Religion » Into Denmark

The Abbey Church, Horsens.

As a foreigner I find the Lutheran churches in Denmark rather strict and slightly less aw-inspiring than most churches in for example middle Europe. With the reformation in 1536, most statues and decorations disappeared form the Danish churches and the main focus went from the altar to the pulpit.

The Abbey Church in the town of Horsens is therefore a surprise, as it is very rich in its art and decorations. Situated in the middle of the town, at the end of the main shopping street, it is a little oasis of quietness with its small park and relatively big building. Originally build between 1261 and 1275 as part of a – now disappeared – monastery, it went through various extensions and a last restoration program around 1890.

This history is also visible in the interior, where objects of different moments in time fill the space with many interesting details. One of the first things one notices are the painted wooden benches, or “pews” as they are called, which date from a restoration in 1738. They are all hand painted with emblem-paintings on the doors and ends. Perhaps not the best paintings in the history of art, but very nice and original 18th century decorations nevertheless. The floor of the church is covered with tiles that, although being from the last restoration in 1890, give a historical feel and fit very well into the interior.

Looking to the far end of the church one sees almost an abundance of richly decorated items, such as the pulpit from 1670 with many figures and reliefs, and the Baroque Choir latticework with large figures of cherubs and saints. On the left of the choir is a larger Baroque Chapel with coffins and an epitaph, and on the right is the so called Russian chapel, where 4 members of the Russian royalty are buried. They were expelled to Horsens in the 18th century, as they where considered a possible threat to the Russian throne.

Altarpiece Aabey Church Horsens - CC from Wikipedia user:Nico-dk / Nils Jepsen

At the end of the church is what I consider the main piece of all, the altarpiece from around 1500, a possible Dutch work. It is filled with numerous figures, including 7 horses in its main frame, depicting the Crucifixion and 12 apostles and 4 saints.

At the entrance of the church one can buy a brochure (5 Dkr.) in English with information about all the main objects in the church, and containing an article about the Russian Court in Horsens and “A little about Vitus Bering.”

Today, the 8th. of May 2009, is a national holiday in Denmark. It is called Stor Bededag, which literally can be translated into “Great Prayer Day”.

Hans Bagger_source Wikipedia

It was Bishop Hans Bagger who decided in 1686 to declare the fourth Friday after Easter a national Prayer Day. This was to be a day where the whole country had to pray, fast and go to church. It was created to gather many minor “prayer days” into one general national day so that there would be more time for people to work. The celebration of the day survived a major clean-up of holidays in 1770 by the influential doctor and prime-minister J.F. von Struensee who abolished about half of the number of holidays in the country.

Since the tradition of fasting and other religious practices are not widespread in Denmark anymore, the day is for most people not too much more than another day off in Spring. But the consuming of Varme Hvede (white wheat), a light type of bread that is to be eaten warm, is still popular. The tradition originates from the time when the bakers made large quantities of this type of bread the day before the Stor Bededag, so that they could have a day off from work and participate in the tradition.

Here is a link (in Danish) to the recipe of Varme Hvede.

Easter in Denmark

Apr 082009

2009_04_07_dl Easter is one of the longest holidays in Denmark. As in the Catholic countries, the Lutheran Church (Folkekirke – “people´s church” – the Danish state-church) celebrates the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ. Because it follows the cycle of the moon, the celebration of Easter does not have a fixed date and it can fall between the second half of March and the first half of April.

Palm Sunday (Palmesøndag) – it is the Sunday before Easter, and it celebrates the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and its inhabitants laid down small branches of trees in front of him. In churches, it is celebrated with the distribution of palm trees or native small branches.

Maundy Thursday (Skærtorsdag) – it is the Thursday before Easter, and it marks the day when Jesus had his last meal with his disciples. The bread and wine they ate and drank became symbols for Jesus´ body and blood, and they are remembered at the communion during a mass.

Good Friday (Langfredag) – it is the Friday before Easter, and it honours the day when Jesus was crucified at Golgatha (a place outside Jerusalem, used by the Romans to execute insurrectionists and criminals).

Easter (Påskedag) – it is the third day after Jesus´ death and it marks his resurrection, when he appeared again. Families gather in a festive lunch, where they traditionally eat fish, lamb, other kinds of meat and cheese. The meal is accompanied with special beers and snaps (an alcoholic drink). Tables are decorated with daffodils (påskelilje), colored eggs (påskeæg) and lamb dolls (påskelam).
Easter Monday (Anden Påskedag) – this day does not mean anything in itself. It is just an extention of the big celebration of Easter.

Gækkebrev – it is a Danish tradition. Around Valentine´s Day people start sending teasing letters without signing them. Instead, the letter holds a number of dots that corresponds with the number of letters of the sender´s name. If the one receiving the letter guesses who has sent it, he or she will get an Easter chocolate egg. But if the receiver does not guess who has sent it, then he or she gives an Easter egg to the sender.

In Denmark, shops are closed on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter and Easter Monday. Some supermarkets might be open on Easter though. Schools are closed during the whole holiday.

A heathen tradition

Before the celebration of the resurrection of Christ, Easter was celebrated to announce spring.

Easter happens near the beginning of Spring in the northern countries, a time when the light and the leaves start to return after the long, dark, and cold months of winter. The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with a festival where they commemorated their goddess of spring through their symbols of fertility: rabbits and eggs.

The word Easter comes from Ôstarâ (old German) or Ēostre (old English) or Esther (English), which is the name of the Germanic goddess that personified the dawn, and was associated with spring and fertility. In some Anglo-Saxon and German dialects, the month of April was called after the goddess, because that was when the spring festivities took place. When Anglo-Saxons were converted into Christianity, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ replaced the pagan festival, but kept its heathen symbols.

To read more about heathen traditions, check:

Ship models in Danish churches

Christmas in Denmark

Valentine´s Day in Denmark

The "Votive Ship” in Århus church dates to 1720. Its true origin is unknown, but according to an experienced restorer of votive ships, it was built in Holland. For more information about Århus church, check Århus Domkirke Website.

The "Votive Ship” in Århus church dates to 1720. Its true origin is unknown. One story is that the ship model was ordered in Holland for the Russian Tsar Peter the Great. But the ship carrying the model from Holland to Russian wrecked in the north of Jutland, near the city of Skagen. The story says that there was an auction in the city and some citizens of Århus bought the model and donated it to the Cathedral. However, nothing has been found in the auctioneer´s records in Skagen. Another story is that the ship model was built by a well skilled master-carpenter in Århus. But the fact is that nobody knows who this carpenter would be. Regardless its origin, this unit is the largest votive ship exposed in churches in Denmark, with 2,65 m long and 3,50 m tall. For more information about Århus Cathedral, check its website.

(edited on March 24th, 2012)

There is more to see in the churches of Denmark than the altar, the baptismal font, the pulpit or the frescoes: the votive ship. The offering of a ship miniature is a tradition that started in the pre-Christian time and continued afterwards. The practice was considered a way of assuring a safe voyage for the ship and its crew.

With the transition to Christianity in the country (about the years 700 to 1000), the tradition remained, and the offer was addressed to churches. The tradition continued between the 14th and 18th centuries. In this period the donation of a ship miniature would show the gratefulness of a retired sea man or of a traveler who had a long, but safe journey, or it could be done in memory of people and events. The offering could also have been a symbol of status.

The pre-Christian (or heathen) tradition fitted well with the Christian metaphor of comparing a church to a “nave” (from the Latin navis, “ship”). The nave is the central part of church which leads the main entrance to the altar. The symbol can also be a reference to the ark saving Noah’s family during the flood, or maybe Jesus calming a storm, with a boat as a safe refuge.

For other pictures of ship models in Danish churches, check: Models of ships in Danish churches.

To read more about (pre-)Christian traditions, check:

Christmas in Denmark

Easter in Denmark

Valentine´s Day in Denmark

(updated on March 17th, 2012)

Juleaftensdag (Christmas day), or Jul, is celebrated on December 24th when the Danes come together with their families, eat a well-elaborated dinner and dance around the Juletræ (Christmas tree) singing the Julesange (Christmas songs). The biggest Danish Christian festivity carries the name of a heathen tradition (from Old English: hæðen “not Christian or Jewish” – c.f. Old Norse: heiðinn). In the period from about 700 to 1300 there was a profound cultural change in the country. The traditional tribal society was slowly replaced by a more centralized royal power after the Western European model. The Danish Church development was, in this context, an integrated part of the European church history, and many of the changes that took place in Europe as a whole could also be seen in Denmark. This period marks also the transition from the Viking Age to the Medieval Times in Denmark.

The word “Yule” was used by the pre-Christian Scandinavian people around the 10th century to describe the winter festivities that celebrated the return of the light. The festivities took place in January and were called Yule in English, or Jól, in Old Norse. In the Northern hemisphere the winter solstice occurs on December 21st and it marks the day when the Sun´s apparent position in the sky, as viewed from the Earth, reaches its Northernmost extreme (in other words, it is the shortest day of the year). By the year 960, King Hakon the Good (Hakon den Gode, Norway´s first Christian king), who wanted to bring Christianity to Scandinavia, ordered the Norwegians that the winter festivities should be celebrated the night preceding December 25th, so that they would coincide with the Christian celebration. At the same period, in 965, King Harald Bluetooth (Harald Blåtand) of Denmark erected the rune stone in the city of Jelling, where he announced that he made the Danes Christians.

Since then the birth of Christ and the return of the sun are celebrated together. In spite of the change in the festivities, the Danes, as well as the Scandinavian people, kept the heathen name instead of adopting the new Christian one.

The heathen origin of December’s festivities in the Scandinavian world might explain why it is not common to find nativity scenes around the Christmas’ trees in Denmark, and also why the Danes dance and sing around the tree.

Nu’ det jul igen is one of the main songs: “now it is Christmas again, now it is Christmas again, and it will last until Easter. No, it is not true. No, it is not true, because in between there will be Lent”.

Nu’ det jul igen

Nu’ det jul igen

og nu er det jul igen,

og julen varer lige til påske.

Nej, det’ ikke sandt,

for ind imellem kommer fasten.

Other facts:

* King Hakon the Good ordered that Jul should coincide with Christmas in the 10th century, but in other parts of the world Christmas had already been celebrated at least since the 4th century.

* the birth of Christ is celebrated on the 25th of December even though there is a lot of controverse about the real date when he was born.

To read more about heathen traditions, check:

Ship models in Danish churches

Easter in Denmark

Valentine´s Day in Denmark