A Very Danish Christmas

The day my lovely N176 family flew away from me, I was adopted for a bit by the Harris's my Danish visiting family. This was the first of a bunch of walks we went on together during the 10 days I stayed with them over my winter break.

There was so much more snow outside the city!!

the frozen lake!

Home Sweet Home

my room!

Jul i Danmark

Nisse (little elves for each person and a little gift gets left each Sunday in December)

Advent candles

Advent calendars

 TV show with Purus the elf on each night in Dec

 roll a 6 dice game with gifts

Jul Brew beer

Ableskiver

Gloog

woven hearts

origami like stars

CANDLES

Gold and red with the evergreen wreathes and trees

Christmas treats: marzipan with nougat [(Kris and trish’s cannon balls) balls or layered diamonds] marzipan with apricots and a peach liquor, peeled chopped almonds with raisins, special k with berries, all dipped in or mixed in with melts chocolate and toped with sprinkles or some decoration

Christmas cookies: the vanilla cookie wreathe like circles, and brown with almonds crisps, peppernodders

Home made evergreen and candle collage decorations/centerpieces

The Mary/baby (one holding the other in their arms), Shepard/sheep(one on their hand and knees and the other sitting on the firsts back) and Christmas tree (back to back, arms hooked together, left leg up and hands and foot wiggle) musical game. (like hunter-tiger-traps). Each couple picks one to do when the music stops, one of the three cards gets picked and the couples who made that one is out.

Decorating the tree as a family on the night of the 23^rd and using REAL candles instead of electric lights!

it was so peaceful sitting by the fireplace and watching the snow blanket the whole outside world :)

one day, I was there the whole day reading and watching snowflakes.

i made this one :)

 making them is so much better than buying something random at the store or flowershop!

Nisse!

In the afternoon on the 24th we went to the local church. Jon stayed home and watched the Disney Christmas Special :) he says thats his Christmas Church

I didnt understand much of the service but it was still really interesting to be there. i did recognise the lords prayer! (while the language is totally different, the rythm they say the verses in is the same) Camilla helped me translate the story on the front cover of the service program. It was the Creation story. The only reason I was able to understand as much as did on my own was because I've heard the English version every Christmas at home. The service was less than an hour long. very short and sweet and even thoguh the singing was in danish, ive gotten used to saying the sounds enough that i could sing along with the crowd- i simply had no idea what I was saying :P

Lisa and I set and decorated the table

Dinner was Inge, John, Mormor (that means grandma, Inge's Mom) Camilla, Kristina, Natalie, Lisa, and I

Food: smorrebrod with butter, lettuce, avocado (or salmon), and lemon.

roasted duck, candied potatoes, boiled potatoes,

After dinner, the danish tradition is that the girls go into the kitchen and clean u while the guys light the tree. Bell rings three time. Two warnings and the third means its time for the girls to come out. We ohh and ahh over the tree then everyone gathers around it in a circle, holds hands and sing carols as we walk around the tree back and fourth.  Before we start to open presents, everyone chooses a candle on the tree that they think will stay burning the longest, theres no prize, its just a fun little extra game. After that, the youngest chooses a present for someone to open. The presents are opened one at a time. Then the next youngest chooses one and so and so on until the oldest. Then you start over but the youngest chooses two gifts. And you repeat up to the oldest. After that the pattern stops and people just keep choosing presents for others to open.

On the 25^th- an English Christmas lunch : turkey, potatoes and parsnips, brussel sprouts, carrots, bread pudding, stuffing from wild boar,

The roll a six game- but also if you roll a 1 you trade with the closest present to your left. I got a dark towel, and a box of italian cookies.

English Christmas carols, a tradition for the 4 couples and their families for the past 30 years.  Simon and Gita, Maryanne and Barry, Nick and Suzan, and Inge and John

The next few days we just hung around the house relaxing J

One morning, we watched Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in Danish. It was actually pretty great because it’s a movie I watched enough as a kid that I could follow the Danish version really easily!

Our last walk in the snow :)

I left for Ireland early on the morning of my birthday, but the night before that Inge made me scalloped potatoes and a special dinner with a traditional Danish layer cake to celebrate. As a birthday present, I got a beautiful Danish daisy necklace. The story behind this popular jewelry pendant is that Queen Margaret’s name means daisy and a famous designer made her a special necklace that the other ones are now modeled after.

I left for Ireland early on the morning of my birthday, but the night before that Inge made me scalloped potatoes and a special dinner with a traditional Danish layer cake to celebrate. As a birthday present, I got a beautiful Danish daisy necklace. The story behind this popular jewelry pendant is that Queen Margaret’s name means daisy and a famous designer made her a special necklace that the other ones are now modeled after.

I am beyond lucky to have been paired with such a special Danish family. It was hard to spend the holidays away from home and the people I love most, but the Harris’s welcomed me in and did all they could to make me feel welcome and enjoy my Christmas. Their love and closeness as a family permeates their whole home and if I couldn’t be in my own home for Christmas this was an amazing trade!

I cannot believe how lucky I have been to meet the Harris’s and I'm excited I have all of next semester to spend more time with them!