We’re been traveling the past few days but missing the Danish tradition of Fastelavn a lot right now…after three years, Danish traditions have a way of sticking with you. We won’t be parading in costume this year (although we will be celebrating – my grandmother turned 90!), we did spend some time going over old videos and pictures on my phone, remember what fun it was. As we settled into the United States, she got to dress up for Halloween this year (in the photo) but one of the best parts of being an expat sometimes is that you get double the traditions. Your own, and that of your adopted country, so loving ours doesn’t mean missing theirs any less.
We’re missing the sweet “boller” that seem to spill out of every bakery window around this time of year in Denmark. I’ve got to tell you, what we wouldn’t both give right now for one of those treats, eaten to the forest school chorus of the Fastelavn song…
Fastelavn er mit navn,
boller vil jeg have.
Hvis jeg ingen boller får,
så laver jeg ballade.
Boller op, boller ned,
boller i min mave.
Hvis jeg ingen boller får,
så laver jeg ballade.
If you want to learn a little more about this fun holiday (that by the way, in addition to boller and costumes, involves threats of flogging your parents, decorating switches of branches, and beating a barrel until it breaks), here are a few posts from past years:
Danish Mardi Gras (on the other blog)
First Fastelavn – a video!
A little more Fastelavn (celebrations in a downtown neighborhoood)
The Queen of the Cats (might have been her crowning achievement!)
We’ve been getting a bit braver about inviting others over from the school to show off a bit about our daughter’s American side. The first big foray into that was of course the 
Halloween is, of course, primarily an American holiday, even though the date itself has various kinds of significance in multiple countries. However, it’s definitely becoming more and more of a deal here in Denmark. Our first year here, I think we barely saw a trick or treater, and by this year, downtown was full of them. I’ve heard quite a few people lament here (even at the school) that American holidays are becoming more and more prevalent. And while part of me understands that not everyone wants that, we were still determined to show the kids a good time and share a little bit about a tradition that really is a big deal where we’re from.
Decorating was a big deal, especially since our little one picked out a lot of them. She’s also old enough now to help put them up and I have to say, that was one of the best parts of the party, was simply her and I getting ready for it. Trying to get all those insects up on the glass and the piles of pumpkins to stick, we managed to have a few laughs that I will most certainly remember as part of our time in this house.
We tried really hard not to make it about just the candy or the trick or treating (although there was a little candy-less goody bag for everyone to take home at the end), but more about a fall festival type atmosphere. I don’t want to share the photos of all the kiddies here but there were sack races, and carnival games, and face painting, and just plain old running around. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about having these forest schools parties (now that we’ve thrown a few), it’s that we don’t have to over plan. Sometimes, the kids are content enough just to have a change of space and get a little glimpse into how their friends live.
Still, it wouldn’t be Halloween if there wasn’t just a little bit of candy right? We got special permission to sneak in a few pieces which we did with the piñata. And although these kids are 
There’s a little more on the 
I should note that with the fastelavn rotations often including multiple events and our own Halloween celebrations doing the same, costumes here are in high demand so we have given this little ladybug outfit a run for its money. Over the past three years, it’s been incorporated in all of those events, each time a little differently. What used to be a full dress is now barely a mini-skirt, and she still loves it just as much. Maybe it will be a crop top by next halloween?
The purchase of that costume a a bit of a fluke – typical spazzy working mother that year, I only figured out the whole fastelavn thing the day before. I literally knocked on the glass of the local toy store and pleaded for them to let me in two minutes after they closed. No pinterest costume projects for me! I was totally “that mom” who barged in, frantically doing a 360 review of the store and grabbing the one thing I thought would work. Good thing it did – I have no idea how much it was but whatever the price, we’ve certainly gotten every kroner’s worth since. 
