A Christmas letter to all ZuZu readers from Jazbo & Spencer Gross, ages 6 & 4, with some help from their mom, Charlotte.
A Christmas letter to all ZuZu readers from Jazbo & Spencer Gross, ages 6 & 4, with some help from their mom, Charlotte.
In Denmark the main Christmas celebration is on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24th. The day before, namely on the 23rd, is called Little Christmas Eve - Lille Juleaften. Somebody in the family decorates the tree. We use many colored glass balls, lots of little red men - Santa's helpers (we call them nisser, and homemade hearts that you can put raisins and nuts into. On the top you put a big star. Some families use real candles, other use electric lights if there are small children around the tree.
On Little Christmas Eve you eat risengrod for dinner. That is rice boiled with milk and cinnamon. You always have to remember to put some out for Santa's helpers.
The next day, on Christmas Eve, people and relatives start coming over. Everybody has cookies, hot chocolate & glogg - hot wine boiled with raisins, nuts and spices. Then you put presents under the tree for all to look at and fantasize about.
In Denmark it gets completely dark already at around 4 pm. The traditional Christmas dinner is: Floeskesteg med rodkal og brune kartofler: roastpork or duck with crackling; stewed red cabbage and small boiled potatoes fried in butter and sugar. For dessert we have a ris a l'amande - left over rice pudding mixed with chopped almonds and whipping cream. The cook also puts one whole almond into the serving bowl. The person who gets that wins a prize. Finally, after dinner everybody starts to open their presents.
The Gross family send oceans of holiday greetings to everyone from Copenhagen, Denmark.
- originally published in the Holiday 1992 issue of ZuZu
