I grew up in Denmark, and that means I grew up Lutheran (although I admit that my family wasn't the most conscientious of church-goers).
We celebrated Christmas proper on the evening of December 24th, but that's not when Christmas began. On the very first day of December, we would get out our Christmas calendar and we would get presents everyday, from the 1st until the 24th.
We also had a Christmas tree; it was usually a natural tree that we would put up shortly before Christmas and would keep up longer, I think, than most people in Canada. We would decorate it with candles if we could get away with it (although I don't think you could do that now) and with homemade crafts. Little paper baskets braided into heart shapes were very typical, as were strings of small Danish flags. Danes use their flag in a very different way. It's used for personal celebrations, whereas the Canadian flag seems to be more about national pride.
There was always some sort of fancy meal, but it varied from year to year. One year it might be duck, and the next ham. On Christmas Eve, or sometimes the day before, we would have a rice pudding with a whole almond hidden in it somewhere. If you were the one who found it, you got a special gift. It was usually something small, like candy or a marzipan pig.
We always went to church on Christmas, and it would be a family service because most people came to church on Christmas but not much otherwise. It was usually in the afternoon so that the evening was free for family meals and the rest of the celebrations, although there was also a service Christmas morning for those who took their faith seriously.
When my mother was a child, Christmas was a big celebration with all kinds of family. But by the time I came around, much of that family was gone or scattered across the country. I know that from a Canadian standpoint Denmark seems small, but when you live there, going from one side of the country to the other seems like a long way. So for me, Christmas was spent with my immediate family.
I think my first Christmas in Canada was the year I spent with my wife Lily's parents. On Christmas Eve no one was home. They were all out doing their own things-strange things, I thought-some related to Christmas and some not. Not gathering together for Christmas Eve was strange to me, but that's just sort of the way it was. They were all very busy at church, but not so much at home. So Lily and I had Christmas together with no one else there.
I don't think I can pick out one thing as my favorite part of the season. I really enjoyed putting up the tree and getting into the Christmas spirit, but Christmas is a whole package. You can't take it apart. – as told to Connie Purvis
