Hello everyone, I'm Alessandro from the Como Lake in Italy....
Hello everyone, I'm Alessandro from the Como Lake in Italy. I've been working in the Hospitality sector for a couple of dec...
I want to share some of our Christmas count down traditions. Because we count down – majorly!
In Denmark and in all the other Scandinavian countries we count down to Christmas. Not only with one calendar, but with a *bunch* of them. Probably to keep the mood up as the days get longer and darker – as they do all the way until the old “yule” on the 21st of December. Though of course, we count down to Christmas.
Some of these traditions are connected to the Christian faith and Christmas, some are connected to older traditions intermingled with modern Christianity, and some are purely commercial. Obviously. Its Christmas!
Scandinavia isn’t very religious, we are culturally Christian, a majority of people (something like 73%) would call themselves personally Christian, but only a minority believes that Jesus actually came back on the third day (around 27%). Religious institutions don’t play a major role in life in Scandinavia, but Christian culture and traditions play a large role, often only loosely connected to their religious roots.
Here are the ways we count down to Christmas in my family:
The “advents krans”. This is a wreath made of fir branches and red ribbon with 4 white candles, and you light one every Sunday in advent. Norway does the same thing, but the candles are purple (which is the ecclesiastical advent color) and are typically places in circular holders on the table. These days I have electrical candles in mine as I tired of stearin on the carpet under the wreath. I think Sweden does something similar, but the ones I could find online has 5(?) candles. Not sure how that works…
The “advents lys”. A big white block candle with numbers and typically a “nisse” on them. We try to burn a number each day, but typically fail.
The “advents stjerne” (can you see a pattern here?). A paper or metal star with light in it that we hang in the window.
The “jule stage”. An electrical light with 7 candles that we place in the window. This is called the “Swedish” jule stage and apparently symbolizes the 7 days it took to create the earth.
The “jule kalender” TV series. Each TV channel with any respect for themselves make one, and then its always a discussion which one the family will watch, or if the family would rather re-watch an old “jule kalender”. Episodes are released on the day, 24 in all, and are often accompanied by a physical calendar with a door for each day, or maybe even collectables. This year’s is Tinka, and every kid has a red Tinka hat, collects the collectible cards, got the bed sheets, the lunch box, the socks and the gloves. My kids didn’t get the Tinka necklace and I think I’ll be punished for it until next season when there’s something else they also won’t get (they also didn’t not get the bed linens or the lunch box or the socks or the gloves).
The ”jule sokk”. A Christmas stocking. Often combined with an advent or Christmas calendar, so you get a gift in your stocking either every Sunday or every day. Not a Scandi tradition me thinks, but happily integrated!
The “jule kalender” or “advent kalender”. Either something you buy, or something you make. My kids have chocolate and lego calendars they open a door in each day, some have calendars their parents made for them (omg too much work).
The “lussekatter” baking. This is only for the 13th of December, Saint Lucia day, where we also bake yellow saffron buns. Of course.
The “drille nisse”. Sort of a variety of the Elf on the Shelf, but we can’t see the “nisse” (i.e. its not an elf we place around the house), and has its roots in old Scandinavian folklore. They move in around the first of December, and you’ll know he’s moved in because he’ll build a little door somewhere in your house.
The nisse is an old creature that lives on a farm, and takes care of the farm, in particular the animals. A way of keeping the nisse happy is to also take care of the farm, its animals and its surroundings. Some people believe that the nisse is the first farmer on the farm, who might have been buried in a mound on the farm, and he continues to keep an eye on the farm and its inhabitants.
In old Norse traditions, we have people living under ground, under our houses, which is why – for example – you should never throw boiling water on the ground outside. You might hit one of them! And they will get angry, and you will live to regret it. They might get your animal to kick you, or kick the milk bucket, or in other way harm you – but often most not harm the animals themselves.
“Drille” is to tease, so the “drille nisse” can be both nice and naughty. If you’ve been good to the farm and the animals, then he’ll be nice to you. Our nisse is mostly nice, he’ll sometimes leave a gift, he might draw kitty faces on the kids as they sleep, or he might build a snowman during the night that he asks you very pretty to take care of the next day (but sadly its already melted, what will the children do to make the nisse happy again?!?).
(if you look carefully, you can find a little nisse hiding behind the stepping stone in front of the door)
And so goes the days! Christmas soon?!?
