And today Christmas Eve:
"It is Christmas Eve.
Each family has its own traditions for this special day – and, and to conclude The Royal House of Denmark’s Christmas calendar “Christmas at The Royal House”, HM The Queen tells here about the Christmas Eve traditions in the royal family.
Merry Christmas."
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmiiuD1vZTl/
"HM The Queen:
“From Christmas 1947, when my father, as you may remember, had become king, my parents decided that we should celebrate Christmas Eve over in Trend, and there it thus was the rest of our childhood, until I was married. Our grandmother was with us until Christmas, and she enjoyed it to that extent. Her birthday was 24 December and, of course, she had never really been allowed to have her birthday to herself, but father made a big point of it that, until we had to go to church, it was grandmother’s birthday. So, she was fêted early in the forenoon with birthday cake and gifts and candles lit in the drawing room. After I began to celebrate Christmas at Marselisborg Palace, and that has been many years ago by now, I still like it just as much, because it is also a lovely place to celebrate Christmas.
We have really built up Christmas traditions – we go to church, we eat Christmas dinner, we go to the Christmas tree and open Christmas presents. We sing a little, but we don’t dance around the Christmas tree. The funny thing is that neither in my father’s family nor in my mother’s family was there a tradition of dancing around the Christmas tree, so I have never really been involved in that. Then, there is Christmas dinner, of course, and we are quite traditional with that. That is to say, it’s a blend of Danish tradition, a little from my husband, but also from my mother. We begin with rice pudding, and there is one almond – no matter whether there are many or not so many present – and thus I have provided for one almond gift, which can be entertaining for both adults or children. Then, we have roasted goose – not always in the typical Danish manner, but always roasted goose.
Then, we finish with my mother’s tradition, which was English plum pudding, which is a very substantial cake with lots of spices, and then, finally, it has to burn – you pour a little hot cognac on, then you light it, and then it’s standing ready with blue flames. I have to say that I don’t really think it has been Christmas Eve if we haven’t had plum pudding, so we have had that every time. And, not least, my Australian-born daughter-in-law thinks it’s great when she is there, because she then gets plum pudding. This year, it’s going to be a bit exciting because I myself have to celebrate Christmas somewhere other than at my own place. My sister, Princess Benedikte, and I are invited to celebrate Christmas Eve with some good friends in Jutland, and we are very much looking forward to that.”
What a Christmas journey, lovely and informative , was this year!!! And I'm already looking forward to the next one! Merry Christmas to all!!
Archduchess Zelia, That is a most precious story about Tilia taking a chair!
