Finding light in the Danish Winter Darkness

Finding light in the Danish Winter Darkness

Author: Kay Xander Mellish January 10, 2024 Duration: 7:10

Many internationals newly arrived in Denmark struggle with the long Danish winter. 

The darkness that starts to fall in the early afternoon means that 5pm looks just like 8pm, which looks just like midnight, which looks just like 5am.

Dense, inky black sky.

During the daytime there's a dim grey light, sometimes accompanied by a soupy fog of tiny raindrops.

It's tough to handle - even for Danes.

Many people living through this time in Denmark describe feeling low-energy – sløj is the very descriptive Danish term. It translates directly to "sluggish".

Others feel deeply depressed. Some eat too much, or drink too much. Some sleep all the time.

It doesn't have to be this way. Here are my tips for handling these dark months, which generally stretch from November until the end of February.

 

Enjoy the brown charm of Danish winter nature

It's important to get outside during the brief period of light every day. Even if it's just for 15 minutes on your lunch hour, it really helps. 

Walking in nature is wonderful this time of year if you have right clothing, in particular the right footwear. A good pair of solid boots and you can even go out when it's icy. Don't neglect second-hand stores in Denmark. You can usually find a lot of good winter clothes there for not very much money.

Parks, botanical gardens, forests – they all have a certain charm this time of year. A brown, winter charm, but a charm all the same.

 

The secret sauce: a project or a list with things you can check off

Go see how the winter animals are doing. Deer parks are good, see what the deer are up to. And most Danish zoos are open year-round. Go see how happy the polar bears are when the weather is freezing!

But my top tip for making it through the winter is a specific project, like learning how to knit, or learning how to make something out of wood, or even better, a list.

If you have a list, you can check things off as you go along, and you get a feeling of progress as the dark months drag on.

Read more at howtoliveindenmark.com.

 


For anyone curious about or currently navigating Danish life from the outside, How to Live in Denmark serves as an essential, on-the-ground guide. Hosted by Kay Xander Mellish, an American writer who has made Denmark her home for over ten years, this conversation cuts straight to the heart of the everyday realities in one of the world's most homogenous-and often puzzling-societies. Rather than lengthy lectures, you'll find concise, ten-minute episodes packed with practical advice and cultural translation. This isn't just about travel tips; it's a deep dive into the unspoken rules of Danish social etiquette, the nuances of the local workplace, and the sometimes surprising path to feeling at home in a country frequently labeled the world's happiest. Mellish draws from her own long-term experience to explain everything from navigating the infamous Jantelov to understanding the Danish approach to business meetings and casual Friday night hygge. As Denmark's longest-running English-language podcast, it has become a trusted resource for internationals, whether they are planning a move, newly arrived, or have been settled for years but still occasionally find themselves wondering, "Why do Danes do it that way?" Each episode feels like a chat with a well-informed friend who helps decode the complexities of a fascinating culture, making your time there richer and a lot less confusing.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

How to Live in Denmark
Podcast Episodes
Politeness in Denmark: Some thoughts on Danish etiquette [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:31
"Is there politeness in Denmark?" That was the question I was recently invited on a national TV show to discuss. The implication was that I was supposed to say that Danes were not at all polite, because effusive praise a…
What I say when I'm welcoming newcomers to Denmark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:58
One of my favorite types of speaking engagement is introducing Denmark to some of the smart, motivated young people arriving from around the world to study at Danish universities. Since the publication of my first book,…
Summer Vacation in Denmark: The Agony and the Ecstasy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:39
Planning your summer vacation in Denmark is like playing the lottery. You could hit it lucky, with golden days and long, warm evenings, when you can sit with friends in the soft light and drink hyldeblomst cocktails. Or…
April Fool's in Denmark, and the rough game of Danish humor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:08
April 1st is April Fool's Day – Aprilsnar in Danish – and each Danish newspaper will feature a clever but false story for the unwary to be fooled by. To some extent every day is April Fool's Day in Denmark, because Danis…
Motivating Danish employees: Tips for Foreign Managers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:27
Motivating Danish employees is very different than motivating other groups of people because there are two big factors missing – hierarchy and fear. We don't like to talk about the fear part in our various countries of o…
The sound of Denmark? Quiet. Very quiet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:57
Denmark is a quiet country, even within the cities. Especially this time of year, February, when it's too cold to do anything but scurry from place to place, when the street cafés are closed and no one wants to eat their…
Tips for Living with a Danish Family [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:56
As the new academic semester starts up, some of you may be planning to live in a Danish home. It could be you'll rent a room in a household, maybe you'll be part of a Danish host family, or maybe you'll just be staying w…
Autumn in Denmark: The slow fading of the light [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:59
Autumn in Denmark actually starts in mid-August, when the kids go back to school. Danish kids have a very short holiday – usually only about 6 weeks. By late August, you can definitely feel a little fall crispness in the…