Christmas Eve in Denmark

[robert551069]

My son married a Danish girl and they now live in Copenhagen. It's a tradition there to open Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. Lucky kids!

[factor-fiction]

Does that mean they are bored again by Christmas morning?

[ummmm]

Instead of Christmas lunch time!

[Arksided]

Com'on behave, they'll be opening their Easter Eggs.

[coccinelle]

Would that be on Christmas Eve night? That's what they do in France usually around midnight.

[Mosaic]

So if your son was Spanish that would really cause problems as they don't open presents until 6th January - the Feast of the Three Kings

[Iluvspikey]

My friend at school was half Danish half German, I know they serve a cold rice pudding with a hot cherry sauce with a whole almond in it whoever gets the almond gets a little gift!

[murraymints]

Same in Germany !

[lankeela]

I worked at a Danish owned residential school and they had their Christmas dinner on the night of Christmas Eve.

[shaneystar2]

We open our gifts on Christmas Eve.We turn the lights out and just have the tree lights on and always sing Ihr Kinderlein, kommet.Then we have potato salad and knackwurst with beer .Typical German Christmas in Norfolk :)

[Mosaic]

Is knackwurst made with real knacks?

[MarkRae]

> It's a tradition there to open Christmas presents on Christmas Eve.

As with most of (Northern) Europe. The royal family, being German, do the same...

[ethandron]

My sons girlfriend is Swedish, he spent last Christmas there, this year they'll both be here with us. They have a tradition in sweden of watching a particular Donald duck cartoon as part of a live programme at 3pm on Christmas eve..not just the kids but everyone stops what they're doing, sits down and watches it.
And they drink snapps at breakfast...she'll have to make do with bucks fizz this year.

[MarkRae]

That would be "From All of Us to All of You". In Germany they watch the Freddie Frinton short "Dinner for One" on New Year's Eve and at various other times in other Nordic countries.

[ethandron]

That's the one mark. Son has managed to find last years on line so we're going to surprise her by playing it here on Christmas eve while we decorate the tree. That German one las year was very funny :)

[MarkRae]

Not exactly difficult to find: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=from+all+of+us+to+all+of+you&oq=From+All+of+U&gs_l=youtube.3.0.0l5.248.1982.0.3439.13.10.0.3.3.0.99.518.10.10.0...0.0...1ac.1.Z5pikMUeAgc

[ethandron]

I'm sure it wasn't..for him. Left to me, I'd never have managed it, me being a techno dunce.

[DTCwordfan]

There's a lot of Americans who do as well, a legacy of their European heritage - actually, I would say that we are in a minority.

A Danish Christmas Eve dinner is also rather special with various treats such as burne kager, (gingerbread), and large plates of Danish Christmas cookies comprising of Vaniljekranse, klejner, jødekager, pebernødder, and finskbrød, (Vanilla Wreaths, deep fried Kleiner doughnuts, Jewish cakes, almond Pfeffernüsse cookies, Gingerbread and Finnish bread).

They also leave a bowl of rice pudding or porridge for Nisse, a mischievous elfin that comes around to taunt them, so that he is friendly to them and keeps his jokes within limits.

Also Christmas traditionally kicks off with Grod, a cinammon rich rice pudding.......often served on the 23rd.