukk, Drammebukk

It is common for children to pay visits to neighbors where they are given candy, nuts and clementines  called Julebukk or Nyttårsbukk. In some places, children may go out every day between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and in other places, they may only go out on New Year's Eve. In most areas, the children dress up. This tradition is somewhat similar to the American Halloween tradition, but children are not supposed to scare people, and they are not allowed to do bad things in order to get candy. They are instead expected to sing a Christmas carol or perform in some other way.

In some areas, adults may dress up later in the evening and pay visits to neighbors in much the same way as the children (Drammebukk), but the main difference is that adults are given drinks instead of candy.