Ultimate Guide to Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Denmark

If you are looking for how to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Denmark with what to wear, which New Year’s Eve food to eat and all the details about both indoor and outdoor fireworks, you have come to the right place. I am about to celebrate my 8^th New Year’s Eve in Denmark, and though they have all been very different occasions, Denmark is truly one of the best places to celebrate New Year’s Eve for families!

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My History with New Year’s Eve in Denmark

It was back in 2007 when I spent my first New Year’s Eve in Denmark. My husband and I were dating at the time, and he brought me back home with him to meet his family and spend the holidays with them. This was my very first trip to Denmark, so it was all very exciting and special.

My husband grew up on the small island of Als that is very close to the German border. Though he lived his entire life up until that point in southern Denmark, his mother came from the larger island of Funen (Fyn) and his father was from a town not far from where we live now in central Denmark. To say that his childhood experiences with holidays and food were a mixture of many traditions of these three regions is logical, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you that for sure.

Being an expat now and starting to make my New Year’s Eve traditions in Denmark with my family, I am having to rely heavily on what it is that my husband has experienced. It is from this new knowledge base that I am sharing all of my tips with you for having the best New Year’s Eve in Denmark!

Learn about more Danish Holidays HERE!

How to Have a Danish New Year’s Eve

For all of our Danish New Year’s Eves, we have spent them as a family, so if we are with other people they are either family or friends with children. We don’t go crazy with drinking or celebrating because we have small children around, and we like to stick to traditional methods of celebrating any Danish holiday when we can.

If you are like us and want to get the most out of your New Year’s Eve in Denmark, I would suggest that you use the following checklist when planning your perfect December 31^st of any year. Here are 10 Steps to Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Denmark that you might find will be great, new traditions for your family this year!

Before we start, you have to learn how to say “Happy New Year” in Danish! You will definitely need to use this phrase at least once on the 31st, so it would be good to practice! “Happy New Year” in Danish is “Godt Nytår” (pronounced ‘got new door”. Just don’t make it a HARD “r”.)! Keep this for later!

1. What Families Wear During New Year’s Eve in Denmark

Since New Year’s Eve is a special holiday, it makes sense to want to dress up. This is completely up to you! Many Danish families will wear nicer clothes than if they were just having a normal meal at home, but that might all depend on the family and where/with whom you will be spending the holiday.

Big Cities in Denmark / People without Kids

If you are going to be alone with your family at home, you can go as crazy or as calm with your attire as you want. However, if you are inviting people to spend New Year’s Eve with you, chances are that you will dress in party attire. Some will get as fancy as you can imagine with suits and party dresses, but that is not how we roll! We have never been to a party like that! Perhaps that is more of a “Copenhagen New Year’s Eve” kind of thing! 😉 …or perhaps a “New Year’s Without Kids” kind of thing.

Small-Towns in Denmark / Families with Children

Where we have celebrated New Year’s Eve on Jutland (Denmark’s peninsula called “Jylland”), men might wear a jacket and tie, but if they don’t feel like wearing dress pants, jeans can be acceptable. Women might wear a skirt with a nice top or even a dress. Again, it all depends on the personal style of the family.

Learn how to Dress Like a Dane in this video!

For my family, we will go the jeans route for the most part, but we will all wear nice shirts. I never seem to have enough reasons to wear a dress, so I might even put one on. The only reason I might decide to wear pants would be the fact that most people spend part of their New Year’s Eve outside, so dresses don’t always offer warmth on a cold evening in December in Denmark.

To play it safe, it would be a good idea that you discuss this with those you will be spending New Year’s Eve with in order to get a better idea of the attire!

2. What Families Eat for New Year’s Eve in Denmark / Danish New Year’s Eve Food

There tends to be some similarities with food when you look at Denmark as a whole country, but the meal for New Year’s Eve can also differ depending on the interests of those hosting the party. We live in a rather traditional area of Denmark, where it is very uncommon for people to do anything other than what is expected. However, we don’t tend to spend our New Year’s Eve with these locals, so we don’t worry so much about keeping up with appearances.

The traditional Danish New Year’s Eve food is baked fish, preferably cod, with boiled potatoes and creamed kale. We usually fulfill this since I am a vegetarian and only eat fish, but we do make other changes to this traditional menu.

Our Menu for New Year’s Eve in Denmark

Our menu tends to include more pork than fish. We seem to have sausage as the main meat choice or some type of pork product, and in addition to the side dishes that I mentioned, we also will have Danish tarteletter. These are similar to chicken pot pies, except that they only have chicken and white asparagus. They are so Danish! In fact, we were never able to find the pie shells for them when we lived in the USA. Since I am a vegetarian, we would also make some without the chicken. Instead, we would add peas and carrots. Yum!

3. New Year’s Eve Dessert and Drinks in Denmark

No holiday would be complete without a special, Danish dessert that is eaten on New Year’s Eve. The “kransekage” is a marzipan cake that resembles more of ring cookies of various sizes, stacked on top of each other to create a cone shape. They have icing drizzled on top of each cake in a zig-zag motion with chocolate bottoms. They may also be decorated with Danish flags. Don’t forget the flags!

Instead of having this shortly after the meal like most desserts, the “kransekage”is often eaten closer to midnight and accompanied by champagne. Kids can also enjoy their Danish New Year’s Eve dessert with a special children’s champagne that is most likely a type of sparking apple juice. Other alcoholic beverages will be consumed throughout the night depending on the crowd. I will talk more about that later.

Learn how to make a Traditional DANISH Layered Strawberry Cake HERE!

4. New Year’s Eve Table Decorations and Indoor Fireworks

When setting your table for your New Year’s Eve dinner, you are most likely going to be using a nice tablecloth and your fine dishes. This is, after all, a special occasion, so a pretty table is a must! However, the one difference between a New Year’s Eve table and any other holiday table is the fireworks.

No! Not REAL fireworks. Calm down!

Are you looking to rent a car during your stay in Denmark? See all the deals at Rentalcars.com!

Party Poppers

In Denmark on New Year’s Eve, the grocery stores will sell a package of indoor fireworks, which usually consist of party popper that have a small bit of gun power in them and shoot confetti when you pull on a string.

Indoor Fireworks

Another “standing firework” is like a thick piece of dynamite. You light the fuse on the bottom, the top explodes off with confetti and rolled up paper crowns coming out. These crowns are so much fun to wear for the rest of the night, especially if you have been drinking! 😉

See more of the indoor fireworks in action in my YouTube video on Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Denmark!

Streamers

There are also other items that are not fireworks that you can use to celebrate the New Year at your table. One of them is streamers. These are rolled up ribbon that you can throw up in the air to unravel them. Mixed with the confetti from the fireworks, you should have a pretty messy table if you do it right!

5. The Queen’s Speech and Changing of the Guards in Denmark on New Year’s Eve

Changing of the Guards

Perhaps, the very first thing you need to do on New Year’s Eve in Denmark is watch the Queen’s speech. If you turn you TV on around 5:30pm, there will be a couple of newscasters commentating on New Year’s Eve activities in front of the Queen’s palace. Shortly before 6pm, they will show the changing of the guards in front of the palace, which is always a really cool thing to see.

Queen’s Speech

After the guards have been changed, Queen Margrethe II will give her annual New Year’s Eve speech to the Danes of the world. I say this because she doesn’t only address those living in Denmark, she also has a nice little message for those who are living outside of Denmark. This was always something that my husband appreciated when we lived in the USA. He liked that she remembered “him”. 😊

She, of course, talks to all the people living in Denmark, because she is cool like that, so I feel that she talks to me too. The queen will tell all about what has happened over the course of the year in Denmark and throughout the world and gives her well wishes for the next year! It is very sweet, so be sure to watch that on New Year’s Eve!

This is also a great time to have a glass of wine and maybe a few appetizers!

6. Comedy Show Just Before Midnight on New Year’s Eve in Denmark

Another not-to-miss TV moment is the show “90 års Fødselsdag”, which is also one of my husband’s personal favorite traditions of New Year’s Eve in Denmark. I like that it is a show in English, so it is pretty easy for me to watch and enjoy, too!

This show is from the 1960s. There is an older woman who sits at a table with all empty seats. She acts as if all of the guests are actually at her birthday party and able to enjoy the meal and drinks with her. Instead, her butler goes to all the spots at the table and pretends to be each of the “guests” at the birthday party. The funny part is that this guy has to drink all of their drinks, which gets him pretty drunk rather quickly.

It isn’t a very long show, but it will be on TV just before midnight. You may want to check your TV schedule for this one to be sure you are able to find it in time. You could also find it on YouTube under the name “Dinner for One” if you can’t find it with the Danish name. It is all in good fun, and I am sure you’ll enjoy it!

7. Copenhagen on New Year’s Eve at Midnight

Copenhangen’s town hall square is the place to be if you want to be where all the action is. It is very much like being in Time’s Square to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve in New York City. That is one of the best places to celebrate New Year’s Even in Copenhagen. Here you can countdown to midnight and hear the bells of the clock as they chime in the new year!

The town hall is also where you will see the most fireworks, which seems to be a crazy amount in an area that doesn’t have much open space. The world’s second-oldest amusement park, Tivoli Gardens, is also across the street from the town hall in Copenhagen, and it has many different firework displays not only on New Year’s Eve but also throughout the year. This would be another great place to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Copenhagen.

Check out what Tivoli looks like at Halloween!

New Year’s Eve in Denmark During Lockdown

Unfortunately, Denmark was in a lockdown during New Year’s Eve 2020 due to the corona virus. Many of these areas were closed on December 31, 2020. Luckily, the average adult living in Denmark could still buy fireworks. These had to be lit from the safety of his/her own street/neighborhood, so the celebration wasn’t completely locked down! People were also extra safe and just watched the fireworks from their TV at home. I know that it took some of the fun away from freezing your tushy off to get the full experience, though.

8. Jumping into the New Year

I have to say that I don’t remember ever doing this! Apparently, some Danes will actually stand on chairs and jump into the new year.. I had too much wine by that point in the night, or it was never something that my Danish family did. I will have to try and remember to do that or at least, to tell my kids to do that in the future! Perhaps, my husband just forgets to tell us about it every year!? That could very well be the case! 😊

(2020 Update: The kids hopped into the New Year and loved it!) 

9. Choir Sings on TV a Danish New Year’s Eve Song

What else happens at 12 o’clock after all the fun mentioned above? Well… now, it is time for a little song. The Danish New Year’s Eve song is called “Vær velkommen, Herrens år”, and on the TV station called “DR”, you can hear the Girls’ Choir sing the song. This is another lovely Danish New Year’s Eve tradition that is a “must”, in my opinion.

I love singing, and since “Auld Lang Syne” is not something they sing in Denmark, it is a fun way to be more Danish by learning their New Year’s Eve song! If nothing else, you can just have a listen while you sip your champagne and eat your kransekage!

Learn to sing the Danish Birthday Song from this video!

10. Fireworks in Denmark at Midnight on New Year’s Eve

To be quite honest, you can actually see and hear fireworks earlier than on New Year’s Eve. In fact, people are allowed to light fireworks in Denmark from December 27th to after midnight on New Year’s Eve. I tend to hear them almost every day leading from December 27th to New Years in my neighborhood from the neighbors who decided to buy their own ahead of time. (In Denmark, it is only okay to light off the fireworks from December 27th to January 1st! It is illegal to set off fireworks during other days.)

In fact, many grocery stores will sell smaller fireworks, while tents that sell the bigger fireworks can be found just outside of towns or in the lots of larger stores. It is not hard to find fireworks in Denmark, so many people buy them to create their own light displays to blast in the new year!

Normally after all of the indoor traditions are celebrated on New Year’s Eve, people in Denmark will go outside to start lighting the fireworks that they have bought. You don’t need to go to a special place to find them. They are everywhere. It is also very important to be safe during New Year’s Eve, so make sure to get some protective glasses if you are going to be playing with fireworks this New Year’s Eve! 🙂

Last year, I was able to spin myself in a circle to watch fireworks from all directions. That is how crazy it was with fireworks in my neighborhood! Crazy, but awesome if you love fireworks.

They also lasted a very long time. It could be a good ½ hour to hour of standing outside to watch the show your neighbors and other people in your area put on, so be sure to dress for the weather. Expect to be out there for quite a while!

Warnings for New Year’s Eve in Denmark

Before you get yourself ready to bring in the new year, listen up! You also need to know about what else happens in Denmark that night. In my neighborhood, it has always been recommended to us that we take down our mailbox before the night gets started.

This is because local teens feel a bit crazy and decide to blow up mailboxes with firecrackers. We don’t tempt fate and just decide to take down the mailbox every year to avoid a potentially bad situation.

There may also be those who decide to “borrow” things from your front porch or “accidentally” leave toilet paper in your trees. Toilet-Papering is such an American thing, that I was surprised when I saw it last year at our house. Come to think of it; ours was the only house to have been blessed with the holy paper roll. Perhaps, the neighbor boy was poking fun at the American house?! Hmmmm…..

Either way, I would talk with your neighbors if you are new to the neighborhood. They might have some warnings for you on New Year’s Eve that you might not have thought of!

Godt Nytår, Allesammen!!

If you take the time to plan out your New Year’s Eve dinner, fireworks and activities ahead of time, you are sure to have the best New Year’s Eve celebration in Copenhagen, Jylland or any other place in Denmark this year! I wish you a very pleasant New Year’s Eve and Godt Nytår!

Check out my YouTube video to learn more about New Year’s Eve traditions on the island of Als in Denmark.

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