An American Mom Living In Denmark Shares Their Super-Cute Christmas Traditions
And she says the holidays have never been more magical.
An American mom living in Denmark with is filled with “julefeber,” aka “Christmas fever!” Mom of three Ellie Owens moved to Copenhagen, Denmark with her family a little over a year ago. She recently posted a TikTok, sharing how exuberant and festive the country gets during the holiday season, noting that living in Denmark is a lot different than living in the United States this time of year.
“We’ve got julefeber over here! Love being able to participate in all these Danish Christmas traditions with our kids. I think it’s really wild how into Christmas everyone is here, even in the workplace! Which is somewhere that’s usually more neutral around the holidays in the US,” she wrote in the caption of her video.
First, Owens mentions how many Christmas markets there are to attend in the city, where she and her family eat aebleskiver (sweet, puffy pancake balls) and drink glögg (mulled wine).
“I really like the non-alcoholic one with raisins and almonds in it,” Owens says in a voiceover on the viral video.
Some other fun Danish Christmas traditions include an advent candle, which burns slowly each day. The kids also have their own advent calendars. “Everyone also has their own advent calendar here, and it’s not just chocolate. You can even find weird ones like this potato chip version,” she explains.
Instead of being consumed by, well, consumerism and heading to Target for a $500 Christmas decor haul, in Denmark, most families decorate with homemade decorations.
Instead of the polarizing Elf on the Shelf, Owens and her family have the Nisse doll who lives with them the entire month of December. “She does sweet and naughty things like Elf on the Shelf, but the kids can touch her and sleep with her. And they’re less concerned about keeping an eye on you if you’ve been good for Santa,” Owens says.
One of the more culture shock-worthy differences between the United States and Denmark is how workplaces celebrate the holiday season. “We try and go to all the Christmas parties, almost every workplace and school classroom has them. They really go all out and are extremely festive,” she explains while showing footage from several different holiday parties.
Another Danish tradition includes making a special dish on Christmas Eve called risalamande, which is a traditional Danish dessert made of rice pudding mixed with whipped cream, sugar, vanilla, and chopped almond served at Christmas dinner.
“Christmas has never felt more magical to me than living in Denmark with little kids,” she concluded.
Owens has spoken before about the magic of living in Denmark.
“Copenhagen is such a safe place. I leave my kids outside when I go in the bakery. I take my eyes off them at the playground, and I’ve even lost my wallet, someone returned it to my mailbox. And last, and certainly the best, I get to eat so many pastries. It’s safe to say after a year everything still feels dreamy,” she said in a previous video.
As per usual, commenters “cried in American” over how much more whimsical and stress-free the lives of the Danish appear to be.
This article was originally published on
