Danish Holidays

Hej,
Min Juleferie i Danmark var meget sjov og hyggelit! Jeg bare slap af, spise, og sover. Det var rigtig fint. Så nu jeg skal fortælle jer alle om min dansk Jule og Nytår! Er du klar? :)

Hi,
My Chirstmas vacation in Denmark was very fun and cozy! I just relaxed, ate, and slept. (Not to mention, enjoyed all the many wonderful Danish traditions). It was really great. So now I will tell you about my Danish Christmas and New Years! Are you ready? :)




To be completely honest, Christmas is probably one of the best times to be in Denmark. The Danes go CRAZY over Christmas. Essentially, Christmas starts in the beginning of October. And since there is no Thanksgiving to kick the holidays off, Christmas sort of just appears out of nowhere… You can see it arrive day by day; the hanging of Christmas lights, the smell of roasting almonds in the street (too bad I'm allergic!) and of course, all the manic Christmas shoppers that fill the store up to the point of exploding. I wouldn't even dare to venture into the city during the arrival of Christmas unless you are fully prepared to nudge your way through crowds of overexcited Danes. I know what you're probably thinking: "Well, that's how Christmas is in America! What's so special?" There are so many things that make a Danish Christmas special and most certainly unique.

Much to my surprise, Santa does not exist in Denmark. :( Yes, you see him in the windows of store shops, and maybe on a few Christmas cards here and there, but that is only because of the English influence that exists in Denmark. It is not a tradition that Santa comes to your house during the night and leaves presents. Instead, they have a Nisse.


Definition of a Nisse: a small, elf like person that wears a red (usually pointed) hat and red pants. A nisse often lives in your attic, and he leaves presents each day for young children until Christmas. As you get older however, the nisse only leaves you 4 presents; one for each Advent Sunday until Christmas.

Since I have never experienced a Danish Christmas before, my nisse was kind enough to leave me a present every day. I got little things like Christmas decorations, candy, and a Christmas cd. Usually my nisse would leave my gifts on the stairs or outside my door. It was a really neat tradition to take part in, because I had never seen anything like it before. My host parents even bought me a Nisse doll, and it would lay there with my presents every time I received a new one.

For one, as much as they all love Christmas, the tree doesn't go up until December 23rd, always. This is because it's a real tree, and most people don't want it to die before Christmas. (On that note, I think I should tell you that I almost gave anyone who asked a heart attack when I told them we have a fake tree for Christmas. It is practically unheard of in Denmark!) Another really strange thing some Danes do is after Christmas (usually on New Years), they take their dying Christmas tree and put it on their neighbors porch or hang it on their flag pole.. Don't ask me why they do this, because frankly I have no idea, and most Danes can't even explain it themselves!

Christmas is celebrated on the evening of the 24th, instead of the morning of the 25th. This year, I woke up to a glorious breakfast of "American Pancakes" on the 24th. We also had a nice lunch, and then went to church for the Christmas service at about 4. The church we went to was something like 800 years old. It was quite small, but beautiful all the same and also packed full of history. After church, we went home, where I helped prepare Christmas dinner. It is tradition to either have duck, often with potatoes, red cabbage, and gravy. Then we had a sort of rice pudding for desert with a cherry sauce on top. This is also VERY Danish! It is made with finely chopped almonds, but there is also one whole almond that is placed somewhere in the bowl. Whoever finds it gets a prize! Since I am allergic to nuts, my host family was kind enough to make me a separate bowl without any. I wasn't able to participate in the "search for the almond" but it was really fun to watch! After dinner, we all gathered together around the Christmas tree. Following the Danish Christmas traditions, we took each others hands and started to dance around the tree in a circle. To add to the festivities, we also sang Danish Christmas carols. Each person in the family was able to pick their favorite, and everyone had to sing it together as we circled the tree. I know hoe crazy this must sound to those of you who are reading this.. When I was first told that everyone does this at Christmas, I honestly thought it was a joke! But after having done it, I can say it was actually pretty fun, and it made me feel like I was a part of the family.

Finally, at about 9:30 P.M, we were able to open the presents! I would like to thank everyone for all the wonderful gifts I got this year. I really wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised at how many people thought about me over the holidays. Even a little card wishing me a Merry Christmas was amazing for me. Also, a special thanks to all my host families. They really made me feel apart of each family. Not to mention the well-thought out gifts they gave me. I am so thankful to have 3 amazing families who care about me.


New Years

 New Years in Denmark is not really family orientated. It is usually spent with close friends. Saying that, I am very lucky to have Sarah in my life. She has been there for me since I arrived in Denmark, and I know that she will continue to be. I think it is really nice to have a friend like Sarah because she is Danish, but she has also lived in the USA. That way I can learn more about Danish culture while also having a bit of connection based on the fact we both grew up in America. Not to mention she is just so sweet :)

Anyway! I am getting of task. To start the New Years off right, Sarah invited me to her friends house to have a nice dinner and watch the fireworks. We also watched the Queen's New Years speech on TV; another Danish tradition everyone follows. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the evening was! The food was great, and so were the people. I couldn't have had a better way to start 2014.

To end this festive post, I have decided to list a few of my New Years resolutions for 2014. They include: 

• Speak only  Danish at home
• Speak more Danish in general
• Appreciate every moment in Denmark
• Keep trying new things 
• KEEP SMILING 
• Try my hardest to get through the hard times
• Be Danish ;)

Well, that's about all for now. I will keep you updated on how my resolutions are going! But just so you know, I am determined to follow through with all of them :)

xoxo fra Danmark