The Ten Hour Christmas Party

I went to my first official Christmas lunch, called julefrokost in Danish. Calling it a lunch seems to be a misnomer, since most of ones I've heard about are held during dinner. I suppose it's more of an epic Christmas party with loads of food. The one on Friday was put on by the Center for Electric Power and Energy at DTU, which is my specific section of the electrical engineering department. The invitation said it was from 1PM - 11PM, which I assumed to be a gross overestimation... alas, I was very wrong.

The party begins at 1PM in the electrical power lab..

Opening remarks by the Center's director 

The party was held in one of the electrical power labs. In the back corner, you can make out some high voltage equipment and a large crane on the ceiling. It was a little funny to host such a big party in a lab, considering the equipment. I have a feeling this would not happen in the US. Our "safety instructions" where to stay out of the caged areas, see the full instructions on the wall if necessary, and try not to drink beer near the equipment. 

In addition to the welcome drink (which involved popsicles), there were also several kegs of beer, including the Tuborg Christmas beer, which has become a favorite (see this post for more info). There was also wine and snaps, which is the same as the German schnaps. There were four different kinds, most of which were home-brewed. If I remember correctly, there was Wormwood, St. John's Wort, and maybe bog myrtle. I cannot remember the fourth, but each had a very interesting flavor. 

Before we started eating (but of course after we started drinking), we had to spin the Wheel of Fortune, which someone correctly yelled out should be renamed the Wheel of Misfortune. Each spin meant a table was assigned one of many tasks that help put on the dinner. The first spin assigned the table who would arrange the herring buffet, which just happened to be mine. After the first tasks were assigned, one table also won a prize - fuzzy Santa hats that they were asked to wear all night (our table debated whether or not this was really a prize we wanted to win).

The herring buffet: white bread (for the non-Danes), brown bread, lox, herring with cabbage, herring with another sauce, breaded fish, dill sauce, other sauces, onion and some kind of red jelly (beet?)

Lots of fish

Second course: duck (traditional at Christmas) with red cabbage, meatball, some kind of white salad with chicken (?), other two kinds of meat that was sliced, roast carrots and parsnips, white bread

The photo is dark because at some point they turned off the overhead lights and the sun set. There were small lights on every table, a variety of candles, and small lights on a string. It was a bit dark for me, but I think it is part of the Danish concept of hygge, which in part strives to make spaces cozy. After getting used to the low light, I started to appreciate how cozy it truly felt.

Dessert: different kinds of absolutely delicious cheese and (not pictured) risalamande with cherry sauce 

After dessert, we played the traditional parcel game. Everyone was asked to bring 2 gifts worth about 25 kr. (~$4.50) and add them to a large basket. Every table got a small cup with a six-sided die. Once time was called, each person at the table rolled the die hoping to get a six, which meant they could run up and choose a package from the basket. If you rolled a one, then you had to give one of your gifts to the person on your right. Once all the gifts were picked up, we had another 5ish minutes to keep rolling the die. This time if you rolled a six you had a chance to steal a gift from anyone else in the room. It was general practice that you tried to steal from other tables and help protect the gifts at your own. Basically, it's chaos. People steal the same gift back and forth, and of course some jokingly gang up and target someone. I started with 5 gifts and ended up with 1 by the end. I got fake eyelashes - yippie! Other gifts at my table included LED Christmas ornament, tea, olives, smart phone stand, earmuffs, and a joke gift (lightbulb box that sets off a loud alarm when opened).

After the parcel game, cookies and chocolates where arranged on the buffet table with coffee and tea. A large cart of liquor then came rolling in and I could see why the party would continue well into the light. They had arranged a bunch of different games to play in teams - darts, foosball, bob.

After a few more drinks, a few classmates played some Christmas music. They try to practice once a week for fun, but this was the first time all five had a chance to play together. It was a great performance. 

One final shot of the Christmas decorations hanging from the electrical equipment - remember not to drink near anything electric 

It began to snow a little after sunset, and the roads were completely covered by the time I went home (around 11:30.. others stayed until 2AM). It was certainly a great end to my first julefrokost.