How to Celebrate a Danish Christmas
Gladelig Jul! Christmas in Denmark is a wonderful time, filled with fun activities, beautiful decorations, delicious food and plenty of celebrating with family and friends. The season gets underway at the beginning of December, and reaches a peak on the evening of December 24, Christmas Eve. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Advent calendar
- Christmas calendar candle
- Television
- Advent wreath
- Paper for decorations
- Christmas cards
- Holiday food
- Beer
- Glugg
- Porridge
- Christmas tree
Instructions
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Jump start your Christmas season on December 1. Open the first window in the Advent calendar. Light this year's Advent calendar candle for the first time, a special candle with 24 increments marked on the wax. Turn on the television and watch the first episode of the now-traditional Christmas show. There will be a new episode each night leading up to Christmas.
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2
Light the first candle in the Advent wreath on the first Sunday in December. There are four candles in total, each one to be lit on a Sunday leading up to Christmas.
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3
Start making decorations for your tree. Handmade decorations are a Danish tradition, especially those made of paper. Woven paper hearts are a favorite.
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4
Celebrate Santa Lucia Day on December 13. Although this tradition has its roots in Sweden, it has now become a part of the Danish Christmas. Girls dressed in white gowns and carrying candles sing a special Lucia song, led in a procession by a girl wearing a crown of greenery topped with lit candles. The best place to celebrate Santa Lucia Day is at schools, hospitals, or other public places.
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Send Christmas cards to your family and friends. Purchase special Christmas seals to place on your envelopes. The proceeds from the seals go to charity.
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Decorate your Christmas tree on December 23 or during the day on December 24. Use the handmade decorations you've been working on all month, along with strings of paper Danish flags. Top the tree with a star.
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Consider attending a Christmas church service during the daytime on December 24. It will most likely be a Lutheran service, as the vast majority of Danes are officially members of the Lutheran church.
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8
Back home, prepare a special bowl of porridge to leave out on the steps to appease the "nisse," gnomes or elves who like to make a Christmas appearance.
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9
Enjoy a traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Include potatoes, a main dish of pork, goose, or duck, red cabbage and possibly some fish. Top it off with ris a la mode, a special Christmas rice pudding. The lucky person who finds the hidden whole almond wins a prize. Drink lots of special-brew Danish Christmas beer, as well as plenty of holiday glugg (a mulled wine).
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10
Light the candles on the Christmas tree. Dance around the tree while singing traditional Christmas songs. Enjoy spending this special Christmas Eve with your family.
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11
Exchange presents with your family members. If you're lucky, Julemanden (Santa Claus) will have brought you some gifts as well.
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12
Make, or at least eat, a special Christmas lunch on Christmas Day. This is often a smorgasbord, where people can select their food from a table laden with good things to eat. Open-faced sandwich toppings include cheese, sliced hard-boiled eggs, cucumber, jams, meats, herring, and sardines. Other food options often include potatoes, meatballs, liver pate, cabbage, beets and tomato salads. Don't forget the Christmas beer.
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13
Continue the holiday festivities on December 26. This is an official public holiday and provides time to celebrate with extended family and friends.
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Tips & Warnings
Every family celebrates Christmas in their own way. Personalize with your own adaptations and additions.
Small pancake-like balls of batter called "aebleskiver" are popular Christmas treats.
Real candles are a fire hazard, so be careful if you choose to use them on your tree. It's fine to substitute fake candles or lights instead.
