Sign up for our newsletter Order a copy

Danish Greetings from Daniel Island

click any of the photos below to start the slideshow

Long-loved Scandinavian traditions fill the Fryman home every Christmas, as handmade ornaments, favorite recipes, and plenty of candlelight offer back-to-basics cheer

Photographs by
Peter Frank Edwards
Rikke pitches in to help son Elliot at their customary crafts table, where the children make their own Christmas ornaments using traditional Danish shapes and colors.
In keeping with tradition, Audrey fills handmade, heart-shaped ornaments with sweet bites of pebernødder (spiced cookies).
A Morris armchair flanks one of four fireplaces in the 1,600-square-foot home, this one edged in earthy hand-glazed tiles.
Audrey, Felix, and Elliot Fryman welcome a homespun Danish Christmas to their Daniel Island house. Simple, natural decorations—like this Lowcountry-tinged mix of cotton boughs, small pines, and evergreen garlands—are hallmarks of Scandinavian holiday style. “God Jul” translates to “Merry Christmas.”
Danish Greetings from Daniel Island
Danish Greetings from Daniel Island
Danish Greetings from Daniel Island
Traditionally, Danes use lighted candles on their trees, as Christmas Eve culminates in dancing around the symbol of evergreen life. “You sing songs,” says Rikke, “and there’s always the uncle who’s totally off-key but that just adds to everything.”
Hot chocolate warms up the nights while the children get crafty with gingerbread.
“One thing that struck me about Danish Christmas dinner is that no matter whose house you go into over there, they will be eating the same thing,” says Bill. Dishes of Danish meatballs, stewed red cabbage, new potatoes, and fresh baked rye bread fill the heavily laden tables.
Offer household elves, or nissen, a bowl of rice porridge with cinnamon, sugar, and butter on Christmas Eve, and they’re less likely to spread mischief throughout your home in the year to come.
Dusted with confectioners’ sugar and served with dollops of jam, aebleskiver (small, puff pancakes) are a common sweet. Local culinary outfit Charleston Cooks! says their cooking demonstration of the Danish dessert was their most popular event to date.
Rikke and husband Bill sip gløgg, a spiced sweet hot wine dating back to the 1800s.