By Katja Davidoff

Christmas in Denmark is an interesting mixture of old and new traditions. Some traditions were incorporated from nearby countries, such as Sweden.  I experienced many of them during the holidays with my Danish mother. Many Danes spend the month before Christmas attending holiday parties. Denmark is full of Christmas lights and greenery.  Tivoli gardens are lit up as well and hold a market with vendors and goods to sell. Children expect to receive presents from a man similar to Santa Claus, called Juleman, which is translated into Christmas man. Delicious dishes are prepared along with traditional cakes. A special rice pudding called ris á la mande with almonds is one traditional dessert. Some Danes attend midnight mass on the evening of the 24th and then celebrate by having a feast with family the following day. A Christmas tree is also tradition and it is often decorated with small Danish flags and Danish Christmas hearts.

My mother taught us to make these classic hearts when we were little.  One takes very stiff foil paper and creates a mold of two halves of a heart. The two halves are then woven together to create a basket that one can hang on the tree. Those baskets are then filled with small candies or chocolates. Places are also decorated with Julenisse, which are Christmas pixies and Julebok, which are Christmas goats. The Julebok is usually made of straw and decorated with red bows, while the Julenisse often wear red hats. Some people also celebrate Santa Lucia on December 13th. This is originally a Swedish ceremony later adopted by the Danes.  A procession of young girls dressed in white gowns visit door to door.  The leader of the procession wears a wreath on her head embedded with lit candles.  The visitors bring hot cross buns to the homes they visit. A few typical food items at the feast are red cabbage, open-faced sandwiches, almond pastry, and glögg; originally a Swedish hot apple cider with spices and fermented into alcohol.