What is Christmas like in Denmark? Full of candles, dancing, and good food. The typical drink is gløgg, a delicious Christmas punch!

Hygge, the Danish relaxed approach to life, also influences the Christmas holidays to a large extent.

The main thing is the atmosphere, togetherness, and peace.

What are kalenderlys?

What does a Danish Christmas board look like?

Why do Danes look for almonds in rice pudding, and why do they dance around a tree?

You will learn more about how Denmark celebrates Christmas in the following lines.

When is Christmas celebrated in Denmark?

The Danes celebrate Christmas on December 24, i.e., on Christmas Day. Traditionally, this means that a rich Christmas Eve dinner marks the evening, and presents are unwrapped late into the night. In Denmark, Christmas is called Jul.

The Danish Christmas decorations in most homes are usually relatively modest. For example, a Christmas tree has relatively few decorations, the most important being the candles. Other important decorations not only on the tree but also in the windows are Julehjerter, Julestjerner, and Julepynter, or Christmas hearts, stars, and other decorations made of paper.

Do you know Danish Christmas traditions?

In Denmark, many people go to church service around four o’clock in the afternoon on Christmas Day to hear a Christmas sermon. It is also an old traditional custom to treat the animals on Christmas Day, so some people go for a walk in the park or the forest and take some food with them to give to the animals and birds.

A fascinating Danish Christmas tradition is dancing around the Christmas tree. After Christmas Eve dinner, the whole family gathers around the tree, holds hands, and sings Christmas carols. Therefore, the Christmas tree usually stands in the center of the room, so there is enough space around it.

A pre-Christmas tradition is the burning of kalenderlys, large special lids with numbers from 1 to 24, which act as an advent calendar, and are lit for a while daily. What is the tradition of kalenderlys based on and what did the first ones look like?

Who brings the children’s presents?

Julemanden, literally Santa Claus, brings presents to Danish children on Christmas Day. He resembles Santa Claus and travels on a sleigh pulled by reindeer. He lives in Greenland, likes rice pudding, and is helped by a naughty gnome, Nisser. It is a kind of Danish equivalent of elves. By the way, do you know how Santa Claus’s character was born?

What is eaten in Denmark at Christmas?

Christmas Eve dinner, or julefrokost, is a “serious” affair that lasts several hours. The table must be perfectly decorated, often using lots of tablecloths, ribbons, flowers, candles, and paper star lanterns with twinkling lights inside.

A traditional dish is juleand, a Christmas roast goose or duck stuffed with apples, prunes, and herbs. Juleand is often topped with a sauce containing vermouth and served with caramelized potatoes, red cabbage, beetroot, and cranberry jam or juice.

Risalamande is the name of a typical Christmas dessert, a rice pudding with vanilla and almonds topped with hot cherry sauce. Cut all the almonds except one into pieces. Whoever finds a whole almond receives a mandelgave (almond gift). The traditional almond gift used to be a marzipan pig.

The Christmas drink is hot gløgg. Sometimes, it is served in conjunction with another Christmas dessert—aebleskiver. It is actually a crispy ball-shaped donut with apples decorated with marmalade and powdered sugar.

How to make your gløgg?

Do you like mulled wine? Try Danish gløgg this Christmas. The base is red wine, with the possible addition of port wine or rum, and raisins, almonds, and spices are always added to it.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of red wine
• 1 cup port wine
• 1 cup raisins soaked in rum
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup blanched almonds
• 5 strips of lemon peel
• 8 cardamom pods
• 5 cloves
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• a bit of ginger

Method:

1. Put the water and spices in a pot and let it boil for a minute.
2. Then, let the mixture of water and spices stand for at least 10 minutes.
3. Remove the spices.
4. Mix the “spiced” water with red wine, raisins, and almonds and heat it, but do not let the mixture boil.
5. Taste, and add a small amount of sugar to taste if necessary.
6. When the gløgg is almost boiling, remove it from the heat and add the port wine.
7. Serve immediately.

What places to visit in Denmark at Christmas?

Christmas in Denmark is truly a spectacular holiday experience. Of course, the capital city of Copenhagen is the number one place to visit during Advent.

• Copenhagen—Christmas in Copenhagen is full of lights, gløgg, and hygge. Classic attractions include the local Advent markets and impressive Christmas decorations, ice skating at the Frederiksberg Gardens, or a walk through the Tivoli amusement park with homemade æbleskiver and gløgg.

• Egeskov—The fairytale setting of the Renaissance water castle Egeskov is breathtaking all year round, especially at Christmas time. The location provides a beautiful backdrop for the Christmas markets, where you can admire a range of Christmas-themed handicrafts and sample Danish delicacies.

• Odense is a popular Danish city where the famous fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen was born. His birthplace is now a museum. The Christmas atmosphere in the medieval city center has its indescribable charm. In addition, a unique Christmas market bearing Andersen’s name takes place every year, evoking the atmosphere of old times.