25 December: A whisky for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer
Hazel Reardon is member of the administrative staff at the Department of Chemistry. She is from Scotland where she's going to celebrete Christmas this year in the traditional Scottish way – with a whisky on the side, of course.
The Omnibus Advent Calendar:
The Advent calendar is a treasured Danish Christmas tradition. In many families, kids get to open a small gift each day all December until Christmas Eve, when Christmas is celebrated.
Our small holiday gift to you is a chance to meet one of AU’s many international students and employees every day until Christmas.
All 24 will share where they’re spending Christmas this year, their favorite (and least favorite) Christmas traditions from their home countries, and what’s most annoying – or surprising – about Christmas in Denmark.
How are you going to celebrate Christmas this year?
This year I’ll be going home to Scotland with my husband and 1.5 year old daughter, where we’ll spend our Christmas holidays with our families.
On the 24th of December, we’ll hang a Christmas stocking in my daughter’s bedroom, and “Santa Claus” will fill it with clementines, chocolate and some crayons while she sleeps. Before she goes to bed, however, we will get her to leave out some whisky and a biscuit (for Santa) and a carrot (for the reindeer) on a plate next to the Christmas tree.
When everyone has woken up on the 25th of December, we all go in to the Christmas tree and see whether Santa (i.e. dad) has had some whisky and the reindeer (i.e., mum) has eaten some of the biscuit and carrot.
Then well open the gifts and have a nice breakfast before getting dressed in a nice outfit. We then have some time to play with our new toys (or drink a little champagne!) while we wait for the turkey. It takes the whole evening to eat dinner, where there is typically smoked salmon to start, turkey and vegetables for the main course and brandy pudding (a traditional fruit cake) or trifle for dessert. The cheese and port wine comes out a little later, and at the very end the survivors will have some whisky!
What is the best/worst Christmas tradition from your home country?
On the 26th of December, our family has a tradition of relaxing completely on the 26th, where we’ll lock the door, open some more champagne and eat until we’re full (again!) while we play a boardgame or watch a Christmas movie. It’s my favourite day of the year, and it’s the time we get to spend with our family that counts!
I really don’t like ugly Christmas lights with grotesque colours on houses or in the city. I think it’s way to much, and they are always turned out far too early. Less is more, and I think that (for the most oart) that Danes decorate their houses and offices in a really nice way with pretty paper decorations and warm wintery lights.
What do you think is most annoying about Danish Christmas?
It’s terrifying that people used real candles to decorate the tree… but I really like æbleskiver!
- Merry Christmas and lang may yer lum reek!
(The second part is an old fashioned Scottish New Years greeting – In Scotland we actually have more traditions at new year than at Christmas – and it directly means “long may your chimney smell”, implying that you hope that their fire is always burning.)
The Omnibus Advent Calendar:
The Advent calendar is a treasured Danish Christmas tradition. In many families, kids get to open a small gift each day all December until Christmas Eve, when Christmas is celebrated.
Our small holiday gift to you is a chance to meet one of AU’s many international students and employees every day until Christmas.
All 24 will share where they’re spending Christmas this year, their favorite (and least favorite) Christmas traditions from their home countries, and what’s most annoying – or surprising – about Christmas in Denmark.