Jul

People in Denmark often have different views on Christmas, or "Jul" as we call it (the Christian word Christmas/Kristmesse never quite caught on in Scandinavia). The main festivities take place on the 24th of December (a normal tradition in Denmark is to have a big celebration the evening before the actual holiday). People go to mass either before noon or at midnight (the only time of the year the churches are full). In the evening people have a traditional dinner with their family (including grandparents, oncles, aunts and such). Afterwards they join hands around the Christmas tree and sing Christmas songs while walking around the tree. Afterwards, the presents are opened and sweets are served. People enjoy the company of their relatives until midnight mass or until they go to bed.

The christmas meal:
The most common meat eaten on this day is roasted pork with a crisp skin (the pork dates back to heathen times, where the largest pig would be sacrificed to Frey, the god of fertility). Other animals eaten on this evening could be duck or goose (newer tradition), some people (especially in southern Jutland) also eat sausage. To go with the meat, we eat two kinds of potatoes (boiled, and some roasted with sugar in a frying pan), red cabbage, and lots of thick brown gravy. The dessert is normally ris a' la mande (a Danish invention with a french sounding name), which consists of rice porridge, whipped cream and chopped almonds. In the ris a' la mande we put a whole almond, and the one who finds it, wins a prize (the dessert and the almond-prize is a rather new invention, not more than hundred years old).

All through the Christmas season people gather at christmas lunches, where they eat too much and drink "snaps" and of course strong Christmas beer. People also drink a lot of "gløg", which is warm red wine with chopped almonds and raisins. (Of course, members of the LDS Church do not drink.)

The Santa Claus figure is very popular in Denmark, due to the heavy American influence. The tradition of giving out presents has been popular in the broad population only for about a hundred years or so (this of course is also connected with the poverty among the masses before WWI). The still living traditions, which are very old, are the eating of the pork and red cabbage. Danish folklore contains a lot of superstitions and ancient rituals connected with Christmas, that I don't want to waste your time by naming.