CFN – Juletid I Danmark! (Christmas time in Denmark!) Celebrating Christmas in another country is an exciting opportunity! I never knew that there could be so many differences in one country for the same holiday!In Denmark, Christmas is a very lovely time! Although there is no snow(yet), and it’s mostly always raining, the Christmas spirit is alive in all Danes. Christmas decorations adorn the streets, clinging to the doorways and windows of passing shops and twinkling lights dazzle the trees and hang down from up above, creating a majestic walk through the downtown shopping streets.
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Also, walking in the night air as everything is lit and shining is a wonderful view to see, but that isn’t all that’s amazing about the christmas season in Denmark! What is also exciting is the certain traditions that are celebrated.
Everyday, as the countdown to christmas progresses, we light a candle, which as it slowly burns down, it marks off the days one by one. We call this the “Kalenderlys” which translates to “Candle Calendar” or “Advent candle”.
Everyday, as the countdown to christmas progresses, we light a candle, which as it slowly burns down, it marks off the days one by one. We call this the “Kalenderlys” which translates to “Candle Calendar” or “Advent candle”.
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You have to be cautious that you don’t leave it lit for too long though, as it can bring false hope upon the onlookers who (mainly me) enjoy staring at the candle daily to see how many days are left until Christmas. Along with the daily lighting of the Kalenderlys, on Sundays we also light one our candles on our Advent wreath. Whereas this is something that is a part of the catholic church, therefore: present in Canada, I had never actually seen anyone with a wreath in their house before.
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Also our wreath slightly differs, as the religion in Denmark is most commonly Lutheran, so therefore the candles on our wreath are all red. Also on every Sunday, as a tradition with Advent, a present is found nestled in our stockings, which are hung with care upon a cabinet, our names carefully embedded on the soft fabric. As well as those things, we also have a couple other things that we do to count down the days, both of which I received in my stocking on the first Sunday in Advent: A chocolate advent calendar, and a scratch ticket calendar. Although chocolate advent calendars are common in Canada, I have never seen one in the form of the ones that are here (although, we DO have the ones that are normal in Canada) as mine is in the form of a chocolate bar, and I just break the pieces off as each day passes.
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As well, the scratch ticket calendar is exactly as it sounds: it’s a scratch ticket where you can only scratch one box to the corresponding day. You have the chance to win up to two times, with the big prize being 1 million kroner ($200,000CDN). In order to win the 1 million (which can only be won on 2 cards in the entirety of Denmark, so the odds aren’t exactly with me) you have to have 10 christmas trees (I currently have 8, with 8 days left to scratch…).
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As amazing as winning two hundred thousand dollars would be, I know that the odds are next to zero, so I’m rooting for the next one that I’m close to winning: 200 kroner ($40CDN). (But in the event that I DO win $200,000 I already know what I would do with it: fly my best friend and family out to visit me in Denmark!) Something else that I was able to experience here was a party that my class held, which is called “Julefrokost” meaning “Christmas lunch” or “Christmas meal”, where everyone in my class got together at one of my classmate’s apartment, and everyone brought a traditional Danish food dish and we had a nice evening eating, playing games, and dancing, of course.
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Speeches were given, awards were presented and the evening was, in total, a success. Christmas, in general, is celebrated differently here, with the opening of presents being held on the night of the 24th after a meal and some dancing around the christmas tree along with some singing ensues.
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I’m looking forward to experiencing Christmas in Denmark and with my school holidays beginning on the 16th, there is much to anticipate!
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