Do you remember the smell of a Christmas tree in your childhood home? Well I do. Christmas mornings were amazing. When I was a kid I would wake up very early in the morning and would open all the gifts that my parents bought for me (well I never believed in Santa). Once all the gifts were opened at my place, I had other places to be! My uncles and aunts and grandmother, we all lived in the same yard and like every year, I had presents waiting for me under so many other Christmas trees.

Now that I have moved to Denmark, I have discovered a completely different way of celebrating Christmas or Jul as it is call in Denmark. Jul (pronounced “Yul”), the Danish Christmas, is celebrated throughout December, starting on December 1 with a variety of traditions.

Whether or not you will be celebrating this year, it’s always fascinating to learn about the traditions surrounding major holidays. Discover the Traditions feasts and decorations of the Danish Christmas celebration.

1.Danish Christmas Market

From November onward, Denmark explodes with magical Christmas markets. There are those at the heart of Copenhagen, the famous Tivoli Christmas market and traditional Christmas markets at castles and manor houses around Denmark. Below is the famous Christmas market at Tivoli Gardens.

2.Christmas Shopping

Christmas shopping in Mauritius is normally done on the eve of Christmas for most people. All shopping malls around the island will be packed with people until very late. However, Christmas here is a bit different. Christmas is sacred, offices and stores are closed on the 24th, 25 and 26th. Sleven (my husband) advised me to buy everything I need before the Christmas weekend. There will be no food place, supermarket of any shops open in Copenhagen from the 24^th to 26^th of December. People take time off during the holidays, some to go back to their villages or to travel but no one works during the holidays.. Just three days days of solid family, friend or relaxation time.

3.Food

The Danes love good food and drink all year round, but especially during the festive season. Aside from the much-anticipated Christmas Eve dinner, Danes spend the run up to and after Christmas enjoying festive lunches and dinners with friends, colleagues and family. Many of Denmark’s Christmas traditions are centred around a table full of delicious food and chairs full of great company.

Danish Christmas dinner

The traditional Danish Christmas meal is roast pork, boiled potatoes, red cabbage and gravy, although in recent times roast duck and goose have become popular

However, Christmas being during fasting periods, we will be making some traditional South Indian veg food for our very first Christmas together this year :).

4.Desserts

Risalamande

Risalamande comes from the french word ris à l’amande. It is a traditional Danish Dessert typically served for Christmas lunches or dinners . It consists of a rice pudding with vanilla, almonds and whipped cream, and it’s typically served together with warm cherry sauce. There are a myriad of ways to make risalamande and each family has its traditions.

As mentioned to me by a friend , Risalamande is made the day before and set out during the day to prevent Nisser (elves) from playing pranks.

The game with Ris a l’Amande is that the host mixes in one (or more) whole almond. If you find the almond, you get a prize/gift.

Æbleskiver

There are plenty more sweet things to enjoy, for those of you who like that sort of thing. A personal favorite is æbleskiver. Æbleskiver, th Danish Pancake ball is probably one of the most famous Christmas desserts that the Danes love to eat during Christmas.

Glögg (Mulled wine)

It’s cold. (Unless you’re in Mauritius , then it’s warm. In that case, drink an Alouda and enjoy the weather for me.) It’s been raining and snowing as well (though very little) for the last few days, making it both cold and damp. In harrowing times like this, there’s only one thing to drink: Glögg

Glögg, a hot spiced wine with almonds and raisins, is served at most markets and at many a party. Kids will have hot chocolate (adults can too!).

5.A month of presents -Danish Present calendars

All Danish kids get one or more Christmas calendars as they are called in Denmark.Danish Christmas calendars contain 24 small gifts for children, or grown-ups that like to treat each other! Also the two big television channels each year produce a special new Christmas series divided into 24 episodes and the kids watch eagerly every day and the excitement builds for the big night itself; 24 December!

6.Take part in a special celebration on Lucia night

Lucia is the Catholic saint of light. In many parts of Denmark, she is celebrated on the night of 13 December. Young girls in white sing in procession with candle headdresses and the ceremony is very peaceful and atmospheric. This year the Kayak Republic of Copenhagen organised a Kayak procession around the canals in the city. 200 kayaks on the water, lit up by candlelight to celebrate the Feast of Saint Lucia. The procession ends with glögg and æbleskiver. It’s such a pretty sight!

7.Christmas Decorations 

Families fortunate enough to live close to the woods try to pick and cut their own tree. But of course, most Danes have to buy their Christmas tree just around the corner. The Danes love calm and muted colors. White and cream are seen everywhere and their decore is as minimalist as their home decor. A lot of greens and other natural elements are usual incorporated in the Danish Christmas Decor as illustrated below.

8.Hygge

Hygge is a tricky word to define, it’s a feeling, an experience, a sensation. Pronounced “hoo-guh,” the word is said to have no direct translation in English, though “cozy” comes close.Associated with relaxation, indulgence, and gratitude,hygge has long been considered a part of the Danish national character.It means creating a warm atmosphere. It is enjoying the good things in life with good people. The warm amber glow of candlelight is hygge. Stomping through woods, wrapped up warm on a fresh Autumn day before returing to a fireside for hot cocoa is definitely hygge. Friends and family – that’s hygge too.

So here I am, married to my Tamilian superman, eager to learn everything about the South Indian Culture. Yes, you guessed it right, I am not a Tamilian girl and I am now discovering the language, rituals, traditions and everything that comes with it.

Since I got married (which is not very far down memory lane, been only a month), I have been learning here and there bits of pieces of this rich Dravidian culture. However, we have been talking about Aadi a lot at home in L’Escalier, Mauritius. Selven and I were quite sad about the fact that we were going to celebrate Aadi away from our parents. Most of the things I have learnt about this festival come from conversations that I have had with my father in law, Aya Seeven, my brother in law Poulaven and My Husband Pirabarlen (Selven).

So what is Aadi Padinettam Perukku?

Adiperukku is a Tamil festival celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month of Adi (July to August). The festival is predominantly observed by South Indian women.

Padinettam perukku coincides with the period where basins of Tamil Nadu and major lakes’ water level rise due to the monsoon. As mentioned by my father in law, Padinettam means 18, normally long ago, people used to keep track of dates depending on the marches they had in open baths in India. They celebrated the rise in water level during the monsoon season. The festival is celebrated when the water level reaches the 18^th step of the open baths and this coincides with the 18th day of the solar month of Aadi corresponding to the 2nd or 3rd August every year. Hence “Padinettam perukku” – Padinettu signifies eighteen and Peruku denotes rise.

There are several schools of thought onto why this festival is celebrated.

First of all, the festival pays tribute to the life giving/sustaining properties of water. It is celebrated when all the rivers and lakes are bountiful with fresh water.

In India the rivers like Ganges and Yamuna and Cauvery are considered sacred. Civilizations, not only in India where built across rivers and lakes and seas. People began worshiping water sources and there are also beliefs that water sources are other forms of deities, reason why temples normally have wells or other type of natural water sources that are considered sacred.

This ritual is also associated with the renewal of the love; 2 people forming a couple have for one another. As mentioned by Poulaven during a conversation, the couple’s wish is to renew their love by imploring the deities to make the love, the couple holds, to the image of the vastness of the oceans. The string holding the Taali is therefore released in the ocean or a river which finishes its course in the sea. However, in cases where there are no rivers, lakes or other natural water sources around, it is even allowed to use a tap as a water source to perform the ritual. One has to live with his/her times we would say!

In ancient times, this water ritual practice was performed on the banks of Rivers, which is described as a rice-cultivation tract. Aadi is the month for sowing, planting of seeds and vegetation since it is peak monsoon time when rain is showered in abundance. People living off rice cultivations, would offer prayers to the water goddess to ensure of a good yield for harvest during the Thai Pongal Festival which is celebrated five months after the months of aadi, I.e, in January (Thai) every year.

Another thing that the month of Aadi is, is that, this particular month of the Tamil Lunar Calendar is a greatly inauspicious month to start major/ important tasks in one’s life or career. For example there are no weddings that are celebrated during the month of Aadi, another reason why Aadi is a month of fervor for Hindus where poosei/pujas/prayers are offered to seek the protections of the gods.

So, let’s talk about how my first Aadi with my husband went by or rather let’s have a glimpse of Aadi in Copenhagen, Denmark.

I really like to draw women, and I like portraying the female form, usually and often in a tasteful manner.I think women are friggin’ beautiful creatures. They are elegant. Mainly walking pieces of art sometimes…So on this day when we are celebrating women around the world, here are some drawings of mine..

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