Christmas exhibition: The Roots of Christmas

Is it Christmas when you light the tree, carve the roast pork, or when the first snowflake falls? 

This year’s Christmas exhibition at the National Museum of Denmark invites you on a journey through a thousand years of Danish holiday traditions — to discover what truly makes Christmas feel like Christmas. 

Christmas in Denmark has deep roots, but the way we celebrate has changed profoundly over time. 

In the exhibition, you’ll experience four very different Christmas Eves. 

Experience Christmas Eve in 1870 with Peter, whom you might recognise from Peter’s Christmas.
Follow the girl Gertrud and her village as they head to mass in one of Denmark’s earliest churches, built in the 12th century.
Visit young Jens on a farm at the end of the 18th century, where the Christmas days are both dangerous and full of mischief.
The exhibition ends in December 2025, when you’ll discover new traditions taking shape today.