Christmas in Denmark

Well, Christmas has come and gone in Denmark. Although everything was decorated for the holidays, it didn't feel like Christmas. It was as if I went through all the motions, but there was no emotion or feeling in it for me. If I stay in Denmark, I am going to have to be sure to do things the way I know it to make it feel special. Especially Christmas morning. I miss that excitement of seeing the tree surrounded by packages in the morning.

I did, though, have a really nice time with Martin's family and got some great presents from his brothers and mom. Martin and I went into town "lille juleaften" (the 23rd) to do our finally Xmas shopping and later that night we decorated the tree...with real candles for the lights. For dinner, we had a nice raindeer stew imported from Greenland and then later on we played a board game with Martin's brothers and mom called "finans", which is a lot like Monopoly, but a little more technical.

Christmas Eve we had a turkey dinner and then rice pudding for dessert. We played a quick gift game and each got a nice present after rolling the dice a couple times. We then went to the living room and enjoyed coffee and cognac with homemade cookies and candies. We talked a while and then finally started unwrapping packages one at a time. It was fun to see what gifts people got. I got some nice candle holders and a few DVDs. Martin gave me 3 musselmalet Royal Copenhagen tea cups and saucers. They are very nice!

Christmas Day we had a "julefrokost" (Xmas lunch) back at my place with Henrik's friends. We started at 13.30 and didn't leave the table until after 22.00. Lots of herring, beer, and snaps! We had the same kind of meal again the next day back at Martin's.

Yesterday, my package from my parents finally arrived! That was nice to get some more presents and things I needed! (thanks mom and dad!) And to help add to the holiday atmosphere, the weather has gotten cold and we've gotten a bit of snow, too! It snowed quite a bit this morning and they say there is more to come! I hope so!

Anyway, I'm doing laundry at home right now and then tonight I will go out with Martin to meet up with some of his old friends.

I'll try to post some pictures soon. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas!