Christmas traditions

[url=]Present calendars
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All Danish kids get one or more Advent calenders - or Christmas calenders as they are called in Denmark. The two big television channels each year produce a special new Christmas series divided into 24 episodes to keep the childrens’ excitement on high revs. The more fortunate children also get a gift calender consisting of 24 small presents, one for each day before Christmas, individually bought and wrapped by their parents.

[url=]Christmas cards
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The world famous Danish Christmas Seals celebrate their 103 anniversary this year. That makes them the worlds oldest of their kind and it is probably only to be expected that the country which originally invented the postal system also created the Christmas seal.

Since its debut in 1904 the seals have been copied in many countries around the world. They are designed each year by specially invited artists. Among the most famous designers is the Danish Queen Margrethe II, who at many occasions has proved to posses extraordinary artistic skills.

The Christmas seals are used on letters and postcards, just like stamps, but they are not obligatory. They are sold only around Christmas time and the revenue is distributed to needy children.

It is not unusual for Danes to write a lot of Christmas cards to friends and family and most of them are provided with the Christmas seals. The cards are never printed in advance in the Hallmark fashion but handwritten like in the good old days.

[url=]The night before christmas eve
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23rd of December, the night before Christmas Eve has a unique atmosphere, one of a kind. For most people this is the first day of the vacation, and many use the opportunity to see close friends and part of the familiy that they don’t have a chance of meeting for the next few days because of the Christmas obligations. Often they exchange small gifts and the children are served “æbleskiver” (small cakes of batter cooked on the stove in a special pan) with icing sugar, jam or maple sirup while the adults enjoy a cup of hot glögg. On the menu is “risengrød” (rice boiled in milk) with sugar, cinnamon and a lump of yellow butter in the middle. On top of this is served “hvidtøl” (a Danish kind of household beer, low fermented and of medium gravity). But nobody will give you the tar-and-feather treatment if you sit this one out!




Vigs: It's called "Little Christmas Eve" (Dec. 23rd). I will post recipes in the food/drinks topic later.

[url=]Chistmas day and eve
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The big festival is Christmas Eve the 24th of December. As usual, it is always the night before the big day that’s really fun. Just think of New Year the 1st of January!

Everybody is busy on the day of Christmas Eve. Each year we promise each other that this is absolutely the last time we are going to leave everything until the last minute. From now on our planning will be immaculate and therefore we’ll have time to do all the things that we always wanted to do. Peacefully.
This year, however, we still need to buy a couple of presents and the last few objects that will make the evening complete. Luckily the shops don’t close until 2 or 4 p.m., so there is still a chance for the forgetful and the hesitating.

In many families lunch is eaten coincidentally. The kids should really have a nap but thy won’t. They are much too excited.

In the old days it was common to give the animals a special treat on Christmas Eve.
It was widely believed that all animals could talk on this special night, and nobody would like the animals to speak ill of you. Today some families continue that tradition. They go for a walk in the garden, in the park or in the field or forest and bring along small goodies for the animals on this very special occasion.

A lot of people attend an early Christmas mass in church afterwards, not necessarily because they are devoted churchgoers but because listening to the organ and the traditional Danish Christmas carols add to the good Christmas spirit.

Dinner is served quite early. Most people eat roast duck on Christmas Eve but roast goose or roast pork with crackling rinds is widely used. The duck or goose is stuffed with apples and prunes and served with white and sweet potatoes, red cabbage and beets and cranberry jam. As dessert is normally served ris à l’amande with hot cherry sauce or “risengrød”, if you are very traditional.

A peeled almond is hidden in the dessert bowl. The lucky finder of the almond gets a special almond present. Sometimes the visitors at the Christmas table have also bought special presents. In that case they are normally presented to the person(s) sitting left and/or right to the original winner.

A good claret (why not a Pommerol) goes extremely well with this dinner, and maybe an old Port or Madeira with the dessert.

[url=]Dancing around the tree
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After dinner the tree is lit, at last, and everybody join hands and wander around the tree singing the traditional Danish Christmas hymns and carols. A lot of people don’t have enough space for the tour around the tree. In that case it works just as fine to sit, reflect and enjoy the unique spectacle. The atmosphere heats up, naturally, if it now begins to snow outside. But unfornunately it seldom does.

Most Danes know their songs, their hymns and their carols almost by heart because they are taught in school. Whether they like it or not at the time of learning, they’ll always remember the Danish unique treasury of song, the melodies and the strong poetry. The reason why this is possible is of course the small size of the country and the only about 5 million people to inhabit it.

When the children have had quite enough of the singing (and that doesn’t take very long) it is finally time for the unwrapping of gifts. Normally one of the children is chosen to find and deliver the presents, one at the time, and please wait, until the recipient has opened his present and shown his appreciation. It belongs to the dealer’s duties to see to it that no one gets left alone during this long climax of Christmas.

After the last present it is time for fresh fruit, cookies, candy and coffee with maybe something a little stronger or a beer. But never very much drinking. The Danish Christmas is a quiet one and no one hardly ever gets too much to drink. Normally everybody is in bed by midnight.

On Christmas Day only the kids get up early to enjoy their presents from the night before. This day is a very quiet time in most families as the more formal visits with luncheons and other activites normally begin on the 26th of December.

This is a very nice thread Vigs. I learn so many things. And I find many things we have in common too. Well here in Canada we are multi-cultured so we have very many influences from many countries abroad.

One thing we share is the season of advent. We always have an advent calendar and wreath with the 3 purple and 1 pink candle. Each of the 4 sundays before advent one candle is lit and it can burn at each meal time (main meal). So by the 4th sunday all of the candles are lit and it is very near Christmas. The candles remind us of the light of the season in darkness and a coming - lighting the way.

My family traditions are a real mixture of French Canadian, Scottish, English and native. That would include our foods, our gift giving as well as decorating. More and more I am seeing those kinds of people who do not celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ or the season of giving. What would our world be if we never had these few days to remind us of how we could really be if we only but tried eh? Or believed even...

Oh it is really intresting,Vigs!!
I leraned few things!
If I have time I will post about the Christmas way of celabrating in my country!