Lille Juleaften

My great grandparents (Peter and Martha Jensen Rasmussen) "Ma" and "Pa" were Danish. All of their parents were from Denmark. They came to America as Mormon Pioneers and settled in Mantua (man'-too-ay), UT--and they grew up speaking Danish in their homes. After they married they continued speaking Danish between themselves, but not with their children. Thus, my grandmother, my Nana, didn't speak Danish. It ended with Ma and Pa. I remember as a child playing in their home, listening to them speak Danish to each other--it seemed a little magical. One of the traditions their parents brought with them from Denmark was "Little Christmas Eve". The Danish Christmas celebration is on December 24 night. So, the night before that is "Little Christmas Eve" or Lille Juleaften (after the trip across the Atlantic, growing up in Utah and moving to San Diego, it ended up as "lilly yulee outen". An LDS missionary from Denmark knocked at my door once in Provo, and I invited him in. I asked him about this celebration, and he pronounced it "Lil' uh Yul' uh Aften--pretty close I thought. In Denmark, he said that it's a children's thing. They get to eat aebleskivers -- he asked me if I knew what those were (hehehe) -- and rice pudding. I could see from that my children are true Danes! On Little Christams Eve, the adults drink "glogg"--mulled wine, and eat cookies. My great great grandparents (I didn't know them) brought the tradition to the US, but re-worked it somewhat so that it's a trial run for Christmas Eve. The elves fly around the world checking on where the stockings are hung, and leave a tiny morsel to show that they have been there, and to warn the children not to move their stockings or Santa will not be able to find them. Obviously in the early 19th century, since the Danish Santa Claus was a gentleman who wore gray clothing and a red winter cap and brought goodies for good children, it needed a little editing to make the trip to 20th century America! My children's dad, Thomas Michael (Mick) Warner, was also Danish--a little more than I am. I asked his grandmother, Patra King (Kong) Warner (who came from Denmark) about this and she said she knew about it and loved it. She also taught me how to make aebleskivers. I hope everyone in the family can use some of these ideas to enhance their Christmas celebrations.