An Expat's Guide to Living in Denmark,  Danish Holidays,  Living Abroad,  Personal Experiences

Countdown to Christmas in Denmark

For many people around the world, December is known as the month of Christmas, so it is very common to see Christmas decorations, hear Christmas music and even start to see those Christmas sales everywhere. Denmark is no exception, and in fact, Denmark LOVES Christmas! In fact, the Danes love to celebrate Christmas so much that they have many fun ways to count down to Christmas Eve!

Countdown to Christmas in Denmark!!

As a child growing up in the USA, I always had some type of countdown-to-Christmas chart. It was usually something that I had made with paper at school. I somewhat remember gluing cotton balls on Santa’s beard for each of the days of December leading up to Christmas day. Very creative…I know! The Danes like the idea of counting down to Christmas, but they do things a bit differently.

Getting ready for Christmas might mean stocking up on a few things. In Denmark, one thing in particular would have to be candles. I have always had candles in my house in the USA, but they seemed to be more for decoration than for lighting. In Denmark though, we practically light candles for every supper and special meal throughout the year, but when it comes to Christmas, there are even certain types of candles that get used more often. I never imagined that we would go through so many candles in all my life, but to be honest, it is kind of nice. 

However, to be prepared for Christmas, not just any old candle will do. You need to know which ones are used for what!

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Advent Calendar Candle (Kalenderlys)

If you live in Denmark, you will often see the advent calendar candle (or “kalenderlys” in Danish), which is a large candle that has numbers on it starting at the top with one and working its way down to the number twenty-four. These numbers go with the days of December that lead up to Christmas, so it is important to light the candle daily to let it burn down to the next number. This is a fun way to count down to Christmas, and it is a nice way to put more Danish “hygge” into our dark nights. We usually burn it during supper.

Kalenderlys i Danmark (Advent candle in Denmark)

Four Candles of Advent

Now, I know that lighting a candle for each of the four Sundays in advent is not just something that is done in Denmark. In fact, we also did this when we lived in the USA. Our church also had a special holder for all the candles.  I know for sure, however, that not all Americans are accustomed to having these types of candles, but they are very common in Denmark.

Advent candles for Advent Sundays

When I think of advent, I think of church, but I would not say that Denmark is a religious country, by any means. In fact, I have met very few Danes here who seem quite comfortable with God in any way, but they don’t mess with tradition. It could also be that they just love lighting candles. Either way, I appreciate all of the different types of candle holders that I have seen here. We even have two in our house this year just for advent. Does that sound a bit over-the-top to you? It sounds “hyggeligt” to me! 🙂

Hanging Adventskrans (or advent wrreath) with 4 candles

Advent Calendars in Denmark

There are other ways to count down to Christmas in Denmark, and one that we just love in our house is the advent calendar. Again, we used advent calendars in the US every year, so this tradition wasn’t new to us. Most of the time, we would get the chocolate-filled ones found in any grocery store. They would be made out of cardboard and about the size of a cereal box, but not as thick. There would be a Christmas theme on them with small windows that had the numbers 1-24 spread over each window in a very random order.



During the days of December leading up to Christmas Eve, you would open one door a day and take out the chocolate. I think we looked at these as being a German thing, and I actually think that the idea did come from Germany. No matter where they originated from, Denmark is fully on board with them as well. You will find a large variety of different types of advent calendars in most grocery stores, but they have branched out to toy stores and even toiletry stores. Cool!

Chocolate Advent Calendars from the Grocery Store in Denmark

My American Advent Calendar Memories

I remember selling them as a fundraiser for our German Club back in the States. I shook my head at the few who would lose all sense of control and madly rip the box open to eat all the chocolate at once. It was clear that they just didn’t “get it”! This memory haunts me every year with my own kids, so you better believe that I put my boys’ calendars out of reach. Luckily, THEY get the point, so I don’t really need to worry.

However, there is one really important thing to keep in mind when it comes to advent calendars in Denmark. That is that you really need to get one before December 1st when you should start using it. I can’t begin to tell you how sad I was that I couldn’t give my kids a chocolate advent calendar during our first year in Denmark, because I waited too long to buy them.

When is it too late to buy an Advent Calendar in Denmark?

By Nov. 30th, they were all sold out. EVERY. LAST. ONE. Wtf, Denmark? I have never seen that before. Normally in the USA, you could still get one a few days later at a steal of a price. I didn’t want my kids to miss out, so I was still thinking that I would be fine, since it was November 30th. WRONG! If you want to get a calendar, you’d better get it early. The scarcity of the calendars may vary from year to year, but take my advice, “don’t press your luck”!

Because I wanted to keep up with our family tradition of opening the advent calendar, I decided to buy the only one I could find. It was a Playdoh one. It had four tubs of Playdoh that you could use right away, and behind all of the doors was a new tool to use with your dough. The kids really loved it. I had thrown out their Playdoh before we moved, so this was a good distraction on many nights before supper. All is well that ends well!

Playdoh Advent Calendar for all the Days in December until Christmas

Advent calendars aren’t just for kids! I have seen lots of different calendars that are perfect for adults as well. My husband has a beer advent calendar this year from the Thisted Bryghus in Denmark. There are 24 different, glass bottles of beer for each of the days in December before Christmas.

You can see my Thisted Bryghus Beer Advent Calendar Unboxing Video HERE!

There are also other fun advent calendars with toys inside like the Playdoh calendar. This year, my boys each have a LEGO advent calendar, which they got from St. Nick at the beginning of December. No… this isn’t a Danish thing, but a German tradition that I am passing on to my children from my own childhood. I’ve got to add a bit of me in these holidays too, you know!! 

Advent (Sunday) Presents

This leads me to Advent Presents which are presents that children get every day for 24 days or they can be presents that are given on each of the four Sundays of advent.

I, personally, think it is crazy to give my kids a present every day. I know that many people just give their kids small things, but I am SO not into that! My boys get an advent calendar with chocolate or one with a toy, but I don’t think they need anything else with that. What is the fun of Christmas if they are so used to getting presents for an entire month??? Some people are crazy, in my humble opinion.

Do my kids get advent presents?

My boys DO, however, get a present on every advent Sunday from their Danish grandmother. This is something that has been a tradition since they were born, so we don’t mess with tradition. Luckily, it is just a very small treat, toy or book, so it isn’t something that I feel takes away from the presents on Christmas. The boys really look forward to it every Sunday, and after all, it is the season for giving…right?

Are you interested in Danish holidays? Read more the Danish holiday of  Fastelavn!

Advents presents every Sunday from their Farmor (Grandma) in Denmark

Christmas Calendar Show

Another countdown method that the Danes are famous for would have to be their Christmas Calendar Shows on TV. When we lived in the USA, my husband had a DVD of a Christmas Calendar show that used puppets. It was all in Danish and made in the 80s. I’m sure it was really cool when he was little, but it didn’t grasp my attention. My kids were also not very thrilled with it. It could have been because they didn’t know Danish when we lived in the USA. Yeah…let’s say it was a language thing! 😉 I’m sure there were things that I watched as a kid that would bore my kids…right?



Nissebanden, a Danish classic, Christmas show

However, we DID get really involved with the Nissebanden show. It played everyday from December 1 to December 24 during the first year that we lived in Denmark. Each day, there would be a 25 minute segment of the show, so if you missed a day, you missed a part of the story. It just picked up where you left off each time. I thought that the idea of this was really kind of neat. I had never experienced a show quite like it before.

The Nissebanden show told the story of Santa’s elves and the man who was trying to steal all of Santa’s letters. There were no puppets in this show, but the elves seemed to be played by middle-aged adults in costumes. At first sight, it was a bit odd from the point-of-view of an outsider, but I got used to it and began to look forward to each episode.

Also from the looks of it, this show appeared to be made in the 1980s, but since it was apparently a Danish favorite, it was shown during a prime time slot of 7pm every night during December 2016.

Nissebanden i Grønland picture from juleweb.dk

New Christmas Calendar Shows Every Year in Denmark

Watching the calendar show is definitely a Christmas tradition that we have kept up all the years we have lived here. I don’t see us stopping anytime soon. This old version was the right mixture of corny and fun. They also have some cool, newer shows that have better effects, scenery and makeup. We tend to watch whatever is on DR1 at 7pm or 7:30pm, so we aren’t picky!

Perhaps the most famous (by Danish standards) of all Christmas Calendar shows is the one where the elves (nisse) speak a mixture of Danish and English. I have yet to see this version, so that just leaves me something to look forward to for next year! 🙂

Learn more about my Danish and American Christmas comparisons from my YouTube Channel, My New Danish Life!

December is Danish Hygge Month

Though the winter days are very short in Denmark, they don’t have to be dull. In fact, December is one of my favorite months in Denmark for the “hygge”. Who needs to go outside and find excitement when you can stay at home and spend your days getting ready for Christmas? These wonderful Danish traditions are great for the entire family? These Danish ways of counting down to Christmas are perfect for this Danish/American family! If you try them, you would see why!

Glædelig jul! -Merry Christmas!

What is your favorite way to count down to Christmas?? Tell me about it in the comments!!

If you liked this post, share it with someone who might also enjoy it! Tis the season for sharing! 😊

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Hi! I'm Kelly, an American mom and wife to a Dane. After deciding to move to rural Denmark in 2016, I decided to share the highs and lows of expat life in Denmark with lots of fun family experiences and trips in Denmark to make it all a bit more interesting! :) Welcome to My New Danish Life!

15 Comments

  • Mette

    Your comment about the Christmas advent calendar being sold out, made me laugh so hard. I think everyone has tried that or something similar, where something holiday related is sold out days before. I know I have 😅
    Love your story telling, it is fun to se how others see us and our traditions. Will recommend that you see The Julekalender, if you have not seen it yet, it is so much fun.

    And our children will get gift every day of December from our Nisse. It is not about big expensive things. But often something they need anyway. Pensils for school, erasers, socks, a new fun toothbrush, mixed with small candy, cookies, small toys, little books etc. The look on their faces and the joy each day of December as they check if there is something in their stocking, is so worth it.

    Also loved your video on Pebernødder. It is such a traditional thing that I had no problem with the recipe and what to do, and like your svigermor, I knew the problem right away. Everyone grows up making them, so it is just asumed no direction is needed. I can not help smile about that. I am glad you figured it out, and wow such a big batch. You must have been rolling little balls forever 😳
    Also they are called Pebernødder, because old traditional recipes have real pepper in them.
    Hope you are ready for December, it is now you need to start preparing and shopping 😘

    • Kelly

      Thanks for the kind words and all of your own stories. I am glad that I am starting to integrate and become a bit more Danish! 😉

  • Darla

    It is amazing how creative advent calendars have gotten in the US as well! We used to only have the little chocolate ones! This year, I got my son an amazing Marvel one with cute little figures in it! I love the Christmas candle idea. I wish we had the Christmas countdown show here! That sounds cute too! I love learning about traditions from other countries!

  • Jessica

    I have been to Denmark in the spring and I loved the trip. Some of these traditions are ones we see in Canada but I find it interesting that children would get gifts every day until Christmas. The closest thing I have seen to this is the small advent calendars where you get one chocolate or one tiny toy per day.

    • Kelly

      Thanks for reading, Jessica. Yes. I can be quite a bit with presents every day, but we do love the calendars. We follow all the traditions except for the everyday presents. It can be a lot of fun!!
      Kelly

  • erin

    Thank you for sharing! We were just in Germany for the first two weeks of December and it was nice to see and experience other traditions. (and I know what you mean about buying advent calendars ahead of time – I didn’t think about it until Nov 30th and it was hard to find any!)I like the idea of the advent candle you mentioned. We need to start that next year!

    • Kelly

      Thanks, Erin. I think it is true that once you start, it is hard to go back! 🙂 We were just in Germany last weekend for the Christmas market in Luebeck. It would have been funny if we were at the same place at the same time! 🙂 So close!

  • Denise

    That was beautifully told, thank you for sharing it! I loved traditions as well very much and with my son’s it was always watching all the Christmas movies old and new from Rudolph-the-Rednosed-Reindeer of course and all the others. We’d begin on December 1st up to Christmas Day and listening to Christmas music. I always tried to make this holiday very special because it was always a favorite of mine as a child and even as an adult. However, now that life changing moments happen its changed the way I see the holidays. My son’s are older and so far away from me it makes it so much harder. So definitely enjoy your moments and traditions now.. 🎄 Merry Christmas to you and your family ☃️

    • Kelly

      Thank you very much, Denise. We are loving so much about Christmas, but I find it hard to keep their attention with the boys getting older. I’ll try and hold on tightly to them for as long as I can! I know these years are precious. I hope you have a great holiday! 🙂
      Kelly

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