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What are the top three seasonal decor items for Jul i Danmark?

Tak!

@saederup
Tak, Lone!

Are julehjerte still fairly common? That's the one tradition that has lasted with my family for over the hundred years they've be in the US.

@wannabemystiker Yes, they're still very much used. I think @MThaastrup made a modern version recently.

@saederup @wannabemystiker I actually made several old-fashioned ones, and made two modern ones 😁

@saederup @wannabemystiker Kræmmerhuse are also very traditional (also made this year)

@wannabemystiker They're actually older than the hearts; many traditional Danish ornaments were made to contain small amounts of Christmas treats (nuts, dried fruits, sweets, biscuits), and a paper cone is obviously one of the simplest ways of making such a container.

The "woven" paper hearts are just a development of that, really.

My grandfather taught me to make these hybrids between the woven hearts and the classic cones - a bit fiddly, but I like the pattern it gives.

@MThaastrup

@wannabemystiker Also, there's no way around the now-endemic paper stars!

I only think they really proliferated from the 1940s-1950s onwards, but they're now a staple of Danish home-made Christmas ornaments.

@MThaastrup

@wannabemystiker Personally I also grew up with a paper star being the tree-topper - though I don't think this is all that common. My dad used to make a new one every year, since they become rather fragile when they're this large, and rarely survive storage without ending up a dishevelled mess!

Pic from Christmas 2019 when my boyfriend wanted to try an "elegant" tree purely in white and silver. I prefer more multicoloured ornaments, though, and it turned out my boyfriend does too.

@MThaastrup

@SorenMRiis @wannabemystiker I've made those too in my teen years! Now I have to try again 😁

@SorenMRiis
How far back do you think Kræmmerhusene go? 200 or 300 years, maybe?

@MThaastrup

@wannabemystiker @SorenMRiis The oldest known one is from 1866. It goes back further for sure, though. Paper is fragile.

@wannabemystiker @SorenMRiis The first known Christmas tree in Denmark was in 1811 by the way.

It's likely that kræmmerhuse was one of the first common Christmas tree ornaments, since basic kræmmerhuse was already widely used for candy etc.

@MThaastrup @wannabemystiker @SorenMRiis

So they're not really older than julehjerter then, wikipedia tells me the oldest julehjerte is from 1872.

In fact, they probably became widespread at the same time:

"Kindergartens helped spread the Christmas hearts around 1910: Braiding punched-out glossy paper had been part of the German educator Fröbel's groundbreaking early childhood pedagogy to strengthen children's creative abilities, patience, fine motor skills and self-discipline. The glossy paper could be folded and cut to make Christmas hearts and kræmmerhuse."

@EvilCartyen @wannabemystiker @SorenMRiis As a Christmas tree decoration, agreed. But kræmmerhuse has been made and been used for candy way sooner.

It was probably just basic grey paper or cardboard, though

@MThaastrup @wannabemystiker @SorenMRiis

I freely admit that I know nothing about that :) I thought Christmas trees became popular around the same time, but it seems like they were a bit earlier than that.

@EvilCartyen @wannabemystiker @SorenMRiis I just watched "Jul i Gammelby"😂.

Bruce, do you know about the Danish tradition with advent calendars as television shows? They've been around since the 60s, a mix of new ones and reruns. One episode every day from the 1st to the 24th of December. They're a big part of the Danish cultural heritage.

Some of them are classics, like "Jul i Gammelby", that was filmed in Den Gamle By in Aarhus in the 70s

@MThaastrup
"Bruce, do you know about the Danish tradition with advent calendars as television shows? "

I did not know that! I will look on the DRTV website and/or Youtube and see what I can find.

Tak for all Jul info, Mette!

@wannabemystiker @MThaastrup oh you simply *have* to look up The Julekalender. It’s one of these advent tv shows, but ostensibly for adults and featuring a group of “nisser” that all speak Danglish. It will be right down your alley!

@jpkolsen @wannabemystiker Not available on DRTV though. But it is available on Blockbuster, I believe.

@wannabemystiker
TV2 play has it, not sure if you can purchase access outside of Denmark. But it really is funny, especially if you're from Jutland.
@MThaastrup

@notsoloud

Tak! I think I’ll be able to watch it with a VPN set to Danmark. I probably won’t get any regional-specific humor but all my Danish ancestors were from Jylland. 🙂

@MThaastrup @jpkolsen @wannabemystiker There is a Norwegian copy of The Julekalender on YouTube; not the same 😂

Another decor tradition, not so fashionable any more, is “kravlenisser”.

@MThaastrup @saederup

Wauw! How clever! I'll have to show my daughter and grand-daughter these photos. Tak!

@MThaastrup @saederup @wannabemystiker At my new job one of my coworkers made this very modern one with the company logo (I added the background)

@saederup @wannabemystiker What Lone said.
Also warm fairy lights outdoors and wreathes on doors. One that's going out of fashion is an orange decorated with cloves and hung in a red ribbon.