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Christmas The main
festival of the year in Denmark is Christmas. Danes celebrate Christmas Eve
which is on December 24 and prolong the Christmas through December 25 and 26.
Though many longstanding traditions have disappeared over the years, the ancient
custom of the family gathering at Christmas is still preserved. On Christmas
Eve, after a splendid repast (for which the country's goose population is decimated),
the Danish family lights the candles on the beautifully decorated Christmas
tree. And after dancing round the tree, singing traditional songs, the members
of the family exchange gifts. Some of the family will probably have attended
church services in the afternoon; indeed attendances are heavier on December
24 than on any other day of the year. 'The Christmas season lasts until Easter'
goes an old Danish song. New Year's Eve is celebrated in a rather more rowdy
fashion both at home and on visits to friends - and this is the one evening
of the year when every single table in restaurants throughout the country has
to be reserved weeks in advance. January 5 is of course Twelfth Night, when
the Christmas tree is lit for the last time: the Yuletide season is over for
another year. Christmas in Danish is called Jul, an old Nordic word for "feast,"
and it is the biggest holiday in Denmark with traditions that go back centuries.
In those days, Christmas was not celebrated like the Danes do it today, but
a lot of the customs and the traditions from that time has survived. Then, Christmas
was first of all a religious event and it still is to some extent. But it is
probably not the most important thing to most Danes. Today, it is more a family
event as well as a time to get together with friends you may not see during
the rest of the year. Furthermore, it is a commercial event. Nevertheless, most
people in Denmark love the holidays and no matter what you promised yourself
in October, you cannot help getting caught up in all the excitement and the
special atmosphere. However, some people go away every year to some sunny beach
on a tropical island to avoid all the stress and busyness of the Christmas of
today.
New Year's Eve in Denmark New Year's Eve is often spent with friends rather
than family. Almost all young people go to a big party somewhere, whereas older
people often have neighbors, friends, or relatives over for dinner or go out
themselves. A traditional New Year's menu is steamed codfish with potatoes and
all sorts of side dishes like chopped, boiled eggs, pickled beets, capers, and
gravy. Other popular menus are roast, lobster, or steaks. New Year's Eve starts
at 6 pm when the Danish Queen gives her speech to the people. After the speech,
the TV is usually turned off and the partying goes on till a few minutes before
midnight when the TV is turned back on and you wait for the bells of the city
hall in Copenhagen to start ringing. When the clock strikes 12 and the bells
are heard, it is time to have champagne, marzipan ring cake, sing the national
anthem and other songs in order to welcome the new year, say farewell to the
old one and wish everybody a happy New Year. Afterwards, everybody goes outside
to watch the fireworks and light your own as well. Young people then continue
partying all night and spend the first day of the new year recovering. On the
second of January life is almost back to normal and work starts again, though
most children still have a few days left of their Christmas holidays. But Christmas
is not quite over yet. January 6 is the Night of the Three Holy Kings. This
is the time to light the Christmas tree for the last time, eat whatever is left
of sweets and if you have any fireworks left from New Years Eve you fire this
as well. After the Night of the Three Holy Kings, all the Christmas decorations
are taken down and put away, the Christmas tree is "undecorated," put outside
and maybe chopped to firewood... and everyday life starts again.
Fastelavn The next occasion for celebration on the calendar is Shrovetide - "Fastelavn." In earlier days it was a period of fasting, but now it is marked by a carnival air and fun and games. Parents are awakened by the children waving specially decorated birch branches - "Fastelavnsris." The youngsters later dress in a variety of disguises and go singing from door to door with their collecting cups into which the grown-ups can drop a coin or two, if they feel like it. The money is usually converted into a bag of sweets. One of the games on "Fastelavn" is called "knocking the cat out of the barrel" and it is done every year in Danish schools and homes. All the children - in disguise of course - line up and in turn hit a barrel with a wooden club. The barrel is hanging from the ceiling or a tree and it usually has a drawing of a black cat on its side. The child who "knocks the cat out of the barrel" (makes the last bit of the barrel fall to the ground) is made "king" - this could both be a girl or a boy. The "king" then chooses a "queen." They are given golden (paper) crowns and they rule for the day.
Easter The Danes take a long Easter holiday. It starts on the Wednesday evening, running through Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. It is another period of the year when churches are well attended. But material things of course are also a great attraction to the Danes. At Easter the result is groaning lunch-tables replete with all manner of food, Danish aquavit and a special, potent beer brewed specially for Easter - and without which many Danes would feel the holiday had been a flop. For the children (and anyone else with a sweet tooth) there are eye-catching chocolate Easter eggs, which have almost ousted the hen's natural product at this time of the year.
Furthermore, many homes and shops are decorated for Easter in green and yellow, especially with new-leaved branches and daffodils. Eggs are colored and are often added as decoration. Keep the national holidays in mind when you plan your trip and activities. There is a unique Danish Easter tradition: the custom of sending teaser letters. A few weeks before Easter (generally done on Valentine's Day), Danes cut out letters on which they write a teaser verse. The letter is anonymous, but signed with a number of dots corresponding to the number of letters in the sender’s name, so that the recipient has a chance of guessing who sent it. The reward is an egg at Easter. The letter is accompanied by a snowdrop, which is regarded as the first flower of the year. Denmark's traditional Easter food consists of eggs in many different versions, but Danish locals often eat chicken, fish, or lamb at Easter. "Easter" in Danish is Påske.
Ascension, "Store Bededag" and Whitsun After Easter comes Ascension, a normal religious festival, followed on the fourth Friday after Easter by "Store Bededag" (there is no equivalent in the English language), which replaced a number of minor holidays from the Catholic era. Whitsun, as well as having religious significance, marks the definite appearance of spring: Danes head for the woods early on Whitsunday to watch "the sun dance." Workers' Day In Denmark, Workers' Day is always celebrated on May 1 as it is throughout the world. It is a tradition, for those who wish to do so, to take half the day off from work and gather in parks and other public places to listen to politicians and/or other well-known personalities deliver suitable speeches.
Constitution Day is June 5. It was on this date in 1849 that King Frederik Vll set his signature upon Denmark's first free constitution. The celebration is marked by a half-holiday and if you did not feel like taking half the day off on Workers' Day, you usually add the two halves into a full day off on this day.
The Queen's Birthday, April 16, is particularly popular among the children: many of them get a day off school. In Copenhagen they gather in hundreds outside the royal palace, waving small Dannebrog flags and shouting congratulations to their monarch (Dannebrog is the official name of the Danish flag). It has become a tradition for the Queen to appear with the royal family on the main balcony to receive the cheers of the crowd.
Midsummer Eve On the eve before midsummer day, June 24, bonfires are lit to mark the changing season. On top of the bonfire a witch made of wood, cloth and firework is placed. The firework symbolizes all the witches' swift dispatch to damnation where tradition has it they assemble on Midsummer Eve. According to Danish folklore this assembly takes place on Bloksbjerg - also known as Brocken - in Germany. Midsummer Eve is an opportunity for singing and public speaking. It is a beautiful sight as all along the Danish coastline and on inland hilltops fires can be seen burning long into the night.
US Independence Day As one of the very few countries outside the United States, Denmark has celebrated American Independence Day, July 4, since 1912. For the most part festivities are confined to a natural amphitheatre in the heather-covered Rebild hills in the north of Jutland. Tens of thousands of Danish-Americans and other guests congregate to celebrate the good relations between the two nations. The highlight of the occasion is an address by a well-known American or Danish-American. The Rebild Festival is frequently attended by the Danish monarch and other members of the royal family.