My Julefrokost Experience
'Tis the season of the julefrokost. 🎅 I had the chance to attend one last year, and here's what I have to say about the cultural experience.
One of my favourite traditions here in Denmark is the julefrokost, which translates literally to "Christmas lunch." It is usually hosted in the evening though, in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Julefrokosts can be held with friends and family but are also a way for companies and organisations to celebrate the holidays and do some team building. When I first arrived in Aarhus, I volunteered at the Studenterhus and attended the julefrokost that they hosted for volunteers and employees alike.
Pakkeleg
Everyone was asked to bring a small, wrapped gift to play pakkeleg. Here's how we played the game (with lots of people):
- Everyone sat with their gift, and the game master chose a reasonable time limit, unknown to everyone else.
- Dice were scattered throughout for people to take turns rolling.
- When someone rolled a 6, they could get up to steal someone else's gift.
- This continued until time was up, and then everyone unwrapped the gifts they were left with (if any).
Simple but chaotic.
Food
Then, we had dinner. Well, we first cheered with some Schnapps, in true Danish fashion. Traditional julefrokost dishes include: flæskesteg (roasted pork), frikadeller (meatballs), brunede kartofler (caramelised potatoes), and karry sild (herring in curry sauce).
For dessert we had risalamande, which is a sweet rice pudding with chopped almonds served with cherry sauce. A few almonds were purposely left whole, and the people who found those in their risalamande got extra gifts.
The rest of the night
By the time we had finished dinner, my table alone had finished a whole bottle of Schnapps. This sets the mood for a night filled with fun conversations, more games, dancing, and amazing memories overall.
If you have the chance to attend a julefrokost, I highly recommend it! The Danes definitely know how to celebrate Christmas.