The Christmas season officially begins in Denmark on the first Friday of November when Tuborg releases the Christmas brew. All stores are decorated on that day and the bodegas are filled with people wanting to get the first Juleøl that night. Since Thanksgiving is not celebrated here, there is no debate or conflict about when to decorate or celebrate Christmas, which is often the case in the US. For two entire months Danes are excited about and anticipate the holiday to come, with various traditions leading up to the 24th. The evening Christmas is officially celebrated in Denmark.
The first tradition of the season (although not a true holiday) is Morten's aften. Saint Martin's day is the 11th of November but often celebrated the evening before with a feast of goose in the old days, or duck during present day. The date marks the day Saint Martin became Bishop of Tours, which he apparently was trying to delay by hiding in a goose-house. Because the geese gave him away, the day is marked by feasting on them. Martin Luther was also baptized on this day, and Lutheranism is the official religion of the country.
Another tradition is gløgg og æbleskiver. Gløgg is warm wine spiced with raisins and almonds and æbleskiver are small round donuts eaten with powdered sugar and jam. These are often served at work events to celebrate the holiday or when guests stop by to visit during the season. They can also be served on the 23rd, but that day's dinner is most notable for risengrød which is a warm rice pudding with a slab of butter in the middle and a sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top.
The Christmas Eve meal itself is duck, three types of potatoes, and red current. The dessert is ris a la mande which is cold rice pudding with chopped up almonds served with warm cherry sauce on top. A whole almond is placed in one dish and whoever gets the whole almond gets a gift. The meal is followed by the lighting of the candles on the Christmas tree where we dance around it and sing before opening gifts. Then the "julegave" or gift opening begins which is a special treat for me. My family is so big in the US that we stopped exchanging gifts among the adults, as we would rather spend time catching up with each other instead of unwrapping. However, the Danish tradition of making a list and checking it twice is taken very seriously, and I have come to enjoy being pleasantly surprised at receiving gifts again.
Christmas day lunch on the 25th or Julefrokost (which is also celebrated throughout the season with friends) consists of the typical Danish smørrebrød which are open faced sandwiches with all kinds of yummy toppings. My favorite is fiskefilet, which is a breaded white fish with lemon and capers, frikadeller (Danish meatballs) and tarteletter, which is a lovely mixture of chicken and asparagus in a crispy pastry shell. Absolutely divine. No Julefrokost is complete however, without Juleøl and schnapps, and lots of Skåls!
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