Christmas traditions in Greenland – Greenland Travel
Lots of Christmas food and baking in Greenland
The Christmas meal looks a lot like the ones in the rest of Scandinavia. It consists of a main course based on meat and is followed by a dessert called “ris a la mande”, which is a kind of rice pudding. The meat course is usually based on a local specialty like lamb, musk oxen, hare, razorbills, ptarmigan or whale.
In the North of South Greenland, were lamb meat is very rare, reindeer is very popular. Rudolph-supporters might find this inappropriate, but it really tastes very good. Many adhere to the Danish tradition and serve duck or goose. Sides would usually be potatoes, brown sauce, redcurrant jelly and red cabbage.
As in many other countries, Christmas baking is a strong tradition. People wouldn’t say no to a small competition about baking most, biggest or prettiest. Especially crullers (“klejner”) are a very popular Christmas specialty. Greenlanders also bake and eat lots of brownies, Hertz Donuts, vanilla wreaths and honey cakes, though.
Read more about winter in Greenland.
Christmas carols – at the church, at home and in front of doors
Like in other countries, Greenland has many Christmas carols that are based on a known melody with their own Greenlandic lyrics. Additionally, there are many Christmas songs and carols that are specifically Greenlandic. We sing them at the church and at home by the Christmas tree.
The special thing about Greenlandic songs and carols is the pace they’re sung at. It’s slow and it’s incomprehensibly beautiful. The best-known example is the beautiful carol Guuterput. The song is so meaningful to the Greenlanders that they respectfully get up after the introduction of the song and sing it standing.
On Christmas Eve, when the gifts are unpacked, tradition says that children walk from one house to another and sing Christmas songs in front of the other houses. They receive sweets or other delicacies and then move on to the next house. This is a very cozy tradition.
See more facts about Greenland.
Christmas greetings to Greenland – the world’s oldest broadcast
”Christmas greetings to Greenland” is the oldest broadcast in the world that still exists. It started as a radio program in 1932 and has been produced as a TV broadcast since 1982.
Greenland and Denmark have some close bonds through their common kingdom. There is import, export, co-operation about social issues and not least ten thousands of contacts between people. Friendships and family relations have emerged between the countries. Many Greenlanders live in Denmark and many Danes in Greenland.
Each year, Danmark’s national TV and radio station celebrates this by broadcasting the beloved program “Christmas greetings to Greenland”. Songs, music and greetings create bridges between the two countries, often represented by Greenland’s best-known singer Julie Berthelsen. It has also become a tradition to end the beautiful Christmas show with the Guuterput carol, which we mentioned above.
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