Woop, woop – it’s here! 24 December and we are ready to say “God
Jul!”
I started off the day – as I do most days – with a skinny dip in the Danish
North Sea. The weather was actually very mild this morning…no wind, air
temperature 3c (37f) and water temperature 1c (33f). Best of all, after last
night’s snow storm and howling winds, the sun actually came out! 
Christmas in Denmark starts around 6pm on the 24th of December with
dinner.
Dinner consisted of roast duck, warm red cabbage, a fresh red cabbage and
carrot slaw, caramelised potatoes, boiled potatoes, warm potato crisps and lots
of yummy sovs (gravy).
(We needed a little breather before dessert so we opened some of the presents
– one by one – so that everybody can see who got what from whom.) Dessert – as
tradition dictates – was ris à l’amande (cold rice pudding with hot
cherry sauce). DS12 (Dear Son, aged 12) and my niece were this year’s winners
of the marcipan pigs!
Anyway, back to the present opening! Which, all in all, took about two
hours…
After that there was finally enough space for us to join hands and dance and
sing around the Christmas tree. This year we sang “Nu er det jul
igen!“, “Jingle Bells” and “Højt fra træets grønne top!” Before
collapsing into the sofa, digging into the konfekt, finishing off the
wine and downing a cold Danish Christmas beer…
God Jul! Merry Christmas!
Diane