by Judy W
Originally published in the December 2003/January 2004 Currents

The Altonaer Museum takes you on an alphabetized tour of the customs of celebrating Christmas in Denmark. Torkild Hinrichsen, who has worked for the museum for years, has put together a delightful collection of historical objects from his own Danish family. He describes the customs, foods, stories, and people associated with generations of Danish Christmases. The red and white of the Danish flag are the predominant colors. I will describe a couple of examples from the alphabet, but the exhibit is worth a visit because there's so much more. In addition to the beautiful glass decorations from Thüringen being sold upstairs with the wonderful reproductions of old toys and books, Danish handicrafts are sold in several areas of the museum, with different artisans represented each weekend.

The Advent Calendar is an enjoyable way to mark time until Christmas Day. Many hand-made forms arose in Denmark before the commercialization of Christmas made the purchasing of decorations so easy. At the beginning of December the teacher would draw a Tannenbaum branch with 24 unlit candles on the blackboard. Every day a different child would be allowed to draw the flame on a candle. At home, a favorite Christmas decoration was a Calendar Hedgehog, made by wrapping a potato with silver paper, adding wooden legs, a nose and eyes, and inserting 24 wooden matches or toothpicks. Each day a spine was removed from the hedgehog's back. A home-made candle with marked rings would be burned down a little bit each evening. In 1962, the custom of broadcasting a 24-part story on radio or television was begun, and everyone tunes in impatiently each day for the next installment. Paper Advent Calendars became popular after the first world war, with little doors to open each day to reveal another Christmas-themed picture. Ring Calendars hung on the wall are a decorative way to hang 24 little presents, one to be opened each day. Many lovely cross stitch patterns are available for those who love Handarbeit (handiwork).

The Hausnisse is an invisible little sprite who protects the house and farm from the nasty activities of the troll. The Nisse has been a part of Danish culture since before Christian times, and was given his present-day form of a little, old, red-capped man in the 19th century. All unexplained happenings are his doing, and to keep him happy you must set out a Christmas offering of Grütze (groats) and Weihnachtsbier (Christmas beer) on the roof. He is so beloved that, in spite of the frownings of the church that this isn't quite the religious representation they'd like to see at Christmas, everyone has to have a long, red, pointed hat to wear. In every shopping center and on every street corner in December you'll hear a Nisseorkester (red-hatted boyscouts with brass musical instruments) playing beloved Danish and American Christmas songs. The Garnnisse decorates the Christmas tree in large numbers. Nowadays made from pipecleaners, the original figure was made from red or gray yarn wrapped around the hand. The waist was tied with silk thread, the face features were glued on, feet were made from bits of wood, and a beard and red, pointed hat were added. Torkild Hinrichsen's great, great aunt Magdalene, head of nursing at Frederiks Hospital in Copenhagen, spent her free time during the year making Garnnisse so that patients who had to be in the hospital over Christmas would have their own cheerful and hand-made present on their beds, a small enough gift so as not to interfere with the nursing care they were receiving.

After you've enjoyed the exhibit and purchased your Christmas handicrafts, make sure you purchase the catalog, Weihnachten in Dänemark - DanskJul, available for 11,95 Euro in the bookstore. It truly is Ein Bild-ABC zu Festbräuchen, Liedern und Rezepten (a picture alphabet of holiday traditions, songs, and recipes). The book even has a pull-out pattern for making your own paper, woven, heart-shaped baskets and ornaments (in red and white, of course).

Altona Museum, Museumstr. 23, Tel 428 11-35 82. Open Tue-Sun, 11-18:00.