Merry Christmas from Greenland

Merry Christmas from Santa’s country, Greenland 🙂

Christmas in Greenland is the coziest time of the year! Families and friends enjoy quality time. Candles and the scent of cookies and meat in the oven. The wind whispers, everything is covered with snow, and the darkness outside makes it cozier when all the Christmas decorations light up the houses.

Lighting the Christmas Tree

The lighting of the Christmas tree on the first Sunday of Advent is a cozy tradition, and almost the entire town shows up.

Greenlandic Advent Star

This orange star is seen in many of Greenland’s houses. It is also a must for Greenlanders who are abroad for Christmas, and my sister has sent me one several times so I could have a little bit home with me while I’ve been away.

Christmas Schedule

December 24th starts with a family breakfast when we give each other one small gift. The rest we open during the evening. For dinner, we serve both Danish and Greenlandic dishes. Duck, roast beef, reindeer, and lamb are what you see in many Greenlandic homes for Christmas dinner. Plenty of food yes! 🙂 We also dance around the Christmas tree, and all the trees are shipped from Denmark 🙂

Other Family Traditions

As a tradition, many Greenlandic families will attend church, as the majority are Christians. We also go to the cemetery and put candles and decorations on the family graves of the ones we lost.

Santa Claus

Christmas is all about family, love, fun, and quality time. In Nuuk town, Santa Claus comes each year by helicopter to hand out presents to children. It is a must-see experience if you are visiting us at this time of year. 

By 10 o´clock, the area outside the hospital is always crowded with families who are gathered to see Santa on his Air Greenland sled 🙂 So yes – he actually does come flying 😛

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you all! <3

Read more travel blogs from Laali Berthelsen