Danish Royal Family Christmas: 2003, 2004, 2006-2014, 2016-2023

[TLLK]

Thank you Muhler for taking the time to answer my question. ?

 

[Muhler]

My pleasure. ?

In pre-Christian times Christmas or rather Jul as it is called in DK, was also a time to commemorate the dead and that continued for centuries after Christianity found its way to Denmark.
So in many places candles were placed in the windows as a beacon for the dead, who liked to come visiting their relatives and homes on Christmas Night.
Some also laid the table for the dead to take their place and dine.
On the island of Bornholm they went so far as to sleep on the floor on Christmas Night so as to make room in the beds for their dead visitors. - The whole household slept on the floor that night, together. There was a sense of security in that; after all having the dead visiting could be a little unsettling!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (the 25th) was basically considered a “super-Sunday” where you were to rest, so all sorts of work, beside the most essential, was not allowed.
That included laundry. If you washed on Christmas Day and draped your laundry over the wicket (usually made from stone actually) to dry them: “If you dress the wicket on Christmas Day, you will dress a corpse within a year.” – I.e. someone close would die.
No wheel was allowed to turn on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As in no wheels at all! Cart-wheels, spinning-wheels, wheelbarrows, watermills and so on. If at all possible such wheels were put away, so they wouldn’t be turned by accident or by children. Otherwise it was considered work and a serious breach of the Commandments.
Women were not to sew on Christmas Eve; otherwise their fingers would swell up and remain swollen all through Christmas.

 

[iceflower]

The entry for December 5, today, is about the traditional Faroese Christmas meal.


** instagram ** kongehuset **

Confused after the journey from Denmark, the Santa girl suddenly feels a strong scent from a small warehouse. Because in there, Christmas food is prepared - but it is not rice porridge, the Santa girl states. Inside, she is met by a classic Faroese Christmas table with roast meat and root vegetables, and where there are also browned potatoes and gravy. The dark roast meat is air-dried lamb, which has been hanging to dry for months in drying houses close to the sea and subsequently cooked in the oven.

 

[Muhler]

Interesting.

The explanations on Instagram and on the DRF website are not identical.
The Instagram messages are more about the travel of the nissegirl, while the post on the DRF website is more background info.

What used to be a favorite dish on the Faeroe Island is ræstur fiskur which is basically fermented fish. And that... eehh... scent was among the signs of Christmas coming up!
- A somewhat acquired taste, I think.

Today duck and goose has in many cases taken over on the islands on Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow the nissegirl will visit the island of Streymoy where there is a Kongsgård = King's farm.
Such farms served as pitstops so to speak for the king or his representatives, when traveling through the realm. As such they were large enough to offer both suitable accommodation as well as being suitable well stocked.
It typically also served as a home for senior magistrate.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p...Zu1-tPp5HcR3FDQfZ6lfx_2UQd7N_ly7lAcIjWW2LcgDQ
https://www.greengate.fo/media/2966/12juli16_0008.jpg
https://res.cloudinary.com/nilles/i...roerne/hero_teaser/faeroeerne-mykines-fyr.jpg

-----------------------

Christmas presents or more correctly mid-winter presents go back to Roman times. In Denmark too that custom is ancient.
The presents could be a coin of silver or gold, or a cake and sometimes a piece of jewelry but mostly modest alms to the poor. There is an account from the mid-1500’s of a man who gave away presents to 187 persons. But 3-400 people being presented with a gift was not uncommon. In ordinary households the presents were relatively modest, but everyone got one presented by the head of the family. And it was carefully stated how much the present was worth. Your status in relation to the giver was proportional to the value of the present.
In old Germanic and Nordic culture giving away presents enforced your status and it cemented the bonds between the presenter and the recipient.
Children put a plate outside when it was dark and the next morning there would be a present for them on the plate – but if they had misbehaved there was none… - That was common around the year 1600.
The most solemn occasion on Christmas Eve happened when prayers had been said. Then a cup was filled and passed among all at the table, for all to have a sip. That was considered a Christmas blessing for all who were present.
People ate all through the evening on Christmas Eve, and no one wanted to be the first to stop eating, because it was said that the first to stop eating would die within a year. In contrast to the other warnings, this one was seemingly more in jest.
However, the Christmas table was not cleared until the Christmas celebrations ended twelve days later, until then the table was simply filled up. – That meant the straw on the floor would have been absolutely disgusting come 6th January!
If someone went outside and looked in through the window on the people who sat around the table, before Grace had been said, he would see that those who were to die during the next year, would sit at the table without a head!

 

[Lady Daly]

Interesting.

The explanations on Instagram and on the DRF website are not identical.
The Instagram messages are more about the travel of the nissegirl, while the post on the DRF website is more background info.

What used to be a favorite dish on the Faeroe Island is ræstur fiskur which is basically fermented fish. And that... eehh... scent was among the signs of Christmas coming up!
- A somewhat acquired taste, I think.

Today duck and goose has in many cases taken over on the islands on Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow the nissegirl will visit the island of Streymoy where there is a Kongsgård = King's farm.
Such farms served as pitstops so to speak for the king or his representatives, when traveling through the realm. As such they were large enough to offer both suitable accommodation as well as being suitable well stocked.
It typically also served as a home for senior magistrate.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p...Zu1-tPp5HcR3FDQfZ6lfx_2UQd7N_ly7lAcIjWW2LcgDQ
https://www.greengate.fo/media/2966/12juli16_0008.jpg
https://res.cloudinary.com/nilles/i...roerne/hero_teaser/faeroeerne-mykines-fyr.jpg

-----------------------

Christmas presents or more correctly mid-winter presents go back to Roman times. In Denmark too that custom is ancient.
The presents could be a coin of silver or gold, or a cake and sometimes a piece of jewelry but mostly modest alms to the poor. There is an account from the mid-1500’s of a man who gave away presents to 187 persons. But 3-400 people being presented with a gift was not uncommon. In ordinary households the presents were relatively modest, but everyone got one presented by the head of the family. And it was carefully stated how much the present was worth. Your status in relation to the giver was proportional to the value of the present.
In old Germanic and Nordic culture giving away presents enforced your status and it cemented the bonds between the presenter and the recipient.
Children put a plate outside when it was dark and the next morning there would be a present for them on the plate – but if they had misbehaved there was none… - That was common around the year 1600.
The most solemn occasion on Christmas Eve happened when prayers had been said. Then a cup was filled and passed among all at the table, for all to have a sip. That was considered a Christmas blessing for all who were present.
People ate all through the evening on Christmas Eve, and no one wanted to be the first to stop eating, because it was said that the first to stop eating would die within a year. In contrast to the other warnings, this one was seemingly more in jest.
However, the Christmas table was not cleared until the Christmas celebrations ended twelve days later, until then the table was simply filled up. – That meant the straw on the floor would have been absolutely disgusting come 6th January!
If someone went outside and looked in through the window on the people who sat around the table, before Grace had been said, he would see that those who were to die during the next year, would sit at the table without a head!

Fascinating! Very creepy but totally cool Danish Jul history. These daily installments are wonderful. I hope there will be more, esp with the Nisse visits throughout to Christmas but one can't get greedy A big thanks to Muhler, and also Eya and Iceflower.

 

[Muhler]

Fascinating! Very creepy but totally cool Danish Jul history. These daily installments are wonderful. I hope there will be more, esp with the Nisse visits throughout to Christmas but one can't get greedy A big thanks to Muhler, and also Eya and Iceflower.

There will. ?

I plan to post additional 15 segments about Danish Christmas superstition and old Christmas traditions.
They span over at least 700 years and varies from different parts of the country.

And some of them will be a lot creepier!

 

[iceflower]

Today, December 6, the nissegirl is in the village of Saksun:

Sheltered by high Faroese mountains, the village of Saksun is beautifully situated at the bottom of the valley Saksunardalur ? Here the Santa girl has decided to look for her brother. The view over the village reminds the Santa girl of the Queen's illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. In fact, she is sure that she must have almost ended up in Hobbitrup, where the hobbit Frodo Sækker grew up before he was sent on his own great journey and adventure.

** instagram post - December 6 **

 

[Countessmeout]

Not sure what I enjoy more the stunning photos, or the history ?

The most recent photos indeed could inspire some illustrations for LOTR.

 

[Nordic]

Not sure what I enjoy more the stunning photos, or the history ?
:

The rest of the history in the English translation

https://kongehuset.dk/den-6-december

Sheltered by the high Faroese mountains, the village of Saksun is picturesquely located at the bottom of the valley Saksunardalur. It’s here that the Elf Girl has decided to search for her brother. The view over the village reminds the Elf Girl of The Queen’s illustrations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. In fact, she is sure that she must have nearly ended up in Hobbiton, where the hobbit Frodo Baggins grew up before he was sent out on his own big journey and adventure.

But it is in Saksun that she has now landed, and, in the center of the village, the grass-covered king’s farm called Dúvugarðar has been situated in the green valley since the 1600s. It is quite conceivable that an elf from the Royal Danish House has settled down right here. She searches from top to bottom, but there is no Elf Brother to be found.

Suddenly, she remembers something about the drawing Crown Prince Frederik (the 7th) made of an old ruin. It looks exactly like a place where the Elf Brother could have a good time catching birds. She must look there – but, first, she will celebrate the second Sunday in Advent at the king’s farm. Because even though it has been a difficult journey, the Elf Girl will remember to enjoy December’s traditions.

 

[Countessmeout]

The rest of the history in the English translation

https://kongehuset.dk/den-6-december

Sheltered by the high Faroese mountains, the village of Saksun is picturesquely located at the bottom of the valley Saksunardalur. It’s here that the Elf Girl has decided to search for her brother. The view over the village reminds the Elf Girl of The Queen’s illustrations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. In fact, she is sure that she must have nearly ended up in Hobbiton, where the hobbit Frodo Baggins grew up before he was sent out on his own big journey and adventure.

But it is in Saksun that she has now landed, and, in the center of the village, the grass-covered king’s farm called Dúvugarðar has been situated in the green valley since the 1600s. It is quite conceivable that an elf from the Royal Danish House has settled down right here. She searches from top to bottom, but there is no Elf Brother to be found.

Suddenly, she remembers something about the drawing Crown Prince Frederik (the 7th) made of an old ruin. It looks exactly like a place where the Elf Brother could have a good time catching birds. She must look there – but, first, she will celebrate the second Sunday in Advent at the king’s farm. Because even though it has been a difficult journey, the Elf Girl will remember to enjoy December’s traditions.

Thank you


History major during my first college degree, but literature minor. I loved to study the folk lore of countries. This just makes me happy reading.

 

[Nordic]

Thank you


History major during my first college degree, but literature minor. I loved to study the folk lore of countries. This just makes me happy reading.

https://kongehuset.dk/nissepigens-julerejse-i-rigsfaellesskabet

Scroll down to the English translations in the daily posts

 

[Muhler]

More from Saksun, including the dramatic sky, that literally changes at least every hour.
https://backpackingtheworld.dk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/DSC_0302.jpg

A super high res photo of the Kongsgård: https://www.wildlensbyabrar.com/images/easyblog_articles/53/DSC03296.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe..._(2).JPG/1280px-Saksun,_Faroe_Islands_(2).JPG
The hamlet of Saksun:
https://d0150489a62428300c94-4d8653...dn.com/Hike-from-Tjrnuvik-to-Saksun_final.jpg
https://www.crushpixel.com/big-static7/preview4/church-saksun-112052.jpg
https://preview.redd.it/id5oadcq9qv31.jpg?auto=webp&84c6e980
https://iliveasidream.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/DSC08598.jpg
https://lightstalkeradventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Saksun-wide.jpg

------------------

A common term for the Christmas celebrations was “to drink Jul” – and that was very much taken literal! In a society where people were not at all against drinking, and where the ability to drink hard (until you dropped actually!) was admired, drinking alcohol was also a necessity due to the water often being unsafe to drink. As such everybody from child to the old were tipsy by bedtime, because even though the beer was pretty weak by today’s standard and people were more tolerant to the effects of alcohol, they did after all drink up to several liters of alcohol a day!
But come Christmas people drank in earnest!
Much to the consternation of the church, this also meant countless games and dances where young people met. Many of the games, not to mention the songs, were pretty lewd! – So by next autumn there tended to be born even more babies than on average…
Nevertheless these get-togethers involving young people were impossible to stop, because they were seen as a fine opportunity for young people to meet and perhaps marry. Far from all marriages were arranged. In fact it was mainly people who owned something or who were to inherit something, or who had ambitions (or simply out of necessity), who tended to go into arranged marriages. The relatively poor and the younger siblings on a farm could often allow themselves the luxury of marrying for love.

 

[eya]

CP Mary share pictures for the Christmas decoration in their home in Amalienborg

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIdzxEqAqzp/

 

[carlota]

Today, December 6, the nissegirl is in the village of Saksun:




** instagram post - December 6 **

i remember visiting an exhibition on Tolkien, where a letter of QM (back then princess) was exhibited among the many other celebrities who had written to him to thank him for his work. i am glad this resurfaced via the calendar!

 

[polyesco]

CP Mary share pictures for the Christmas decoration in their home in Amalienborg

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIdzxEqAqzp/

Lovely! Love the decorated tree outside
https://content.invisioncic.com/r38...humb.png.2efbf2b409051570c03f6860dc25794e.png

 

[eya]

Today 7 December:


" At long last, the Elf Girl finds her Elf Brother! She finds him at the ruin of St. Magnus Cathedral in the village Kirkjubøur on the island Streymoy. The ruin looks just like the drawing by Crown Prince Frederik (the 7th) from 1844 – a drawing that put the Elf Girl on the right track to her brother, and brought the two elf siblings together again after having been apart for 100 years."


https://www.instagram.com/p/CIfIuZuAUsd/

 

[Countessmeout]

More from Saksun, including the dramatic sky, that literally changes at least every hour.
https://backpackingtheworld.dk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/DSC_0302.jpg

A super high res photo of the Kongsgård: https://www.wildlensbyabrar.com/images/easyblog_articles/53/DSC03296.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe..._(2).JPG/1280px-Saksun,_Faroe_Islands_(2).JPG
The hamlet of Saksun:
https://d0150489a62428300c94-4d8653...dn.com/Hike-from-Tjrnuvik-to-Saksun_final.jpg
https://www.crushpixel.com/big-static7/preview4/church-saksun-112052.jpg
https://preview.redd.it/id5oadcq9qv31.jpg?auto=webp&84c6e980
https://iliveasidream.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/DSC08598.jpg
https://lightstalkeradventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Saksun-wide.jpg

------------------

A common term for the Christmas celebrations was “to drink Jul” – and that was very much taken literal! In a society where people were not at all against drinking, and where the ability to drink hard (until you dropped actually!) was admired, drinking alcohol was also a necessity due to the water often being unsafe to drink. As such everybody from child to the old were tipsy by bedtime, because even though the beer was pretty weak by today’s standard and people were more tolerant to the effects of alcohol, they did after all drink up to several liters of alcohol a day!
But come Christmas people drank in earnest!
Much to the consternation of the church, this also meant countless games and dances where young people met. Many of the games, not to mention the songs, were pretty lewd! – So by next autumn there tended to be born even more babies than on average…
Nevertheless these get-togethers involving young people were impossible to stop, because they were seen as a fine opportunity for young people to meet and perhaps marry. Far from all marriages were arranged. In fact it was mainly people who owned something or who were to inherit something, or who had ambitions (or simply out of necessity), who tended to go into arranged marriages. The relatively poor and the younger siblings on a farm could often allow themselves the luxury of marrying for love.

Thank you for all the history


You have inspired me for work this week. The kids always love stories, especially being stuck in the hospital around Christmas. No doubt they will enjoy the pictures and stories.

 

[Muhler]

Here are some pics of the ruined cathedral:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Kirkjubøur,_Faroe_Islands.JPG

And skt Olav Church from the 1200's. The bell tower is relatively new.
https://media.lex.dk/media/65336/standard_compressed_St._Olav_Kirkjubøur__4_.JPG
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Kirkjubøur,_Faroe_Islands_(6).JPG
And both churches together. The lump sticking up in the front is the remains of the chapel, that is where the corpses were placed before burial.
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/...osion+Foto+sva+2009+DSCN0650.jpg?format=2500w




That'll delight me. ?

Kids like to hear about something that is spooky, so I present you the Hel Horse.

One of the most terrifying beings you could meet on Christmas Night (or any other night for that matter!) was “Helhesten”, the Hell-Horse, or more correctly The Horse from the Realm of Death. Hel was the Nordic pre-Christian name for a kind of hell. While Hell is very hot! Hel is bone-chillingly cold and dark!
Hel was were serious offenders like arsonists, people who had committed incest, who had murdered members of their family without good reason, who had seriously annoyed the gods, or committed treason or been a coward ended up. In short: People without honor. – Acts like killing people or being generally violent was far from necessarily considered a vise in the Nordic world, mind you.
But back to our horse. When a new cemetery was founded, no one wanted to be the first one to be buried there! That meant seriously bad luck for your family. So instead an animal, usually a horse, was buried there first – alive…
First they chopped off one leg, presumably to prevent the poor animal from escaping, and then it was buried. Being buried neither dead, nor entirely alive, it was also thought the horse would somehow keep the ghosts in the cemetery inside the walls!
But being in a limbo between life and death the ghost of the horse walked around at night. Half limping, half dragging itself on its three remaining legs. A terrible sight, with the horse being half rotting away and with eyes that glowed. Basically a kind of zombie-horse.
If you saw that horse, you or someone close to you would die within (the biblical) 40 days!
So if you heard the horse drag itself along, you should close your eyes tightly, so you didn’t see it, and get away in a hurry! Because it was only the sight of the horse that meant death.
The horse is not an evil creature; it is merely a messenger from Death. Those who are not to die, will merely hear it… but that’s enough to seriously spook even the bravest!
It has happened that bones from a horse has been found in cemeteries and it is said that such a horse is buried under Roskilde Cathedral and at night you can sometimes hear it limp along on the cobbled stones in a nearby street.
The first accounts of a Helhest stems back from 1673.

Here are pics of the Hel Horse:
https://dcassetcdn.com/w1k/submissions/20011500/20011911_36b4.jpg
https://www.troldfolk.dk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Bech_Helhesten_800.png
And a modern, albeit incorrect depiction:
https://img.gamerjournalist.com/spa...merjournalist.com/primary/2020/11/Helhest.jpg

It was an absolute must that you cleaned out the stable and barn thoroughly and groomed all the animals up to Christmas. Ending with the teeth of the cows being rubbed with a mixture of salt and soot.
And on Christmas Eve all the animals got extra fodder. Perhaps as a penance for slaughtering and eating the fattest pig and the fattest geese on the farm, as well as the odd sheep and sometimes a calf. They were all destined to end up on the Christmas table. – Beef was the kind of meat most people ate during the year, not that it was something you got every day though, not even every week. (Denmark was until 200 years or so ago a cattle-country.) But pork was a far more rare dish, and as such something you looked forward to eat during Christmas.
But also the wild songbirds were treated to some grain.

The house itself was also cleaned, because the Christmas period was after all also the beginning of a new year. The whole house was turned more or less inside out on especially the 23rd December. In Danish called Little Christmas Eve.
The fruits-trees were decorated with straw-ribbons. “Tonight I thee dress (the trees). Come summer you bear (fruits) for me.”
In other places was common to shake fruit trees at Christmas chanting something like: “Rejoice, on this day Christ is born.” That should ensure a good yield next summer.
In some places the windows and doors were marked with a cross inside a circle. Which was actually the ancient (pre-Viking gods) sign for the sun-god.

Because everything had to be ready for when the church-bell (the Mary/Maria-bell) tolled for sunset, because that was the signal for the Christmas celebrations to begin.
And the first thing you did, (prior to circa 1550) was for the whole family to go to the bath-house of the farm, to wash and dress in clean clothes. – The public bathhouses were shut down in the 1500’s, mainly for moral reasons, but also because of syphilis and that meant people, especially peasants, were pretty filthy for the next 250 years!
Before then most people bathed once a week, on Saturdays. The under-clothes were also changed and washed once a week, while the outer garments were at best washed once a year, sometimes never.

 

[eya]

Today 8 December:

"At “Rigsarkivet” - the Danish National Archives - in Copenhagen, more than 800 years of Denmark’s history is compiled in kilometers of journals, records, pictures and diaries from all parts of the Realm. And when it comes to something that rhymes with their favorite dish “ris”, the elves at home in Denmark get on their toes. That is, they have become curious to learn more about Christian the 10th’s grand tour in 1921, since that was the motivation for why the two elf siblings ventured out into the world nearly 100 years ago. In the vast depots at the National Archives, the elves find Christian the 10th’s old diaries from the journey. Here, The King describes first the trip on the navy cruiser The Valkyrie to the Faroes and Iceland, and then the voyage on to Greenland aboard the chartered steamship Iceland"


https://www.instagram.com/p/CIhth7sAthF/

 

[Countessmeout]

Here are some pics of the ruined cathedral:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Kirkjubøur,_Faroe_Islands.JPG

And skt Olav Church from the 1200's. The bell tower is relatively new.
https://media.lex.dk/media/65336/standard_compressed_St._Olav_Kirkjubøur__4_.JPG
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Kirkjubøur,_Faroe_Islands_(6).JPG
And both churches together. The lump sticking up in the front is the remains of the chapel, that is where the corpses were placed before burial.
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/...osion+Foto+sva+2009+DSCN0650.jpg?format=2500w




That'll delight me. ?

Kids like to hear about something that is spooky, so I present you the Hel Horse.

One of the most terrifying beings you could meet on Christmas Night (or any other night for that matter!) was “Helhesten”, the Hell-Horse, or more correctly The Horse from the Realm of Death. Hel was the Nordic pre-Christian name for a kind of hell. While Hell is very hot! Hel is bone-chillingly cold and dark!
Hel was were serious offenders like arsonists, people who had committed incest, who had murdered members of their family without good reason, who had seriously annoyed the gods, or committed treason or been a coward ended up. In short: People without honor. – Acts like killing people or being generally violent was far from necessarily considered a vise in the Nordic world, mind you.
But back to our horse. When a new cemetery was founded, no one wanted to be the first one to be buried there! That meant seriously bad luck for your family. So instead an animal, usually a horse, was buried there first – alive…
First they chopped off one leg, presumably to prevent the poor animal from escaping, and then it was buried. Being buried neither dead, nor entirely alive, it was also thought the horse would somehow keep the ghosts in the cemetery inside the walls!
But being in a limbo between life and death the ghost of the horse walked around at night. Half limping, half dragging itself on its three remaining legs. A terrible sight, with the horse being half rotting away and with eyes that glowed. Basically a kind of zombie-horse.
If you saw that horse, you or someone close to you would die within (the biblical) 40 days!
So if you heard the horse drag itself along, you should close your eyes tightly, so you didn’t see it, and get away in a hurry! Because it was only the sight of the horse that meant death.
The horse is not an evil creature; it is merely a messenger from Death. Those who are not to die, will merely hear it… but that’s enough to seriously spook even the bravest!
It has happened that bones from a horse has been found in cemeteries and it is said that such a horse is buried under Roskilde Cathedral and at night you can sometimes hear it limp along on the cobbled stones in a nearby street.
The first accounts of a Helhest stems back from 1673.

Here are pics of the Hel Horse:
https://dcassetcdn.com/w1k/submissions/20011500/20011911_36b4.jpg
https://www.troldfolk.dk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Bech_Helhesten_800.png
And a modern, albeit incorrect depiction:
https://img.gamerjournalist.com/spa...merjournalist.com/primary/2020/11/Helhest.jpg

It was an absolute must that you cleaned out the stable and barn thoroughly and groomed all the animals up to Christmas. Ending with the teeth of the cows being rubbed with a mixture of salt and soot.
And on Christmas Eve all the animals got extra fodder. Perhaps as a penance for slaughtering and eating the fattest pig and the fattest geese on the farm, as well as the odd sheep and sometimes a calf. They were all destined to end up on the Christmas table. – Beef was the kind of meat most people ate during the year, not that it was something you got every day though, not even every week. (Denmark was until 200 years or so ago a cattle-country.) But pork was a far more rare dish, and as such something you looked forward to eat during Christmas.
But also the wild songbirds were treated to some grain.

The house itself was also cleaned, because the Christmas period was after all also the beginning of a new year. The whole house was turned more or less inside out on especially the 23rd December. In Danish called Little Christmas Eve.
The fruits-trees were decorated with straw-ribbons. “Tonight I thee dress (the trees). Come summer you bear (fruits) for me.”
In other places was common to shake fruit trees at Christmas chanting something like: “Rejoice, on this day Christ is born.” That should ensure a good yield next summer.
In some places the windows and doors were marked with a cross inside a circle. Which was actually the ancient (pre-Viking gods) sign for the sun-god.

Because everything had to be ready for when the church-bell (the Mary/Maria-bell) tolled for sunset, because that was the signal for the Christmas celebrations to begin.
And the first thing you did, (prior to circa 1550) was for the whole family to go to the bath-house of the farm, to wash and dress in clean clothes. – The public bathhouses were shut down in the 1500’s, mainly for moral reasons, but also because of syphilis and that meant people, especially peasants, were pretty filthy for the next 250 years!
Before then most people bathed once a week, on Saturdays. The under-clothes were also changed and washed once a week, while the outer garments were at best washed once a year, sometimes never.

Thank you

I have a few kids who will enjoy hel horse.


I always tire of all the happy jolly Christmas stories (love them but 6 weeks of them is too much). A bit of a spooky Christmas story is the best.

 

[eya]

Today 9 December:

"The elves have made a hard landing on top of one of Christian the 7th’s old cannons at the fortress Skansin in Tórshavn. Even though the Elf Brother has kept an eye on The Queen’s important Christmas packages all the way, some have mysteriously disappeared during the approach to the capital in the volatile Faroese weather. That is bad news, because just before the Elf Girl journeyed north, The Queen asked her to take good care of the gifts. The Queen made it clear to her that they may only be opened if the elves need help during the big Christmas journey. And help they could well use right now! So, they must go out and hunt for the packages. "


https://www.instagram.com/p/CIkSS6fADCq/

 

[Countessmeout]

Ooh need the rest of this story. My kids will love it as much as me. May have them draw a picture of what they think it is until we find out. Anything to distract them.

Muhler The hel horse was indeed a hit at work.

 

[Roskilde]

CP Mary share pictures for the Christmas decoration in their home in Amalienborg

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIdzxEqAqzp/

Thanks to Crown Princess Mary for those very beautiful Christmas pictures from the Crown Prince family's palace. You can clearly sense the Christmas mood. It's so nice Mary shares out private photos this way, thanks Mary

The pretty Christmas tree rug is a gift to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess from a Dane. They got the rug as a wedding gift and have been using it ever since. A few years ago, the woman who created the rug and gifted the Crown Prince Couple with it, saw on Facebook Mary's pictures and she was very happy to see the rug, so many years later, still is used and appreciated by the Crown Prince Couple.

Every year when Mary posts pictures of the Crown Prince's family’s Christmas tre the tree rug gets many praiseworthy comments on social media.

This year, the Crown Prince family will be holding Christmas Eve at their own home, so I think they have made ekstra Christmas joy at home this year.

The Crown Prince family has spend Christmas Eve at home before and Mary's family and friends have joined them. Other years, the Crown Prince family has traveled to Australia to celebrate Christmas with Mary's family down there.

This year, everyone has had to change plans. In Denmark, it is recommended that we gather a maximum of ten people for Christmas Eve. It is almost impossible for Mary's siblings to be able to come to Denmark (and they would also be too many with husband and children).

So I think the Crown Prince family will celebrate Christmas with Mary's father and Susan or a couple of their friends and their children, etc. the Handwerk’s or Heering’s. Mary's father and Susan live in England/France and it is a legal purpose to visit Denmark if you are the parents/stepparents of a Danish citizen. So it could be. It could also simply be the Crown Prince family spend Christmas Eve just the six of them and Grace. It can also be something very special.

I can imagine that the Royal House posts from the Queen's Christmas Eve on the Royal House's social media, but I hope we get the opportunity to also get a little from the Crown Prince's family's Christmas Eve.

 

[Muhler]

let's have a look at the places mentioned in the post by the nisser (plural) today.
First Skansin (The redoubt.) The major port in the Faeroe Islands was unsurprisingly protected by a rudimentary defensive system. In this case a few navy canons from around 1800 or so.
And not just for show, mind you!
As late as during the 1700's it happened that North African pirates raided the islands, attacked hamlets and took young women and children with them to be sold as slaves in North Africa.
The same thing happened in Iceland and in the late 1600's also along the southern coast of England.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Skansin_Fort,_Torshavn_(4902590026).jpg

This one however, also a navy cannon, stems from WWII.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Tórshavn.2009.4.jpg
When Denmark was overrun and surrendered to Germany in 1940, British troops soon landed on the Faeroe Islands and Iceland (USA took care of Greenland) in order to prevent the Germans from setting up bases there, which would have presented a very serious threat to Allied shipping.
While the Faeroe Islands opted to remain with the Danish realm, Iceland opted for independence and became a republic in 1943 - much to the consternation of Christian X, but that's another story.

In an alternative world, the Soviet Union was defeated and D-day either did not take place or failed, in which case the Faeroe Islands today would most likely be a part of Britain and Iceland and Greenland a part of USA.

This is Tinganes:
https://media.afar.com/uploads/imag...acc6b5baa5ff8c37fe78d2357a2f95.jpg?1453249420
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Tinganes_57.jpg
The site of the Faeroese Parliament and central administration.

----------------

And we can't let the children down.

The last wolf in DK, until very recently, was shot in the 1800's. Until then people had been encouraged, at some points even conscripted(!) by the kings to hunt wolves down. - But not on Christmas Night.
On Christmas Night all creatures and humans enjoyed sanctuary from being killed. - Also because some of the wolves might be humans who had turned into wolves or werewolves, which happened on Christmas Night (regardless of the moon) - where they roamed around with all the other nasty creatures who walked the Earth on that night. - So good Christians, and everybody else for that matter, made sure they stayed indoors!

In medieval times in particular people believed in Skiftninger = Shiftlings.
Shiftlings were people you could very well meet on your way home on a night with a full moon.
It was a condition thought to be passed on from father to son. It meant they, when it was full moon, would shift their appearance into an animal, often a wolf. But also a bear, or a deer or a badger. And since Christmas Night was a special night it also happened here, again regardless of the moon. A few turned into werewolves who could be extremely unpleasant to meet on a dark night! – So if you saw a wolf walking on its hind legs, you got sober real fast! A werewolf would tear you to bits and they were very difficult to kill. But they did had problems with silver. Silver could harm or turn away werewolves. (It's not so much vampires you turn away holding a silver-cross in front of you, it's werewolves. There are AFAIK little if any belief in more or less dead bloodsuckers in Danish mythology.) Hence the use of musket balls made from silver. - In Sweden, and that included what was until 1659 the ancient Danish lands as well, pits were dug near farms in the hope of trapping a werewolf.
But most shiftlings were actually pretty harmless. And they had no idea what they had been up to the next morning when the woke up.
So one precaution was to lock up or tie down people who were believed to be shiftlings.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/22/39/09223965643979e1a6cd115cb1b0a135.jpg

 

[Countessmeout]

Definitely a bit less fluffy Christmas stories. The boys are definitely enjoying and some of the girls too.

I have a patient who turns out his grandfather if Danish. He told his grandfather about the stories I have been telling the last few days. I guess grandpa had told him a few but as my patient says 'I am a better story teller' Grandpa wasn't quite pleased with being told he was not as good, but he loves I am sharing the stories.

 

[eya]

Today 10 December:

"The Elf Brother is in no doubt. It’s huldufólki – or “hidden people”, as they’re called in English – who have taken the Christmas gifts from the sleigh during the fierce, windy weather. Ever since ancient times, the Faroese have told each other stories about the mysterious people who live concealed in the rocks and stones on the islands. Huldufólki are especially active around Christmas, and some say that they like to steal from both man and beast – from elves, too, apparently, the Elf Brother says, with a trembling voice"


https://www.instagram.com/p/CIm3FXkg-FW/

 

[Countessmeout]

Thank you for more inspiration. You and Muhler.

Now I better read more on the hidden people, as I am sure to be asked. May have to make a virtual treasure hunt for the kids to find our own hidden folk.

One of these days I will have to go to these areas and see them for myself.

 

[Muhler]

Let's hope the stool does look like the Hidden People, because unsurprisingly, I couldn't find any pictures of them.

Here is the hamlet of Gasadal:
https://www.infaroe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/villagegasadal.jpg

And the waterfall:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmD1ckVXEAAoR6-.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmSbabHWIAAwE8F.jpg

-----------

Perhaps you should post a video of you telling stories...

This should get a reaction from the girls!

Today the Christmas celebrations in Denmark last for three days. 24th-26th December. Beforehand it was twelve days. 25th December - 6th January.
The Danish/Scandinavian word for Christmas is “Jul”. “Jul” is a pre-Christian word that beforehand meant parties/celebrations/feasting. – And that’s exactly what it was! Here in the darkest part of the year, where not much else happened, people went on a communal eating and drinking binge. And we are talking serious drinking! Even on the British Isles people there were astonished to see how much the Norsemen could drink!
People visited each other and went to church, more or less sober, but as mentioned previously never on Christmas Eve.
Eight days before Christmas the poor of a parish went around to the farms to beg for food for Christmas, which they usually got. People were partly honor-bound to do so, partly out of Christian charity, partly to show how well off they were themselves. But also because in a society where everyone knew everybody else, there was a form of unofficial welfare system in place. So now the poor too could feast during Christmas.
That sort of begging actually went on, until a more state-managed welfare system was in place after WWI.

Certainly in the more poor families all ate from the same bowl of porridge which was the stable diet. And partly for practical reasons the women in these household stood up and ate, while the men sat down. Otherwise not all could reach the bowl with their spoon.
It was also partly symbolic; women were to know their place! – That was also the case at the dinners during the Christmas celebrations, including Christmas Eve. However, in some places, on this day only, the women were allowed to sit.
It was however most common for the whole extended household to sit on benches around the table, also the women. Even though the women were pretty busy preparing the food and keep up the supplies…

Before Christmas the farmer would draw twelve circles on a beam. If the weather was bad on Christmas Day (the 25th) he would chalk the first circle white. If the weather was good, he would leave the circle as is. If the weather was so-so, he would chalk half the circle white. Because the weather on the 25th would indicate how the weather would be through the month of January. The weather on the 26th would indicate the weather for February and so on.

One of the reasons why it was so difficult to stamp out the old Christmas superstition was that many priests took an active part in it.
They were after all of the people, and while Christian, they were also humans – and there is more between Heaven and Earth…
Priests often handled ghosts but some ghosts were more troublesome than others, so it happened that a priest struck a deal with a ghost. The ghost would be allowed to enter a farm, but slowly! Only the length of a rooster’s tail feather each Christmas Night – of course at some point the ghost would reach the farm and something terrible would happen! Like the farm burning down.

In Southern Jutland, prior to 1900, it was common for young men to dress up in something scary, go to the various farms and make noises like ghosts. For example throwing acorns at doors and windows. The inhabitants of the farm would give chase and hunt down “the ghosts” and if caught the young men would be treated to beer and food.
They pulled that stunt all through the Christmas Days – but not on Christmas Night!

If you put some earth on your head, you could see the dead on Christmas Night. But it was dangerous!
One farmhand put earth on his head and went to the cemetery on Christmas Night. And low and behold he saw a procession of dead walking past. He knew them all, except one with a noose around his neck, he told afterwards. Within a year the farmhand had hanged himself.

 

[ashelen]

Let's hope the stool does look like the Hidden People, because unsurprisingly, I couldn't find any pictures of them.

Here is the hamlet of Gasadal:
https://www.infaroe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/villagegasadal.jpg

And the waterfall:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmD1ckVXEAAoR6-.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmSbabHWIAAwE8F.jpg

-----------

Perhaps you should post a video of you telling stories...

This should get a reaction from the girls!

Today the Christmas celebrations in Denmark last for three days. 24th-26th December. Beforehand it was twelve days. 25th December - 6th January.
The Danish/Scandinavian word for Christmas is “Jul”. “Jul” is a pre-Christian word that beforehand meant parties/celebrations/feasting. – And that’s exactly what it was! Here in the darkest part of the year, where not much else happened, people went on a communal eating and drinking binge. And we are talking serious drinking! Even on the British Isles people there were astonished to see how much the Norsemen could drink!
People visited each other and went to church, more or less sober, but as mentioned previously never on Christmas Eve.
Eight days before Christmas the poor of a parish went around to the farms to beg for food for Christmas, which they usually got. People were partly honor-bound to do so, partly out of Christian charity, partly to show how well off they were themselves. But also because in a society where everyone knew everybody else, there was a form of unofficial welfare system in place. So now the poor too could feast during Christmas.
That sort of begging actually went on, until a more state-managed welfare system was in place after WWI.

Certainly in the more poor families all ate from the same bowl of porridge which was the stable diet. And partly for practical reasons the women in these household stood up and ate, while the men sat down. Otherwise not all could reach the bowl with their spoon.
It was also partly symbolic; women were to know their place! – That was also the case at the dinners during the Christmas celebrations, including Christmas Eve. However, in some places, on this day only, the women were allowed to sit.
It was however most common for the whole extended household to sit on benches around the table, also the women. Even though the women were pretty busy preparing the food and keep up the supplies…

Before Christmas the farmer would draw twelve circles on a beam. If the weather was bad on Christmas Day (the 25th) he would chalk the first circle white. If the weather was good, he would leave the circle as is. If the weather was so-so, he would chalk half the circle white. Because the weather on the 25th would indicate how the weather would be through the month of January. The weather on the 26th would indicate the weather for February and so on.

One of the reasons why it was so difficult to stamp out the old Christmas superstition was that many priests took an active part in it.
They were after all of the people, and while Christian, they were also humans – and there is more between Heaven and Earth…
Priests often handled ghosts but some ghosts were more troublesome than others, so it happened that a priest struck a deal with a ghost. The ghost would be allowed to enter a farm, but slowly! Only the length of a rooster’s tail feather each Christmas Night – of course at some point the ghost would reach the farm and something terrible would happen! Like the farm burning down.

In Southern Jutland, prior to 1900, it was common for young men to dress up in something scary, go to the various farms and make noises like ghosts. For example throwing acorns at doors and windows. The inhabitants of the farm would give chase and hunt down “the ghosts” and if caught the young men would be treated to beer and food.
They pulled that stunt all through the Christmas Days – but not on Christmas Night!

If you put some earth on your head, you could see the dead on Christmas Night. But it was dangerous!
One farmhand put earth on his head and went to the cemetery on Christmas Night. And low and behold he saw a procession of dead walking past. He knew them all, except one with a noose around his neck, he told afterwards. Within a year the farmhand had hanged himself.

really scary specially the last paragrah

 

[Countessmeout]

Let's hope the stool does look like the Hidden People, because unsurprisingly, I couldn't find any pictures of them.

Here is the hamlet of Gasadal:
https://www.infaroe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/villagegasadal.jpg

And the waterfall:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmD1ckVXEAAoR6-.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmSbabHWIAAwE8F.jpg

-----------

Perhaps you should post a video of you telling stories...

This should get a reaction from the girls!

Today the Christmas celebrations in Denmark last for three days. 24th-26th December. Beforehand it was twelve days. 25th December - 6th January.
The Danish/Scandinavian word for Christmas is “Jul”. “Jul” is a pre-Christian word that beforehand meant parties/celebrations/feasting. – And that’s exactly what it was! Here in the darkest part of the year, where not much else happened, people went on a communal eating and drinking binge. And we are talking serious drinking! Even on the British Isles people there were astonished to see how much the Norsemen could drink!
People visited each other and went to church, more or less sober, but as mentioned previously never on Christmas Eve.
Eight days before Christmas the poor of a parish went around to the farms to beg for food for Christmas, which they usually got. People were partly honor-bound to do so, partly out of Christian charity, partly to show how well off they were themselves. But also because in a society where everyone knew everybody else, there was a form of unofficial welfare system in place. So now the poor too could feast during Christmas.
That sort of begging actually went on, until a more state-managed welfare system was in place after WWI.

Certainly in the more poor families all ate from the same bowl of porridge which was the stable diet. And partly for practical reasons the women in these household stood up and ate, while the men sat down. Otherwise not all could reach the bowl with their spoon.
It was also partly symbolic; women were to know their place! – That was also the case at the dinners during the Christmas celebrations, including Christmas Eve. However, in some places, on this day only, the women were allowed to sit.
It was however most common for the whole extended household to sit on benches around the table, also the women. Even though the women were pretty busy preparing the food and keep up the supplies…

Before Christmas the farmer would draw twelve circles on a beam. If the weather was bad on Christmas Day (the 25th) he would chalk the first circle white. If the weather was good, he would leave the circle as is. If the weather was so-so, he would chalk half the circle white. Because the weather on the 25th would indicate how the weather would be through the month of January. The weather on the 26th would indicate the weather for February and so on.

One of the reasons why it was so difficult to stamp out the old Christmas superstition was that many priests took an active part in it.
They were after all of the people, and while Christian, they were also humans – and there is more between Heaven and Earth…
Priests often handled ghosts but some ghosts were more troublesome than others, so it happened that a priest struck a deal with a ghost. The ghost would be allowed to enter a farm, but slowly! Only the length of a rooster’s tail feather each Christmas Night – of course at some point the ghost would reach the farm and something terrible would happen! Like the farm burning down.

In Southern Jutland, prior to 1900, it was common for young men to dress up in something scary, go to the various farms and make noises like ghosts. For example throwing acorns at doors and windows. The inhabitants of the farm would give chase and hunt down “the ghosts” and if caught the young men would be treated to beer and food.
They pulled that stunt all through the Christmas Days – but not on Christmas Night!

If you put some earth on your head, you could see the dead on Christmas Night. But it was dangerous!
One farmhand put earth on his head and went to the cemetery on Christmas Night. And low and behold he saw a procession of dead walking past. He knew them all, except one with a noose around his neck, he told afterwards. Within a year the farmhand had hanged himself.

Yeah I don't like cameras, well infront of cameras

But I will be making a video appearance telling a story tomorrow. My patient's grandpa is video calling him tomorrow and I promised to be there. Going to work it out so I can be there at the right time. Hopefully I do tomorrow's story proud. I wouldn't want to mess up with a captive audience who knows the lore.


I edit a few, like may leave out the farm hand hanging himself part. But the kids definitely have got into them. Even a few of my co-workers.