Christmas Traditions in Denmark

In Denmark we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is the culmination of weeks of festivities and preparations, and it is by far the biggest holiday in Denmark. While there are minor individual differences and variations, here are some of the Christmas traditions embraced by most of the people during the holiday season in Denmark:

Christmas Calendars, Advent Calendars and Calendar Candles

Most kids have Christmas calendars and Advent calendars with candy or small presents. The Christmas calendar is opened each day while the Advent calendar is for each Sunday and usually has larger gifts than the Christmas calendars.

Throughout December, the TV channels are broadcasting a Julekalender (Christmas calendar), which is a Christmas-themed show for kids with 24 episodes. When I was a kid, there weren’t that many TV channels to choose among, so everybody would watch the same Christmas calendar on DR, Denmark’s national public-service broadcasting organization, and talk about the episodes the following day in school.

In December, most people have a Kalenderlys (calendar candle) with numbers; 1 at the top through 24 at the bottom. You light the candle for a short while each day, to count down for Christmas. Each home also have Adventskranse (advent wreaths), a wreath with four candles, to be lit on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. One candle is lit on the first Sunday, two on the second Sunday, and so on.

Sankta Lucia – St. Lucy’s Day

On December 13^th we celebrate Lucia (St. Lucy’s Day). While the St. Lucy celebration is not as big as it is in Sweden, you will still see a lot of young girls walking in procession, dressed up in white gowns, carrying candles in their hands. The girl walking at the front of the procession has a wreath on her head with four candles. Historically, this day marked the Winter Solstice, though after the introduction of the Gregorian calendar this does not hold true anymore.  

When I was a kid, I had a pony, and each year at Christmas time, the local riding school arranged a St. Lucy procession. Ponies, candles and fluttering gowns…not the most thought-through idea, but it was a lot of fun.

Julefrokost

During December and November, the Danish Christmas parties, Julefrokost takes place. Directly translated, Julefrokost means Christmas lunch, and the parties often start early in the afternoon. Most companies arrange a julefrokost for their employees, but many people also arrange a julefrokost with their friends or with family. You eat traditional Danish lunch dishes along with a couple of julefrokost classics such as æbleflæsk (bacon in apple sauce) and julekål (creamed cabbage), and drink a lot of alcohol, especially Danish snaps and juleøl (Christmas beer).

J-Dag (J-Day)

This is the day when Tuborg’s classic Christmas beer is released and it is celebrated on bars and nightclubs all over the country. It is highly commercial but has nonetheless turned into a Christmas tradition for most Danes. J-Dag used to be on the second Wednesday in November, but in 1999, the celebration was moved to the first Friday in November instead, after high schools and universities were complaining that many of the students were missing out on classes the following day.