Danish Christmas!

Christmas in Denmark!

For Christmas this year since I only have one year in Oslo, Norway, I decided to stay in Europe. Out of the kindness of her heart, my new friend Maja invited me to spend Christmas with her family in Denmark. I was shocked and excited that she would invite someone she had known for only a short period of time to spend such a special holiday with me.

Maja was discussing Christmas with her mother and told her that I was going to be all alone in Oslo this year. Her mother immediately told Maja that I was welcome to spend Christmas in Denmark with their family. I'm not sure about you, but to me this was one of the most generous acts of kindness that I have experienced in a very long time. It was so selfless of Maja and her mother to want a practical stranger to stay in their home for five days during the holidays.

December 22nd came and it was time to fly to Denmark. Maja and I flew out of Oslo Gardermoen airport on Norwegian airlines to Copenhagen. The flight was on time and less than an hour. When we got to the Copenhagen airport, I purchased 4 bottles of wine to give to Maja's family as a thank you for taking me in. Maja's father was waiting in the airport garage for us when we landed. When we arrived at Maja's childhood home, her mother had a chicken casserole waiting for us. We were both very hungry from the flight and ready to eat.

Friday morning came and it was time for breakfast. Maja had asked me what I usually ate for breakfast and her mother had bought me eggs and bacon. Most Danish people do not eat eggs and bacon for breakfast. They usually have toast with cheese or yogurt. I was so happy that her family decided to try eggs and bacon for breakfast for the next few days.

Friday night Maja and I walked around her town where she grew up. We also did a little shopping. I purchased some Danish elves for her mother for Christmas. These elves were something that her mother had been collecting years ago and she had them all over the house.

I also saw some roses in the grocery store and decided to get them for Maja's mother. I really wanted her to know how appreciative I was of her and all she was doing.

December 24th came and everything was closed for the holidays. Maja, her mother, and I went to church. We got there 15 minutes before it started and luckily there were 3 seats left. The older lady sitting next to me coughed the entire service and made me nervous. With all the sickness going around, the last thing I wanted on my Danish holiday was to get sick. Luckily I think she was just a heavy smoker and the coughing was from other reasons not a virus. The church service was entirely in Danish and I understood nothing. We sang Christmas songs in Danish and I did my best to pronounce the words.

That night it was time for the traditional Danish Christmas dinner of duck, potatoes, lots of brown gravy ,and pork. We also had a rice pudding dessert with cherry sauce. I thought it was very interesting when her 26 year old brother poured brown gravy all over a stack of potato chips, but who was I to say anything.

We had 2 of the bottles of red wine that I had purchased from the airport with dinner. It was now time to open presents. After playing a game with small gifts and dice, we then danced around the Christmas tree and sang Danish Christmas songs. Once again I didn't know the words, but enjoyed it anyway. Maja's mother liked the Danish elves I gave her for Christmas. She was very surprised that I bought something for her for Christmas.

It was a great night. We ended up video chatting with my mom and dad at the end of the night. They were happy to see and talk with everyone. Maja's mother doesn't speak English, but sometimes smiles and hand gestures are all you need to get your point across.

I'll never forget the Christmas I spent in Denmark with Maja's family. They were wonderful people full of life and had big hearts.