DANISH CHRISTMAS AS WE REMEMBER IT
By Vibeke and Bent Lindhardt
Memories of my Danish Christmas – as a child.
Vibeke:
The Danish Christmas as I remember it happened on
Munkebjergvej 53 on Amager, which is a part of Copenhagen. We lived
in a white house on the corner.
My Dad had planted trees and fruit trees and berry
bushes. He also had a huge garden. I remember helping him putting
the potatoes in the ground.
We had chicken and rabbits and pigs. The chickens
and rabbits were outside, but we had a small extension the house
where we had “our toilet” in one room and “the pig” in the
other room.
I watched many times my Dad chopping the head off
the chickens, draining the blood, and then us kids had to pluck the
feathers off. I was very sad when he killed the rabbits, because
they were my pets.
Nevertheless, I liked when my Mom mad skin hats
and “muffedisser” – which was a round thing that hang around
our neck in a string, that we could place our hands in if they were
cold. All made out of the skin from the rabbits.
When my Dad killed the rabbits he stretched the
skin on the door and let it sit in the sun to dry. Then my Mom would
hammer it so the skin would get soft.
My mom and Dad always killed a pig awhile before
Christmas. I hated when they killed the pig. The neighbours
would come to help. I can still hear the screaming when they
stuck a knife in its throat and then in to the hot water in the same
wooden barrel that us kids normally took “our monthly bath” in.
Nevertheless the pork sure tasted good. My mom
made everything out of the big. Sausages, including blood
sausages. She kept pork in salt in a big barrel.
The 23rd
we called “Lille Jule Aften”. = meaning “Little Christmas
Night. We always had Risengrod med Malt Beer – which is a
non-alcoholic beer made out of malts. In Danish= Hvidtøl= white
beer. The name is strange since the malt beer is dark.
My Mom made all different kind of cookies. Jøde
Kager= Jewish cookies, Klejner= crullers, Brune kager = brown
cookies, pepper nødder= small round cookie with ginger in., Finsk
Brød (a Danish shortbread cookie) and godter of course godter and
and marzipan figures.
She kept it in a cupboard and us kids "stole"
godterne. Us three girls – Inge Lise, Birgit and me, thought
she did not know that we stole godterne, but when I got older and
told my Mom that we had stolen them. She said I know. That
is why I kept filling them up.
The Christmas tree was
decorated on the 23rd
by our parents. It was a big secret that we were not allowed to be a
part of. The tree had real live candles on. I just loved that.
We were not allowed to see the tree before the
24th, after we had eaten our dinner which was usually both goose and
flaeske steg = pork roast with the rind on it, We had red cabbage and
glazed potatoes and Asier= pickled gherkins. For dessert we had
RisAlamanda.
After dinner all the dishes HAD to be washed
before the rest of the evening could go on.
Then my parents would open the doors to the room
where the tree was decorated with jule hjerter = braided paper hearts
and krœmmerhuse = a cone shaped paper holder which were filled with
home made candy. But there was also a birds which was my
favourite and nisser = little Christmas elves.
The tree would always stand in the middle of the
room. We would all hold hands and walk around the tree and sing
Danish Christmas carols. I really loved that.
Then we opened the presents, but of course
there were only a few. But, we were happy and satisfied with
what we got.
Vibeke
Danish Braided Christmas Heart to hang on the tree
with goodies in. We made these before Christmas.
Memories
of my
Danish Christmas –
as a child.
Bent:
When I go back in memory from my childhood the
following as typical signs and traditions of Christmas in our family:
Christmas Preparations started already in early
December, when I started making Christmas gifts for mom and dad. This
happened mostly with hammer and saw where I made such as coasters to
my mother in the form of small pieces of wood put together so Mom
could make hot stuff on them. What I did to Dad and my brother Ludvig
I do not remember, but I was busy.
Next thing I remember concerning preparations was
that I could choose a pattern for a sweater, as a mother as knitted
for me. I always looked forward to that with great pleasure.
Part of the Christmas tradition was also a trip
into town where we would look at all the very beautiful Christmas
displays in department stores, for example. Magasin du Nord, Illum
and other department stores, trying to outdo each other.
It, or the last week before Christmas was in the
cookies signs where mother would bake all the lovely Christmas
cookies. With my wonderful help. We always began with Brune Kager=
brown cakes, as the dough should be 1-2 days before they could bake.
Mom always made plenty of dough because the dough tasted almost as
good as the cakes. Then there was made vaniliekranse= a form for
short bread made in a ring, Klejner=crullers, Jøde Kager jewish
cookies and last but not least “Fedte Kager” = a cookie made with
fat., which is a cookie originated in South Jutland. There were brown
Fedtekager and white Fedtekager. But there was no Christmas if there
was no fedtekager. (The Danish people call cookies for cakes)
Then came the evening where we had to make
Christmas tree decorations, such as. Christmas hearts, Christmas
baskets, Christmas wreaths etc., all of which were hung on the
Christmas tree. It took usually a great evening where we all 4 sat
around the dining table and cut and paste. (This was later called
Julestue).
And then came Christmas Eve, 24 where the
Christmas tree was put up in the living room ready to be decorated,
which was a job we all did together.. We usually had a pine tree,
where we had small candles hung on the tree along with all other
decorations. The tree stood in the middle of the dining room with a
nice Christmas runs under the tree, where as all the gifts were
placed under the Christmas tree.
But first, the Christmas elf “Nissemanden” had
to come with all the gifts. And the excitement was more and more
constant. Mother begged me to go down and wait for Santa Claus,
either on the street or in the yard. I was so excited to meet Santa
Claus, but ..... unfortunately never managed to meet him, for one
year I went down the street and waited - and waited - and waited ---
but no Santa Claus, and then Mom told me that he had unfortunately
come up the back stairs. Well, the gifts had come and it was also the
most important thing.
But next year would Santa Claus do not cheat me,
so I went down the back stairs and waited in the yard. And I waited
and waited and waited, and became more and more needy, but I was
almost sure that if I went to the bathroom, then Santa Claus probably
come while I was there. So I waited and waited ----- until it was too
late and I crapped in my pants. It was embarrassing, and on top of
all that, of course, came up the main stairs this time. Well, the
gifts were thus obtained.
Christmas dinner was usually either flæstesteg,
or Goose with both white and roasted potatoes, red cabbage and other
accessories. Then usually pleasant RisAlamanda. We drank usually
white beer= Non-alcoholic Malt beer with our meal. But dinner was not
the most important thing for a little boy, just something to be
overcome. But after dinner while we opened gifts we enjoyed the
lovely chocolate and marzipansnitter mother had made.
The gifts, yes, it was of course the most
important thing about Christmas. But first there is dancing around
the Christmas tree, where we sang a lot of the good old Christmas
carols and hymns. It was all right, since it was part of the
Christmas tradition. Then finally came the most important thing:
gifts! We were not wealthy, but we never thought about that for under
the Christmas tree were all the finely wrapped presents. There was
usually always a big soft package, namely my fine sweater as mother
had knitted. The I was always happy. And then there was usually a
nice big gift from mom and dad. One year it was a very nice new
scooter. And I was in the seventh heaven. Other times some farmhouses
to a farm, and then it was 1-2 animals to the toy farm from my
brother. A good book also belonged to the traditional gifts from mot
and father.
But when I was 8 years old, and I do not remember
if it was a Christmas or my birthday, I got a really accordion, the
smallest you could get, but it was a real accordion, and it became my
life’s gift, as I quickly taught myself to play it. Later I got a
little bigger accordion. And my accordions has since then followed me
the rest of my life, both at sea and on land.
When all the gifts were opened and we, especially
me -had calmed down a little, I was able to play with my gifts.
I was happy and satisfied. A lovely Christmas
Bent
3 December 2017
