Laughing In Denmark: Birthday Celebrations: The Danish Way

Father-son bike ride in Borup

A month ago now (still catching up) was my 21st birthday. I realized that this was going to be the first birthday I have ever celebrated without my family because even when I was at college they would drive out to see me. However, Helle (my Danish host mom) told me that she would have a birthday party for me and that I could invite anyone I wanted to. I chose to keep it a small family affair. It started off with me waking up to a Danish flag flying high on the flag post in the backyard. Helle told me that the Danish flag is raised on special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries. I felt so honored. We started off the day with not one, but two birthday cakes. Both were delicious! They sang two different Danish birthday songs to me. For the second song, Tina, Zoe, and I were able to pick different instruments that we wanted featured and then my host family incorporated those instruments into the song. It was quite entertaining to say the least! This was followed by a delicious dinner consisting of an exorbitant amount of food. Helle had pulled out all the stops. Just when I thought I couldn't put one more ounce of food in my stomach Helle brought out two cheesecakes. One was covered with fresh berries, the other with a orange jello-like substance. So quick recap: 4 cakes in total. My favorite number. Perfection. Living in Denmark is not real life. I was also able to skype in my family from home where they had made me a cake, sang to me, blew out the candles, and continued to tell me not to worry they would also eat it for me. Thanks guys. The biggest surprise of the day was when Helle gave me, Tina, and Zoe a box wrapped in silver paper with a hot pink ribbon on it. I opened it carefully, as I didn't want to ruin the beautiful packaging. Inside I found the Georg Jensen daisy necklace that all my host sisters have and that Tina, Zoe, and I had been admiring all semester. The nickname for Queen Margrethe II is Daisy, so this line of jewelry is very symbolic of Denmark. It was such a wonderful surprise! I love wearing it not only because it is pretty, but I also feel really Danish when I have it on, and something has to make up for the fact that I can't speak Danish to save my life. We played a little Wii (which got quite competitive when it came to boxing) and just relaxed and talked. It was a great day. I am so thankful for my host family. They have been so hospitable from the first day I got here and have put in a great effort to make me feel welcome in Denmark. What I had originally thought was going to be a day that made me a little home sick turned out to be one of my favorite birthdays ever.