“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”… If you have already heard these words with a melody in the streets, it means Christmas is almost here! It’s time to get gifts for your loved ones, time to bake gingerbread or ginger cookies, and time to plan Christmas Day with your family, friends, or loved ones.
In Denmark, when we talk about Christmas, it means candles, gløgg, marzipan, hyggeligt parties, and dancing around a real Christmas tree. It feels “very Danish,” especially if you’re new to Denmark. But have you ever heard the history of Danish Christmas before? Most of the traditions have been adopted or influenced by other cultures and shaped over the years. And today, many people are still shaping their Christmas traditions. Everybody is putting their own stamp on it.
It Wasn’t Always a Danish Christmas
You probably can’t imagine a Danish Christmas without a tree, cookies, Santa and gløgg, but actually that was the case not so long ago. Let’s go back in time…
Around the 1800s, the Christmas tree was imported from Germany, a tradition typically reserved for wealthy families and members of the upper class. But many of the decorations, like paper hearts and handmade ornaments, are shared by Scandinavian and German-Scandinavian traditions. For example, there is a classic woven pleated Christmas heart, called a julehjerter, and it became popular in the late 19th century.
The tradition of using tree candles can be tied to Danish culture, because rather than electric lights, they wanted to create warmth and a hyggelige atmosphere.
There’s also the Advent Calendar. The idea originally came from Germany and is more closely linked to German Lutherans from around the 19th century. Today, Danes prefer to use a calendar candle called kalenderlys. They open small gifts or chocolates starting from the 1st of December to Christmas Eve. Over the years, the use of the Advent Calendar spread from Europe to around the world.
How do you feel about Santa Claus? In Denmark, they call him ‘Julemanden’ (the Christmas man), but the character actually stems from American history, with the addition of Nordic folklore. For example, there is a Nisse, the farm guardian, who Danes believe protects against misfortune but demands respect, especially at Christmas. When I first moved here, it was almost Christmas, and Nisse was the first thing I bought for my new home.
Not to be forgotten is the traditional Danish Christmas dinner, which usually consists of roasted pork, duck or goose, with potatoes and red cabbage. It’s part of the Christian Jul and has been adopted over centuries, blending in pagan winter celebrations. And there is the infamous rice pudding, a tradition originally from France. In Denmark, it’s called risalamande with the addition of chopped almonds in it, as per Danish tradition. It became more popular when global trade became easier around the late 19th century.
You also see ‘Jul’ everywhere in December, it is the word of Danish Christmas, but it also has deep roots. Before Christianity, Scandinavians celebrated a mid-winter festival called Yule to embrace the return of the light after the winter darkness. When Denmark was Christianized (around the 10th –11th centuries), the pagan Yule overlapped with the Christian Christmas. Old winter rituals became blended with Christian feasting. What we can conclude is that traditional Danish Christmas is rooted in a long journey of cultural evolution, not necessarily ancient tradition, but instead a mix of pagan and imported elements.
In other words, Danish Christmas has always been international. It is a beautiful blend of imported traditions, made extra cozy and very Danish with the magic of “hygge”.
What Traditions Do Internationals Bring With Them to Denmark?
Denmark is known for its growing international community, many of whom have brought their own traditions with them:
Hungary: It’s the song that travels with you!
Xénia is from Hungary, and for her, Christmas doesn’t begin with decorations or food, but with singing: “No Christmas passed without singing ‘Mennyből az angyal’ with family,” she says.
Music is one of the most important traditions. You can lose your language a little, but melodies stay. In Danish apartments, Hungarian songs meet Danish carols, and somehow both feel at home.
Germany: Shoes filled with sweets and cinnamon stars
Jana, who is from Germany and has a Danish partner, keeps St. Nikolaus alive every year: “We fill each other’s shoes with candy on the evening of the 5th December, so that we wake up with a surprise on the 6th.”
St. Nikolaus is known for placing treats in shoes, and it is really common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and parts of Eastern Europe. Jana also bakes the German cookies she grew up with, like Heidesand Taler and Zimtsterne, recipes that carry both taste and memory.
Canada: Stockings on the morning of the 25th
Laura, who is from Vancouver, says, “I thought opening stockings on Christmas morning was something everyone did. But in Denmark, people looked at me like I was strange.”
She still keeps the tradition alive, even though Danish Christmas celebrations mostly happen on the 24th. The stockings they hang are deeply personal because they are handmade by parents with special decorations such as sequins and feathers. They are not expensive but sentimental. “They come out of the box every year, and we hang them on a bookshelf because we don’t have a fireplace,” Laura says. They fill them on the 25th with chocolates, magazines, socks, and an orange in the toe.
Turkey: I created my Christmas
This one is coming from me, Sudaay, because as a Turk I grew up in a country where Christmas is not celebrated. No stockings, no cookies, no Santa. When I moved to Denmark, I realized I didn’t have any “childhood traditions” to carry into December.
But I was always interested in Christmas, and I decided to start my own traditions: I have Advent calendars, lights, and lovely songs. Let’s just ignore the fact that I may have accidentally opened everything in my Advent calendar a bit too early. Next year I will be more careful, maybe.
Spain: Twelve grapes, good luck
In Spain, many families eat twelve grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve, one for every clock chime. It was meant to bring good luck in the new year.
Danielle, who lives on the island of Fejø, keeps that ritual alive every December: “We celebrate New Year here by eating 12 grapes with each dong, the Spanish way.”
Her daughter, now living in Copenhagen, has taken the tradition with her and turned it into a group activity: “She has convinced her work colleagues to join her this New Year when they finish their shift.”
What Else Do Other Cultures Blend With Danish Christmas?
Poland
For Polish people, Christmas Eve is often the most important part of the holiday, and many families prepare a 12-dish dinner called Wigilia. The meal is usually meat-free and has other dishes like fish, pierogi, and beet soup. Before eating, the family shares a thin wafer called opłatek and exchanges wishes for health, luck and peace. It is a quiet and symbolic evening that focuses on togetherness, reflection and tradition.
Romania
For Romanians, Christmas traditions are more connected to religious rituals when compared with other cultures. Many people fast before Christmas, and internationals have carried their traditions to Denmark. While fasting, they avoid animal products until the holiday. When it is Christmas, singing starts, and families bake cozonac — a sweet bread filled with nuts, cocoa, or raisins. Romanians enjoy music, and they start their celebrations with warm melodies.
Ukraine
Ukrainians share similarities with the Polish in that they also enjoy a meal that often includes 12 dishes. It is a peaceful dinner with family, where it’s less about gifts and more about being together..
United Kingdom
British, Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish Christmas traditions often include fun and humour when compared with other cultures. Families pull Christmas crackers before dinner, wear paper crowns and eat mince pies throughout December. These lovely traditions bring playfulness, and from what I know from my British friends in Denmark, they celebrate Christmas in a wonderful way!
The Modernization of Danish Christmas
Throughout the years, Christmas traditions have evolved, and of course, some of the traditions have become more popular with the help of the media. For example, in 1962, Denmark aired the first TV Christmas Calendar, and since that day, TV Julekalender has become a nightly ritual, a true Christmas classic.
Around 1990, a Danish brewing company invented a modern Danish tradition called J-Dag, which is a Christmas beer day. Every year, on the first Friday of November, the new julebryg, (Christmas beer), is launched, marking the unofficial start of the Danish Christmas season.
What is a Danish Christmas in 2025?
The Danish Christmas is a tradition, influenced by many cultures and blended with ancient Danish pagan roots. Hence, the Danish Christmas does not consist of fancy decorations or religious rituals; the Danish version is simple, cozy, and family-centred, with candles and minimalism. It is their national reflection of hygge. Christmas in Denmark feels both local and global. It is part of the past but also connected with the future, and still reshaping itself through the influence of other cultures and everyday life, with each passing year. Glædelig jul og godt nytår!
References:
Nationalmuseet “Jul: historie, skikke og traditioner”.
Historie-Online “Juletræets historie”
VisitDenmark “7 delightful things to know about Christmas in Denmark”
Wikipedia “Yule and Christmas in Denmark”
Wikipedia “Risalamande”
Wikipedia “Pleated Christmas hearts”
British tradition of Christmas
Polish Christmas Eve dinner
