{"id":1021,"date":"2013-12-30T12:13:38","date_gmt":"2013-12-30T12:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/?p=1021"},"modified":"2013-12-30T12:13:38","modified_gmt":"2013-12-30T12:13:38","slug":"unwrapping-the-gifts-of-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/2013\/12\/30\/unwrapping-the-gifts-of-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Unwrapping the gifts of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gift_box\"<\/a>Hvad fik du i julegave i \u00e5r?<\/b> (What did you get for Christmas this year?) Most Danes are crazy about giving & getting gaver<\/b> (gifts). Too bad you can only celebrate f\u00f8dselsdag<\/b> (birthday) once a year. Heldigvis<\/b> (fortunately), julen<\/b> (\u201dthe Christmas\u201d) is there to save every Dane from despair\u2026<\/p>\n

During the December days leading up to juleaften<\/b> (Christmas Eve, December 24th), many children have a pakkekalender<\/b> (\u201dparcel calendar\u201d) to ease ventetiden<\/b> (the waiting period). Each day they\u2019ll get a small kalendergave<\/b> (calendar gift) as a forsmag p\u00e5 <\/b>(foretaste of) the bigger gaver<\/b> [GAEH-war] they\u2019ll eventually find below juletr\u00e6et<\/b> (the Christmas tree). (Christmas stockings are not common in Denmark.)<\/p>\n

It is also common for adults to get a pre-Christmas gift or two, for example a firmagave<\/b> (\u201dfirm gift\u201d) from their workplace. (And, of course, every decent julefrokost<\/b><\/a> party has a pakkeleg <\/b>\u2013 a game where the goal is to grab as many gifts as possible!)<\/p>\n

\"Oddly<\/a>

Oddly enough, a poetry collection \u2013 by the debutant Yahya Hassan \u2013 has been a favorite among Christmas gift shoppers in Denmark this year.<\/p><\/div>\n

B\u00e5de b\u00f8rn og voksne<\/b> (both children and adults) make \u00f8nskesedler<\/b> (wish lists) with all their jule\u00f8nsker<\/b> (wishes for Christmas). Common \u00f8nsker<\/b> are<\/p>\n

\u2022 b\u00f8ger<\/b> (books \u2013 mind you, many Danes do read a lot!)<\/p>\n

\u2022 gadgets<\/b> (iPads, mobiltelefoner<\/b>)<\/p>\n

\u2022 t\u00f8j <\/b>(clothes)<\/p>\n

\u2022 smykker<\/b> (jewellery)<\/p>\n

\u2022 leget\u00f8j<\/b> (toys)<\/p>\n

\u2022 gavekort<\/b> (gift cards)<\/p>\n

It is common to speak about h\u00e5rde og bl\u00f8de gaver <\/b>(hard and soft gifts) \u2013 h\u00e5rde gaver<\/b> typically being b\u00f8ger<\/b> and elektronik<\/b>. I\u2019d guess anyone who\u2019s been a child in Denmark knows the combined frustration of waiting for that special LEGO zoo\/space station and feeling yet another \u201dsoft package\u201d through the wrapping! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

As Danes have become quite wealthy since WW2, it can be quite a challenge to gift-shop in the days leading up to Christmas. As the saying goes \u2013 hvad skal man give til manden\/kvinden, der har alt? <\/b>(What do you give to the man\/woman who has everything?)<\/p>\n

In recent years, an increasing number of Danes are giving each other oplevelser<\/b> (experiences) instead of ting<\/b> (things). This could be everything from a safari in Kenya to a romantic weekend at a Danish beach. Another trend is aiding people in poorer countries. Folkekirkens N\u00f8dhj\u00e6lp \u2013 the humanitarian aid organization of the Danish Church \u2013 has had a very succesful campaign called \u201dgiv en ged<\/b>\u201d (give a goat). You literally buy a goat to a family in need, typically in a poor area of Africa or Asia, and receive a card as proof that your Danish friend is now the owner of a faraway goat\u2026<\/p>\n

Do you celebrate Christmas? Do Christmas gifts matter to you? Did you get any interesting gifts this year? Feel free to share your thoughts with the other readers.<\/p>\n

With this, I\u2019d like to wish each an everyone of you a<\/p>\n

Godt nyt\u00e5r!<\/strong>\u00a0(Happy New Year!)<\/p>\n

See you in 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Hvad fik du i julegave i \u00e5r? (What did you get for Christmas this year?) Most Danes are crazy about giving & getting gaver (gifts). Too bad you can only celebrate f\u00f8dselsdag (birthday) once a year. Heldigvis (fortunately), julen (\u201dthe Christmas\u201d) is there to save every Dane from despair\u2026 During the December days leading up…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":1023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[913],"tags":[43,293309,293311,293308,5366,3245,269690,293310],"class_list":["post-1021","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-traditions","tag-christmas","tag-firmagave","tag-folkekirkens-nodhjaelp","tag-gave","tag-gift","tag-jul","tag-pakkekalender","tag-yahya-hassan"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t