Merry Happiness


It's the Eve of Christmas and in my small Nordic country, the holiday celebrations happen all day today.

It is Danish tradition that gifts are opened and shared tonight.

The Long Long Day

Of course, gift opening doesn't happen until after an – in the eyes of children –  excruciatingly long day. This day is filled with relaxed time with ones loved ones.  Things such as mulled wine, fruits, and baked goodies are partaken of until it's time to eat (!) Christmas dinner.

This year my family will be enjoying roast duck (for the meat eaters) and roast stuffed squash and mushroom (for the veggie-eaters).

Dessert is the traditional rice á la amande (almond rice pudding) with cherry sauce. In one of the servings a whole almond is placed, and the person who finds it in their portion wins the almond prize.

After dinner, singing and dancing around the Christmas tree commences, and when everyone has sung and danced through the beloved traditional songs, gifts are passed out and opened.

Have a lovely day, I'm off for some family time!

Cheers!

Comments

Signe said…
It was nice to read about Danish Christmas habits, Lise! :) We have many similarities here in Finland - except that we do not dance and sing, at least not in my family.
María said…
In Spain the traditional day fit gifts is the 6th January, the Three Wise Men. You can see the Nativity's trisection in squares and homes ask around mixed with the Christmas tree, where children put their shoes for St Nicholas to put their gifts inside.
We'll see what we have for dinner tonight.
Happy Christmas from Scotland! ¡Feliz Navidad!
LisaLise said…
Hi Signe, I didn't know the Fins didn't sing and dance around the tree. Interesting! Is there another ceremony that is done before passing out and opening gifts?
LisaLise said…
Hi María - The 6th of January is also celebrated in Sweden - kind of. It marks the official end of Christmas. How interesting about the shoes! If memory serves me correctly, the Russians also have a tradition of receiving gifts from Father New Year in their shoes. Hope you had a wonderful Xmas Eve!
Signe said…
Every family have their own traditions, I guess. But in my family we first eat our rice pudding with cranberry soup("joulupuuro" in Finland) as lunch, then we go to the graveyards and lit some candles, after that we usually eat our Christmas dinner and after that is Santa's turn to come with presents. And because we are Finnish, we must have sauna before going to bed.
LisaLise said…
Hi Signe - cranberry soup with rice pudding sounds fantastic ! I especially love the idea of a sauna before bed! Wonderful!