Christmas traditions vary from country to country. If you’ve never been in Denmark during the holiday season before, one thought may be bouncing around in your head: How does Denmark celebrate Christmas?
- Countdown to Christmas in Denmark: Danes start December 1st with a kalenderlys (calendar candle). It burns one number per day until Christmas. Danes also make Advent wreaths with four candles, lighting one each Sunday leading up to Christmas.
- Shopping at Danish Christmas Markets: During November, Danes visit Christmas markets to buy gifts. Christmas markets also sell seasonal foods like æbleskiver and caramelized almonds, decorations, and festive treats, ensuring shopping is done before December 24.
- Christmas Eve Celebrations: Known as Juleaften, Danish Christmas Eve involves a festive dinner with roast duck or pork. This is followed by a traditional risalamande dessert with a hidden almond. Before opening the gifts the family dances around the Christmas tree.
- Additional Danish Christmas Traditions: On Christmas and Second Day of Christmas, families enjoy Christmas lunches featuring æbleskiver, gløgg, open-faced sandwiches.
Christmas in Denmark: Explaining Danish Christmas Traditions
A traditional Danish Christmas is, on a broad scale, not much different from traditional Christmases in countries where Christianity is the dominant religion. You eat delicious food, attend Christmas services, visit family and friends to eat even more food, open gifts, and stay happy. That’s a summary of the classic Danish Christmas traditions. Need the full details? Continue reading.
What Is Christmas in Denmark Like?
Danish traditions for celebrating Yuletide start before Christmas Day and continue till after Christmas.
Counting Down to Christmas
On December 1, Danes begin to count down the days to Christmas. To mark the countdown, they light a calendar candle or kalenderlys. This candle is no ordinary one. It bears the numbers 1 to 24, each standing for one day of the month up until Christmas Eve. Each day, they allow the candle to slowly burn until it reaches the next number. Here’s a photo of the kalenderlys.
In addition to the kalenderlys, Danes make Advent wreaths. Each wreath consists of spruce branches, berries, cones, and, above all, four candles. On the first of the last four Sundays to Christmas, they light one candle. On the second Sunday, they light two and continue like this on the third and fourth Sundays, lighting one more candle. In 2025, the first Sunday in the Advent will be November 30, while the fourth Sunday will be December 21.
Besides the Advent wreaths and calendar candles, Danes also have other exciting ways of counting down to Christmas for children. While some kids have to be content with watching the Christmas calendar on television, others receive a gift from their parents on each of the first 24 days of December or on every Advent Sunday.
Going to Danish Christmas Markets
You can’t celebrate Christmas without shopping, can you? In Denmark, there are specific markets opened for the sake of Christmas shopping. Most people begin to visit Christmas markets in Denmark around the middle of November to buy gifts, seasonal food like æbleskiver (pancake balls), caramelized almonds, and Smørrebrød sandwiches, seasonal vegetables, cheese, cider, honey, jam, and meat, Christmas decorations, Christmas hearts, and other Danish decorations.
Shops and restaurants in Denmark are closed on December 25 and 26. If you’re currently in the country and you intend to spend Christmas here this year, ensure that you do all of your shopping before Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Christmas Eve
In Denmark, Christmas Eve is known as Juleaften. Enjoying Christmas Eve properly often means eating an elaborate Christmas dinner in the evening. The entire family gathers around the Christmas table to feast on a classic Danish Christmas dinner, which usually features roast duck or roast pork, served with potatoes, caramelized potatoes, red cabbage, and rich gravy.
A typical Danish Christmas dessert is risalamande, a cold rice pudding mixed with whipped cream and chopped almonds, served with hot cherry sauce. Someone will have hidden a single whole almond in the dessert, and the person who finds the almond receives a small gift, often a marzipan treat.
After the dinner, there is dancing. Family members dance around the Christmas tree as they sing Christmas songs. In some households, they prefer to dance and sing Christmas carols before settling down for the dinner.
What Other Christmas Traditions Do Danes Adopt to Celebrate Christmas?
On Christmas Day and the Second Day of Christmas, Danish families may host or attend traditional Christmas lunches. In the spirit of the festive season, Danes enjoy æbleskiver and gløgg (small pastries and mulled wine), as well as Danish open-faced sandwiches, Christmas cookies, and other Christmas delicacies such as risamalande, roast duck or pork roast, risengrød (rice porridge), etc. A chosen member of the family distributes gifts and other Christmas treats to Danish children.
How Does Denmark Celebrate Christmas? Final Thoughts
The Danish culture promotes hygge (that is, shared feelings of love and contentment) throughout the Christmas season. Many traditions surrounding Christmas are borrowed from Jul, an ancient Norse pagan holiday. But make no mistake. Denmark celebrates Christmas like no other country.
FAQ
How do Danes count down to Christmas?
Danes begin their Christmas countdown on December 1st by lighting a kalenderlys, a special candle with the numbers 1 to 24, which burns gradually until Christmas Eve. They also make Advent wreaths with four candles, lighting one each Sunday leading up to Christmas.
What are the main events on Danish Christmas Eve?
On Christmas Eve, known as Juleaften, families enjoy a festive dinner with roast duck or pork, followed by risalamande dessert with a hidden almond. After dinner, they dance around the Christmas tree and sing Christmas songs.
What do Danish Christmas markets typically sell?
Danish Christmas markets sell gifts, seasonal foods like æbleskiver and caramelized almonds, decorations, Danish Christmas hearts, and other festive treats. Shopping usually occurs in November before Christmas Day.
What are some traditional Danish Christmas foods and treats?
Traditional Danish Christmas foods include roast duck or pork, potatoes, red cabbage, and rich gravy. Desserts often include risalamande with hot cherry sauce, and common treats are æbleskiver, gløgg, and Danish open-faced sandwiches.
