Top 10 ways to celebrate Danish Christmas, part 2

Want to do Christmas like the Danes? How about weaving paper Christmas hearts, looking for your Christmas tree in the woods and finding love at the Julefrokost. Here are our top 5 suggestions

by Samuel Orozco and Polina Chebotareva

5. The Christmas tree

Most of us are familiar with Christmas trees, however, the traditions surrounding the Christmas tree in Denmark are definitely unique.

It all starts by finding the perfect tree. You are probably used to going to the local Christmas shop and buying a tree (sometimes made of plastic) that suits your size needs. In Denmark, you go through the process of driving to a forest where they sell 'juletræer', finding the most beautiful tree you can get and then proceed to cut it down yourself and take it home.

Once Christmas Eve arrives and you have your perfect tree (nicely decorated of course), you have to dance around it and sing before opening the presents. However, if you don’t have a tree, do not despair; sometimes you can even people dancing and singing around an 'imaginary tree' out in the street.

4. Julehjerter

If you don’t know how to decorate your new tree, go to the closest bookstore and ask for 'glanspapir'. With it, Danes create hearts by cutting the paper and braiding it, and then hang them on the Christmas trees with delicious Christmas sweets inside.

University of Copenhagen also got in the heart weaving mood at an event for international students. Check out our coverage here.

3. Christmas Sweets

During the December holidays the Danish healthy eating habits disappear. Danish Christmas is always filled with all sorts of delicious cookies – where pebernødder is king, followed closely by the very famous 'gløgg og æbleskiver'.

Gløgg is a mild alcoholic drink made of warm wine, gløgg extract, species, almond, raisins, and usually complemented with snaps. Danes tend to drink it while having a cosy time with friends or family and often accompany it with æbleskiver, which are best describes as Danish pancake balls, powdered sugar and marmalade. If you plan to order it in a café or restaurant, just remember to call it 'gløgg og æbleskiver' instead of the other way around, since alcohol always comes first.

2. Julefrokost

Following the chain of thought of unhealthy eating, one of the most important traditions is the Christmas lunch. It can take place at any point in December and is probably the year climax for all meat-lovers, especially pork-lovers.

Julefrokost consists on a large fest where flæskesteg (roast pork), snaps and beer are protagonists, and are enjoyed with family and friends. You can have it at home or at a restaurant and if you want to experience Danish Christmas, this is the one you cannot miss. One word of advice: If you are arranging one with your friends, and you plan to do it at home, try cooking it yourself. Don’t buy the pre-made cheap stuff! Your Danish friends will be disappointed.

1. Lots of love

In the end, Christmas is all about family, friends, and love affairs. Yes, you read right, it is not only about family love. In Denmark, it is commonly accepted, that the Julefrokost is unrestrained and can get quite wild. In December, look for guides of how to ‘Save your relationship’ and ‘Not get fired’ in the Danish media. One of this year’s adult TV Julekalender is called ‘Help, it’s Christmas’ (in Danish: Hjælp, det er jul!) and is created to help couples through this difficult period – and make a bit of fun with their Christmas infidelity.

If you are not planning to go to a Julefrokost, but still want part of the fun, the infamous Distortion festival, is having a Christmas event called ‘Juledistortion’. This fest will both have a rave, a Christmas cinema and a Julemarked.

Still in the search for love? Check out our guide here.

polina.chebotareva@adm.ku.dk

Stay in the know about news and events happening in Copenhagen by signing up for the University Post’s weekly newsletter here.

• Send
• Share