​Danish Canadian Museum Advent Calendar - December 11th 2020

​Danish Canadian Museum Advent Calendar - December 11th 2020 
 
Yule had a strong connection to Odin for the Vikings. During this time of year, you could watch the God of Gods fly through the night sky, paying visits to people in their homes. Often depicted as old, wise, and fatherly, Odin would fly across the sky on Sleipner, his eight-legged horse (Eight reindeer anyone? Sorry Rudolph - you were a couple centuries later, but we still love you!). Sound familiar? Many people think that Odin is, in fact, the original Santa Claus. The Dutch later took on the Norse tradition and made him into Santa Claus, or Sinterklaas, as they call him. It was Saint Nicholas, however (who is entirely unrelated to Norse mythology), that perfected Santa Claus into what he is today - the giver of gifts for the good. So, is it fate and destiny that perhaps the stories of Vikings could have created both an iconic person in Santa Claus and a delicious pastry called Kringle, that just happens to show up in his name? We are not sure, but this bit of trivia will probably earn you some points in your families get togethers!!

With the weather turning colder and the holidays just around the corner, we hope that everyone will love learning and looking at Danish and Viking heritage for the Christmas traditions with there families that many have loved for generations, and we know that many of our members have and enjoy the same traditions. They tell us about their families who came from Denmark and how they long for the same Danish pastries that their parents and grandparents used to make. Or, they say that they used to live in the Denmark or family that used to live in Denmark and want to reconnect with their roots, and our museum and saga cafe gives them that opportunity.

We have many different members and guests with wide variety of preferences, but two things are certain: first of all, we always strive to bring a taste of hygge for guests and members throughout the country, and second, that everyone of us has a fondness for their Christmas traditions. At the museum, we love them too - especially how they remind us of our family and the many years that we all gathered to celebrate the holidays.

Another extremely popular Danish Christmas dessert is the Kringle, our best-loved bakery item I'd say it ties with Wienerbrod. When it comes to Danish sweets, nothing is better loved than the Kringle. As the Vikings explored distant lands, they discovered many gorgeous cities, but like many of us have learned, they found out there is nothing like home at Christmas. We have created a special Kringle flavors in honor of a classic Danish tradition -
The difference between Wienerbrod and Kringle is the manner in which the butter is added. Now in Wienerbrod it is laminated between the dough layers, in Kringle the dough itself is a mix of puff pastry and pie crust, in the layering and yeast is like wienerbrod the butter is mixed into the dough at the very beginning of the process. Saying this DO NOT over handle the Kringle dough! Less is more to create the flaky crispy delicate cake.