All I wanted for Christmas was to be surrounded by family (no matter how distant the relatives were) and to see snow. But I got so much more than this.
I left London and arrived in the cold and windy Copenhagen on the night of the 23rd of December. I was super excited to experience a Danish Christmas but was also slightly apprehensive about spending the festive season away from my family back in Australia. I had only met these relatives once, 6 years ago, and didn’t know what to expect.
But all those negative feelings left my body as soon as I gave my cousin a big warm hug at the airport. We spoke about life and other random things during the 45 minute drive to the small town of Ringsted where most of the family lived. I then met my grandmother’s brother-in-law (yes the relations are confusing – most of the time I was not sure how I was related to everyone) and more hugs were shared. After an hour or so of more catching up, I retreated to bed and prepared myself for the proper meeting of the family tomorrow.
Christmas Eve
The 24th of December is when most Scandinavians celebrate Christmas so I was thrown right into the thick of it. I went from house to house, eating, drinking, sharing presents and getting to know everyone properly.
We started with a simple Danish breakfast in the morning with bread, cheeses and an assortment of juices as we prepared our stomachs for the enormous dinner which was yet to come. The big feast that night consisted of 4 different roasts, a huge amount of potatoes and some red cabbage on the side. Perhaps a salad or some other veges would have been nice but that’s just not how the Danes do it. No fussing about. No wasting time or precious space in ones stomach with lettuce and beans.
I brought 3 bottles of wine from London and they went fast. We then moved onto the beer and schnapps which were a lethal combination. We had all gotten well and truly drunk and it was only 6:00 PM (ok maybe I was the only one who couldn’t hold their schnapps).
We eventually moved onto dessert which was a traditional rice pudding (doesn’t look quite that appetising in this picture) which all Danes eat on Christmas. To make it even better, they would put a whole almond in the mix and the one who got it would get an extra Christmas present. But I was too impatient to slowly chew my food and sort through the pudding so I just inhaled it all. I think I even ate the almond but was too afraid to admit it. In the end, no one found the almond so they just gave the present to me (the foreigner). I got a lolly jar, full of lollies. Winning!
Danish Christmas carols were next and I was in no state of mind to sing in this oh so difficult language. Nonetheless, I persisted and made a right fool of myself. Thank god my family are a loud, unashamed bunch of misfits who just laughed throughout and sang out of tune. This had already been such a unique and fun Christmas.
After more and more merriment, the few of us who didn’t have children and such made our way into to town to drink and dance at one of the local bars. I had never been out during Christmas celebrations back in Aus but I was more than happy to keep changing things up.
Before I could even take everything in, I had a beer shoved into my hand and we were all drinking the night away. The place smelt like every bar does, of sweat, smoke and dirt (mmm home sweet home). I was introduced to the family friends and other more distant relatives, each of whom bought me a shot of schnapps. Now it would just be rude of me to turn down such an offer so I took each shot in hand, yelled out ‘SKOL’ (cheers) and moved on to the next greeting.
While the rest of the night is somewhat of a blur, I do distinctly remember my 70 something year old relative ripping up the dancefloor with his stellar moves. The man is so fit and can handle is alcohol like a pro. He was the spriteliest out of all of us and loved a good boogie. We spent the next few hours dancing to Western pop music and Danish hits which I pretended to know and sing along to (I thought I was a pro but was most likely butchering every song). The old man and I stumbled on home around 4:00AM, arms wrapped around one another until we reached the house and split off into our own rooms. I crashed in bed and fell asleep before I could even fully take off my pants. Clearly, the perfect end to my first day of Christmas celebrations here in Denmark.
Christmas Day
I woke up around midday with a killer hangover and made my way over to the window to open the blinds (sunlight will help me wake up). But low and behold… SNOW! It was the 25th of December and the entire town of Ringsted was covered in a thin layer of pristinely white and glowing snow. All I could think was ‘I’M WINNING CHRISTMAS’. Unfortunately, this joy was quickly ripped away from me by my pounding headache and sore body.
I had a quick shower and face timed my family back home just as I had promised but was not looking my best. All my mum could do was laugh at me in this state. She knew all too well how schnapps always comes out on top but failed to warn me (cheers mum). My older sisters gave me the typical disappointed look but simultaneously revelled in my pain. I said hi to the rest of the family (anyone who was still awake in Melbourne) and then made my way out of my room to see how the old geezer was going.
I was a mess but he was just as happy and energetic as usual. He gave me a big smile and asked me how I was. How does he do it? How is he not hungover after last night?
Respect. Clearly the man is a true Dane.
While the 25th is usually the big Christmas day for my family back home, this would be our recovery day. No big lunch held outside on the balcony in sun overlooking the beach like in Australia (My family sent me this picture to make me jealous and, I must admit, it kinda worked). Today the whole family spent the day collapsed on the couch with one another, slowly waking up and getting back to normal.
Of course we had copious amounts of food. There was herring, meatballs, roast pork, potatoes, salad, turkey and some other form of seafood. And of course it was all on delicious rye bread (everything is eaten in the form of an open sandwich).
The rest of the day was spent watching Disney clips on TV (a tradition for most Danes) with more eating and drinking (I took this day off from Schnapps – I would hang out with the little ones and drink soda). I then said my goodbyes to most of the family as they went back home in the evening to have an early sleep. Then a few of us stayed to watch Mama Mia and the 5th Harry Potter.
This was not by any means similar to my family’s traditional Christmas but it was still pretty damn great! Plus it wasn’t over yet – tomorrow I go to Copenhagen to visit the other half of the family and partake in even more festive feasts. Bring it on!
Christmas Day + 1
I was lucky enough to be taken in by one of my other cousins (I think her dad and my grandmother were siblings…. But don’t quote me on that) who lived just outside of the Copenhagen’s city centre. She had always been seen as the cool older cousin as she didn’t live in the small town with the others, was more cultural and went out to trendy bars and restaurants.
Less than an hour after arriving at her place, I met even more relatives as I began to eat yet another mammoth Christmas lunch. We started with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on rye bread (a different but surprisingly great combination), then had two different types of herring, some roast pork, a few bowls of potatoes, salad and every type of condiment you could think of.
Dessert with the customary rice pudding followed and, of course, schnapps and beer was served throughout the afternoon. After this 5 hour lunch, I found myself slowly falling into a food coma while trying to talk to more of the family.
By this time of the trip, I just assumed that every person I met was a family member and called them all ‘cousin’. Despite my terrible family tree skills, all of the Danes were welcoming and showered me with love and praise. I couldn’t be happier. I was surrounded by happy, friendly and somewhat intoxicated people. This is how all Christmas’s should be.
To top it all off, I had a quick run around outside in the snow, took the mandatory snowy selfie and then retreated back within the warm house.
Fortunately the night ended early as I spent the rest of it just chilling in front of the tele with copious amounts of tea while talking nonsense with my cousin. I ended the evening falling asleep while watching Parks and Recreation. A perfect end to yet another perfect day.
Tales of an Aussie Traveller 