A Forest School Halloween…

I realize we are nowhere near Halloween on the calendar.  But in going through all the Fastelavn pictures that we posted earlier, I also realized that I never shared these few from our Halloween forest school bash here at the house.  A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  We’ve been getting a bit braver about inviting others over from the school to show off a bit about our daughter’s American side.  The first big foray into that was of course the American Embassy visit last summer, but then again this fall, we took it one step closer to our own home, literally, and had 30 little revelers over to celebrate Halloween.Forest School Halloween-1 A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  Halloween is, of course, primarily an American holiday, even though the date itself has various kinds of significance in multiple countries.  However, it’s definitely becoming more and more of a deal here in Denmark.  Our first year here, I think we barely saw a trick or treater, and by this year, downtown was full of them.   I’ve heard quite a few people lament here (even at the school) that American holidays are becoming more and more prevalent.  And while part of me understands that not everyone wants that, we were still determined to show the kids a good time and share a little bit about a tradition that really is a big deal where we’re from.A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  Decorating was a big deal, especially since our little one picked out a lot of them.  She’s also old enough now to help put them up and I have to say, that was one of the best parts of the party, was simply her and I getting ready for it.  Trying to get all those insects up on the glass and the piles of pumpkins to stick, we managed to have a few laughs that I will most certainly remember as part of our time in this house.A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  We tried really hard not to make it about just the candy or the trick or treating (although there was a little candy-less goody bag for everyone to take home at the end), but more about a fall festival type atmosphere.  I don’t want to share the photos of all the kiddies here but there were sack races, and carnival games, and face painting, and just plain old running around. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about having these forest schools parties (now that we’ve thrown a few), it’s that we don’t have to over plan.  Sometimes, the kids are content enough just to have a change of space and get a little glimpse into how their friends live.A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.

Menu: Lots and lots of “crudite” sticks (those kids shovel those down, seriously), peanut butter and fruit roll ups, grilled sausages in rolls, mac’n’cheese bites, fresh berries, and frozen bananas covered in yogurt (thank pinterest for that one).  And just because it was halloween, itty bitty brownies with candy corn.A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  Still, it wouldn’t be Halloween if there wasn’t just a little bit of candy right? We got special permission to sneak in a few pieces which we did with the piñata.  And although these kids are pro-fastelavn barrel beaters, for some reason, the piñata was a completely new thing and one that was very welcome.  All in all a success, and the party will probably go down as one of our favorite halloween’s to date.  After all, it’s nice to share something with people who share with you, right? A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.  A halloween celebration for a forest school in Denmark.

The Queen of Cats…

Fastelavn has come and gone already for this year, all too quickly I might add.  But another parent from our school was lucky enough to do a “tag along” day on the very celebration day that the kids headed out to the woods for their traditional barrel bashing.  It was also the day, our daughter became Queen of the Cats…

Danish Fastelavn Celebration-1

Queen of the Cats is, of course, the crowning glory you receive if you are the one to deliver the fatal blow to the wooden barrel containing the glorious treats for the Danish Carnival celebration (and so-called because the wooden barrel used to contain a cat, way back in the day).

Danish Fastelavn Celebration-4

We talked a little more about this fantastic Danish celebration here and here so I won’t get too much further into it except to say, I think our tot enjoyed her moment of crowning glory.

Danish Fastelavn Celebration-3Danish Fastelavn Celebration-2

She wore the crown all day long, literally…at school…at home…after her bath, taking it off only when it was finally bedtime.  I think it’s a day she will not soon forget, and I confess, that makes me happy.  It’s the stuff of childhood dreams, and I’m elated she fulfilled one of hers here.  Plus she was kind to her subjects…at least the ones at home!

Danish Fastelavn Celebration-5

A little more Fastelavn…

This weekend through today have been a bit of a fastelavn bonanza…one celebration at the embassy, one downtown with friends, and one at school…. let it not be said that we didn’t live up the holiday.Celebrating Fastelavn, the equivalent tradition of carnival meets halloween meets Mardi Gras in DenmarkThere’s a little more on the background of the holiday on the other blog from our first year here, and speaking of which, did you see the little video that I dug up from deep in my phone archives from that year? I thought I’d share a few more pictures from the celebration we attended downtown since if you’ll look closely, our daughter is still wearing the same costume that she did her very first year here.Celebrating Fastelavn, the equivalent tradition of carnival meets halloween meets Mardi Gras in Denmark Celebrating Fastelavn, the equivalent tradition of carnival meets halloween meets Mardi Gras in DenmarkI should note that with the fastelavn rotations often including multiple events and our own Halloween celebrations doing the same, costumes here are in high demand so we have given this little ladybug outfit a run for its money.  Over the past three years, it’s been incorporated in all of those events, each time a little differently.  What used to be a full dress is now barely a mini-skirt, and she still loves it just as much.  Maybe it will be a crop top by next halloween?Celebrating Fastelavn, the equivalent tradition of carnival meets halloween meets Mardi Gras in DenmarkThe purchase of that costume a a bit of a fluke – typical spazzy working mother that year, I only figured out the whole fastelavn thing the day before.  I literally knocked on the glass of the local toy store and pleaded for them to let me in two minutes after they closed.  No pinterest costume projects for me! I was totally “that mom” who barged in, frantically doing a 360 review of the store and grabbing the one thing I thought would work.  Good thing it did – I have no idea how much it was but whatever the price, we’ve certainly gotten every kroner’s worth since.  Celebrating Fastelavn, the equivalent tradition of carnival meets halloween meets Mardi Gras in Denmark Celebrating Fastelavn, the equivalent tradition of carnival meets halloween meets Mardi Gras in Denmark.

A few things about Fastelavn you might not know:

  • Fastelavn is basically the Danish equivalent of Mardi Gras or Carnival, they go big on the sweets and pastries but there really doesn’t seem to be as into the punitive, self sacrificing Ash Wednesday that follows…
  • It’s primarily a children’s celebration but parents get in on the activities mostly to socialize with other parents
  • The main activity involves kids beating a suspended wooden barrel, somewhat like a piñata – when you break it open, there are treats like popcorn and fruit and sometimes candy inside.  It can take forever to break it open if there are a lot of young kids and people have all the patience it takes – there is no “hurrying it along” or “adults helping out” or “let me get you started”.  If you’re an adult who is watching, you best bring a thermos of coffee or something stronger because you’ll be there awhile.
  • The barrel is decorated with cats because in the good old days there used to be cats in it and they would beat the barrel until they lept out… or worse.  How’s that for a child friendly activity?
  • If you’re the one to break the barrel open, you can be crowned King or Queen of Cats (what is it with the cats?)
  • They other things children can beat are their parents….they decorate switches and branches with more cats and tissue paper.  They can beat you in the morning to wake you up until you relent and give them more pastries and sweets.
  • Speaking of pastries, the starlet of any festivities are “fastelavnsboller”, pastries filled with cream in various variations – see some from today up on Instagram!
  • There’s a little song that all children know about causing trouble and rabble rousing, when they sing it, you must give them more pastries.

So there you have it: costumes, beating, cats and pastries….that’s the holiday in a nutshell but it’s great fun.  Our first year we were still catching on, but by now, we’ve come to love it and anticipate for it.  Now how do we bring our own version to the US next year?

If you find this Fastelavn thing kind of interesting, you can read a little more on some of these local blogs:

Video: First Fastelavn…

Fastelavn is in full swing across the weekend and these next couple of days  – it’s our Danish version of Mardi Gras so to speak.  The forest school has their party tomorrow but in the meantime, I found that I still had a few clips of our very first one here in Denmark.  You can read more about the holiday over when I first posted it here.

Video and music via Replay.