GRAND FORKS — The idea of baking seven types of cookies for the holiday season might seem overwhelming for some, but for a few Grand Forks community members with Scandinavian heritage, it’s a Christmas tradition.

There’s no one definitive origin to the tradition in Norway; it’s believed to have started sometime in the 19th century and was likely tied to the fact that the number seven was considered lucky. Being able to bake seven kinds of cookies also was seen as a mark of prosperity. Some attribute the tradition to an early cookbook from the 1800s that said making multiple kinds of cookies would prove the women who made them were good housewives.

Grand Forks resident Donna Remer, a member of the Gyda Varden Lodge, the local Sons of Norway chapter, follows the seven-cookie tradition for

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