Christmas - all about traditions.

We celebrate Christmas Eve more that Christmas Day.
At Christmas Eve we have a family dinner, consisting of roast duck with boiled potatoes, caramelled potatoes, red cabbage and gravy. For dessert we have rice pudding with a cherry sauce and in the pudding an almond is hidden. The lucky finder of this almond gets a small gift. After dinner we gather around the Christmas tree to sing Christmas carols and dance hand in hand around the tree - well I suppose it's more a very, very slow walk than a dance due to all the food. And then we open presents.

Christmas Day we use to gather strength. And relax in general.

And then there is the Julefrokost on Boxing Day. More eating - a lot of fish dishes. Most of them cold. Like pickled herring. But we also have hot dishes like kale stew and cabbage stew with ham and/or meatballs (frikadeller). We also have spiced meat roll and leverpostej and finish the meal of with a lot of different cheeses. More singing - although this is highly connected to the drinking. We sing drinking songs like: "We toast with our friends and those we know. And those we do not know, we'll toast with them as well!" (Okay it rhymes a bit better in Danish...)
It's not all just eating, singing and drinking. We also make room for a walk - which is as needed as the 'dance' around the Christmas tree.

After Boxing Day we may or may not have a few more Julefrokoster before New Year. But otherwise we just relax. And make sure to exercise plenty!


Happy holidays.
Merry Christmas.
Glædelig jul.

Winter solstice

Tomorrow is Winter solstice.
For us - way up North...;-) - it means that it's the shortest day of the year. So after tomorrow we can look forward to more sunlight during the day. Which would be nice.

In the paradox that is Global Warming we have had some pretty chilly nights here in Denmark. At the island of Bornholm they experienced the coldest night temperature in December since before 1874 (and in general not since 1987) so it's been rather cold.
But that also means that the snow we had a couple days ago still is here. And it looks like it will still be here for Christmas Day.
I for one am still dreaming of a White Christmas ;-)

Winter Wonderland

Finally the snow came...





It's not really December - or winter - without it.
Childhood memories of me and my sister playing in the snow, making snowmen, sledding, engaging in snowball fights... Good times :-)

Nowadays it's more about candle lights, fires in the wooden stove, coffee (although in December a little gløgg might probably be consumed as well... ☺) - and of course shoveling the sidewalks and winter tires ☺.