The month of December in Denmark was full of exciting expectation as the season of Advent is very much celebrated by the Danes. There were various types of advent candles being sold in most of the stores, advent calendars, wreaths, numbered candle holders, etc. I don't recall celebrating the season of advent quite to the extreme as it was here, but we wholeheartedly embraced the tradition with our purchase of an advent candle that we lit each night at dinner along with reading a family devotion to focus our minds and hearts on the much anticipated celebration of Jesus' birth. We also were able to share in the lighting of an advent candle at our church here in Copenhagen--it was extra special because our whole family was there on that particular Sunday. :)
However, it is ironic, that as big as the advent season is here in Denmark, it takes on quite a different meaning than it does in the U.S. Here, we found the focus of advent is more on the anticipated celebration of Christmas with family/friends on Christmas Eve (or Juleaften--the night that Danes traditionally celebrate Christmas) and not necessarily the anticipation of celebrating Jesus' birth on Christmas Day. Throughout the month of December, as I would walk throughout the city, I was quite intentional about looking for manger scene displays/decorations having to do with the birth of Jesus--anything that would be a reminder that Jesus is the reason for the season and sadly, there were few indications of that fact outside of the church buildings.
The church where we attend, FIBC (First International Baptist Church) provided many opportunities to share God's gifts of advent (Hope, Peace, Love and Joy) to those in the Copenhagen community through making Christmas cookies for families in need and helping make breakfast for immigrant homeless men at The Grace Café, (I love that name--who doesn't need God's grace?!) a ministry adjacent to the church building.
Christmas decorating in Copenhagen is a beautiful sight with white Christmas lights all around, red/white heart decorations are in great abundance as are little nisser (elf dolls) that are as cute as can be! Nisse is one of the main Christmas characters in Denmark. . .actually in all of Scandinavia---he is a mischievious elf and Christmas is a time when Nisse can have his fun. As the story goes, Nisse is said to live in the lofts of old farmhouses and he enjoys playing jokes on people, but also is said to be kind and helpful on the farm.
Besides decorating with little nisser elves, paper ornaments are used to decorate the Christmas trees. The girls and I tried our hand at making some paper ornaments ourselves that I purchased from the local craft store and I also enjoyed a craft night with the ladies at church, learning how to make even more paper ornaments for our tree! It really was a lot of fun making homemade decorations (especially since we didn't bring any of our ornaments from home)!
To add to our Christmas merriment we got ourselves a REAL Christmas tree this year. I know guys will roll their eyes when I say that the Christmas trees you find here in Denmark are cute, but they really are! I wish we could get this kind of evergreen tree in the states---it was fragrant for many weeks which I loved! It is a tradition in Denmark for the parents to bring in the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and decorate it before the children see it. They put REAL burning candles on the tree (instead of a string of lights) and then everyone dances around the tree while singing Christmas carols and hymns. Being that we are not Danish and being that we didn't want to chance burning our apartment down we opted to pass on this Danish tradition---although Josiah probably would have loved it since he loves fire!
Since we live in the city center, we were able to walk out of our flat every day and be immersed in all things Christmas during the month of December. Swags of greenery, lights and red hearts adorned many of the streets nearby. It proved to be very heart-warming on otherwise chilly winter days to walk these streets and take in all that Copenhagen has to offer at Christmastime. With daylight hours at a minimum, the Christmas lights and the warm glow of candlelight was everywhere, bringing much holiday cheer.
Sophia had quite the school field trip in early December, traveling by bus/ferry to Lubeck, Germany to spend a day shopping with her friends at the infamous Christmas market. It certainly was a special memory-maker for her!
With Leah's involvement in the College/Young Adult CONNECT group at church she also has had enjoyed good times with new friends. There are friends in the group who are local college students, living in Copenhagen but also some who were study abroad students and were having to return to the states (or elsewhere) at the end of the semester. Though hard to say good-bye to new friendships made, you just never know when your paths might cross again! With the beginning of a new semester about to start, that means more new study abroad students in the area for Leah to get to know. :)
Y'all, I'm just getting started with telling you about Christmas in Copenhagen. . .at this point in my writing, our Christmas visitors have not arrived yet so stay tuned!
Cute Danish Christmas tree. :) 
Homemade Danish Christmas garland in doorway.
A touch of Swedish decor in the window.
Christmas lights!!
Leah with DIS/study abroad friends.
Dinner and Christmas caroling with college/young adult CONNECT
group from church.
Sophia shopping in Lubeck, Germany.
