Every country has its own way of celebrating the Christmas season, and Denmark is no exception. To quote Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish Christmas is "magnificent, quite unforgettably magnificent". Most Danes go all out when it comes to planning and celebrating Christmas, or Jul.

Below are a few things you should do to celebrate a true "Danish" Christmas .

The four Sundays preceding Christmas are called Advent Sundays, and it is traditional to create a wreath that contains four candles (Adventkrans). The first of the four Advent wreath candles is lit on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. On the following Sundays an additional candle is lit. So on the second Sunday, two candles are lit. On the Sunday before Christmas, all four candles should be lit.

On December 1st, it is customary for children to light a tall calendar candle , which has the 24 days of Christmas printed at intervals along the candle. Each day the children burn one of the 24 sections that mark the number of days until Christmas.

Another tradition is the Advent calendar. There are various forms of these. Some are fancy cardboard houses, which have a door/window for each of the 24 days before Christmas. Each day children open a door to find a surprise or small gift.

Some families may use a tapestry with small gifts hanging from 24 hooks, and each day children are allowed to open a small gift. Depending on the family, some may use one, two or all of the above at the same time.