Archive for 'Traditions'
Now Give That Cat a Blow! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Feb 19, 2012
”Fastelavn er mit navn, boller vil jeg have, hvis jeg ingen boller får, så laver jeg ballade.” Shrovetide is my name, buns I want to have, if I don’t get any buns, I’ll kick up a row. So goes the first verse of a song sung by children all over Denmark today. (Or a…
Entering the New Year Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jan 5, 2012
”Nu er det jul igen og nu er det jul igen, og julen varer helt til påske.” So goes a traditional Christmas song, sung by a number of Danish families on juleaften (Christmas Eve, December 24th) while holding hands and marching around the juletræ (Christmas tree, most often a gran, ’spruce’): Now it’s Christmas again…
How to Make Your Own Danish Christmas Heart Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 24, 2011
What you’ll need: glanspapir (glazed paper) of two different colours en saks (a pair of scissors) en lineal (a ruler) en blyant (a pencil) Now, let’s begin: 1 Pick two sheets of glazed paper in different colours. Red and white is the classical combo. (As in the Danish flag!) 2 Fold each sheet…
The Temptations of the Table Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 22, 2011
So what do Danes do in December if there’s no snow and the chill nevertheless is creeping into your bones as soon as you leave the doorstep? For many people, the julefrokoster are the height of the Pre-Christmas season. Instead of watching tv or arguing with your family, you get together with your colleages or…
Santa Lucia Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 13, 2011
Lights off. Everyone is fidgetting in anticipation, stealing glimpses of friends’ silhouettes in the dusk of the room. Suddenly a clear note breaks the silence, then another; the ringing sound of young girls’ voices echoes through the shadows and becomes a song: Nu bæres lyset frem… Now the light is carried forth… Enters the choir, five…
O, Christmas Where Art Thou! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 27, 2011
Today’s got a name in Danish: den første søndag i advent. (Yeah, you got it right: the first Sunday in Advent!) Advent, of course, is the countdown for jul (Christmas). Today many families are lighting the first out of four candles in their adventskrans (advent wreath). Over the next three Sundays the remaining lys (candles)…
Halloween in Danish Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Oct 31, 2011
Today, the 31st of October, the hekse (witches) and spøgelser (ghosts) have come out of the dark to haunt and terrorize mankind. No one is safe in the skove (forests) or the crooked gyder (alleys) of the small landsbyer (villages). To protect themselves, people have carved grinning faces into orange græskar (pumpkins, the singular is the…