Christmas As Usual 2023

On December 1 in Los Angeles, Jashan Joshi proposes to Thea Evjen. She accepts and invites him to spend Christmas Eve with her family in Telemark. Unsure how they will react, as Jashan is a Hindu and Indian, Thea decides to share the news in Norway.

Upon their arrival, Anne-Lise Evjen is taken aback, not expecting to meet an Indian. Jashan Joshi tries to compliment the house and decorations, which he also manages to foul up slightly. Saying goodnight, he calls Anne-Lise Evjen mamma, which she dislikes; after she rejects the Indian term auntie, he settles on mamma.

Thea Evjen is up early, so her mother tells her that Jørgen Bruun misses her. Anne-Lise points out that Jashan’s culture is very different from theirs, having done some online research. Uncomfortable with her mother’s response so far, as there is a culture clash, Thea convinces Jashan to put off announcing the engagement until she finds the right moment.

On the morning of Tiny Christmas (December 22), Thea’s brother Simen Evjen arrives with his pregnant wife Hildegunn Evjen and daughter Ronja Evjen. Also surprised, he questions the relationship, even more so once she excitedly shows them the ring. Jashan manages to choke down the unfamiliar food, makes an Indian snowman and goes with them to Thea’s father’s grave.

Thea suggests to Jashan they make dinner special, referring to announcing their engagement. He, on the other hand, believes the food, so prepares a huge curry dinner. The Norwegians are appalled, as each day up to Christmas is meticulously planned already. However, they sit down to try and eat it.

Just as Thea begins to share about the engagement, Simen, Ronja and Anne-Lise start to have a strong reaction to the spices, as they are unused to truly hot ones. Hildegunn is fine, having spent some months in India in her youth. She shows Thea and Jashan the tattoo she got then, which she believes says inner peace. He reveals that it really says white girl, leaving her without words.

On the 23rd, Tiny Christmas, they all head out on cross-country skis. Jashan is disappointed that their lunch spot is just a place to cook meat on a stick and NOT a restaurant. He and Thea hold back to spend time alone. As dusk approaches, Jørgen Bruun nears them with a snowmobile, upon Anne-Lise’s request. Jashan happily accepts, unaware he is her ex of five years and former neighbor.

The next day, now aware of Jørgen’s past connection with Thea, Jashan jumps into the ice bath to save face. However, he catches cold, inadvertently interrupting Ronja Evjen’s solo at church. Dinner’s main course is crispy pig fat, which both Jashan and Ronja have difficulty choking down. He tries to mask the flavor with bottles from the kitchen of dried garlic and Indian chili which have labels, “Hindu” and “Black Boy.” Jashan feels insulted by Norway as a whole due to the spice labels.

Jørgen Bruun shows up, dressed as Father Christmas, to deliver people’s presents. As Ronja is sitting on one knee, he convinces Thea to sit on the other. Jashan protests, so Jørgen goes to leave, whispering something in his ear on his way. Jashan, drunk from potato liquor, gets into a fight with him and they knock over the Christmas tree.

After Jørgen leaves, Jashan also chooses to go, as he has gone through a roller coaster of emotions because Thea did not help him. He heads to the airport by taxi. Ronja asks for him, calling him “cool.” She goes on to say she knew it was Jørgen in the red suit, that he obviously is still in love with her and Jashan had not ruined the Christmas carol solo as she felt obligated.

Thea realizes she made a terrible mistake, so hurries off to the airport with her mother driving and everyone else in the back. She bypasses security to declare her love to Jashan and propose. However, security catches up with them and escorts them out of the terminal.

One year later, Thea and Jashan return to Norway for Christmas. This time they have mixed the two cultures together, in customs, food and dress. At midnight, they go outside, count down to midnight and shout Happy Christmas as Jashan’s family does in India. The happy couple lets it slip that their upcoming marriage is going to be held in India, to the Norwegians’ surprise.