15 December 2015

Welcome, once again, to my Danish Christmas Advent Calendar! Every day I’ll be giving you a little peak into how our family celebrates Christmas here in Copenhagen.Do the Danes love Christmas? Um, yes – they even use the word Christmas as a verb… Vi juler! (We are ‘christmasing’!)

So get comfy, put your feet up, grab a cup of something warm, and prepare for an avalanche of hygge!

15 December 2015

There may be only nine days to Christmas but let’s put everything on hold because – just when the Danes are in the middle of stuffing themselves with æbleskiver and quaffing great quantities of snaps, julebryg and gløgg, they seem to stop for a moment mid-December and forget about Christmas for a few days (or at least a few evenings) and everyone is sat glued to the telly.  Why?  Um, because of the World Women’s Handball Championships.  And the Danes are c.r.a.z.y. about handball.  Not really surprising as the modern rules were made up by a Dane (a teacher at our local school) way back in 1898, and the Danes just seem to be very good at it.  Yep, interest here in Women’s handball is only surpassed by their interest in Men’s handball – when the nation will once again be glued to their tellys in January.

Will I be glued to the telly Wednesday night watching the Danish ladies in the quarter final? No, I’m not a handball fan (plus I will be watching the new Star Wars film!).  I get my kicks (as regular readers will know) from vinterbadning.  Winterbathing, skinny dipping in the Danish sea all year round!  Here’s a photo of me and one of my BFBBBs (Best Female Bathing Belle Buddies) from yesterday morning, about 8.30am, after our dip. See those smiles! Frozen on… 😉

You don’t have to look at a thermometer to know that the water is going to be cold. You can tell from the white frost on the bathing steps! But in case you’re wondering…it was minus 5c (24f) yesterday morning. What a way to kickstart your day!

Here’s one of my favourite photos from last year of the Christmas tree down at the bathing club. This year’s tree is also well pegged down with four tow ropes and has already survived the first of this winter’s storms!

The water has been really quite ‘warm’ so far this year – yet. But to give you an idea of how extreme it can get, here’s a picture from one of our swims in January (December, January and February are the coldest months of the year). Note all the white stuff. That would be snow and icicles on the steps… Yep, you don’t have to be mad to be a winterbather but it helps!

Handball, winterbathing or the new Star Wars film? Whatever you choose, may the force be with you!

See you tomorrow!

Diane