Fastelavn
Since February is around the corner, so is the tradition ‘fastelavn’ in Denmark! Fastelavn is a tradition that circles back to around the 1300s. To begin with it was a religious practice where people fasted. In the bible, Jesus is sent out in the desert for 40 days, which is why the fast lasted 40 days before Easter.When the fast ended it was a symbol of the arrival of spring, and it was celebrated with a big feast! People dressed up in costumes, and hit each other with “fastelavnsris” (birch branches) it was believed to promote fertility. To celebrate the ending of the fast further, people would put black cats in a barrel and proceed to hit the barrel to scare away the devil and bad luck (black cats were considered as companions to the devil, although it’s a bit brutal🫣) It used to be a tradition in all of Scandinavia, but remains only in Denmark today. Today we celebrate by dressing up in costumes, eating fastelavnsboller (a fancy pastry bun, with the intention of symbolising the big feast) and hitting the cat out of the barrel, although today the black cat is switched out for candy. The person who hits out the candy is nominated ‘kattekonge’ (cat-king) and the person who knocks off the last piece of the plank in the barrel is nominated ‘kattedronning’ (cat-queen)
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