The Mod Muse

I was riding my bike to Nørrebro  (the northern district of Copenhagen) yesterday to meet a friend, when suddenly I saw a group of children dressed up in costumes and smacking the hell out of something that looked like a wooden box. Being a seasoned New Yorker, I am used to seeing people on the streets dressed in all sorts of costumes and sometimes wearing nothing at all , so I quickly forgot about it after a few blocks or so.  Later that day as I was when I enjoying some hygge with my roommates at home, I mentioned to them what I had saw. They explained that Sunday is the Danish children’s holiday, Fastelavn, similar but not entirely the same as our Halloween. Fastelavn is actually on Sunday the 22nd of February but the kids also celebrate at school, just as American kids would if Halloween fell on a weekend.

I found a brief explanation of Fastelavn on wiki here it is:

“Fastelavn occurs seven weeks before Easter Sunday and is sometimes described as a Nordic Halloween with children dressing up in costumes and gathering treats for the Fastelavn feast. The holiday is generally considered to be a time for children’s fun and family games.Traditional events include slå katten af tønden (“hit the cat out of the barrel”), which is somewhat similar to a piñata, except that there is a wooden barrel, which is full of candy and has the image of a cat on it. Historically there was a real black cat in the barrel, and beating it was superstitiously considered a safeguard against evil. After the candy pours out, the game continues until the entire barrel is broken. The one who knocks down the bottom of the barrel (making all the candy spill out) becomes kattedronning (“queen of cats”), the one who knocks down the last piece of the barrel becomes kattekonge (“king of cats”).”

Poor cats!  Actually, felines are no longer the sad victims of Fastelavn festivities. Instead of putting the cat in the barrel, children are now satisfied with a painted version on the side of the candy-filled barrel.

There are a few differences between Fastelavn and Halloween. For one, it is children’s holiday. Adults do not dress up or party and for the most part the activities that day are centered around the kids.. Fastelavn also has nothing to do with spirits or ghosts or anything like that, the costumes are worn for fun not to scare people.

There are some similarities to Halloween. Besides the wearing of costumes and eating candy, Danish children do their own version of “trick or treating”. On Fastelavn you may open your door to find children waving a cup in your face (which if you feel so inclined, you can toss a few coins into) and singing a mean little song similar to our “trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat”.

Fastelavn er mit navn! Boller vil jeg have, hvis jeg ingen boller for så laver jeg ballade!

Which translates roughly into “Carnival is my name! Buns I shall have, if I have no buns I will make some trouble!”The buns they are referring to is a special pastry made especially for the occasion, they are called “fastelavnsboller”. I found a yummy recipe for them on the Danish food blog  Food & Thoughts.

Children also have the pleasure of making, “fastelavnsris”. Fastelavnsris are bunches of twigs, usually from fruit trees and preferably with buds. They are decorated with feathers, egg-shells, storks and little figures of babies. Some are decorated with candy as well. Children use the fastelavnris to ritually flog their parents to wake them up on the morning of Easter Sunday.

I can say I am looking forward to my Fastelavn experience! My roommate has assured me there will be some ringing of our doorbell tomorrow so I best have some coins at my disposal or face the angry wrath of Danish children!