The Julekalender
Encyclopedia
The Julekalender was a Danish TV series that ran at Christmas
1991 (a Norwegian version was made in 1994, and a Finnish version
appeared in 1997). It was written and performed almost entirely by a trio of Danish comedy musicians called De Nattergale
with financial and technical assistance from TV2
, a Danish television company. It was hugely successful at the time, causing many invented phrases from the series to enter popular culture and was later released on VHS
, and recently, DVD
.
It had 24 episodes (one for each day of December until Christmas Eve), as has been typical of other TV "calendars" before and since The Julekalender.
Each of the three actors had two roles. One role was as a Nisse
, a type of gnome
or elf
associated with Christmas in Danish tradition but not to be confused with Norse
mythology. The other role is as a normal, if overly stereotyped, Dane
.
The premise of the film is fairly simple: long, long ago, the race of Nisser lived happily in Denmark getting up to mischief with the humans, drinking, and making merry. Then the "Nå-såere" came - evil, vampire
-esque creatures with an unhealthy obsession for money and counting, and almost eradicated the Nisser. A few Nisser survived, among them good old Gammelnok (literally, "old enough", the one character not to be played by a member of De Nattergale
), who is now on the brink of death, as the music box that plays his life tune needs to be wound up. Gammelnok gathers three of the remaining Nisser (Hansi, Gunther, and Fritz) and sends them off to Denmark, to find the old Nisse cave where the key to wind up the music box is. He gives them The Book to take with them, an ancient tome that contains the answer to any and all questions, warning them to take great care that it does not fall into the hands of a Nå-såer. If this were to happen, all would be lost. They are also warned to take care, as the Nå-såers nowadays have taken the appearance of normal humans, but when they consume alcohol, they regain their original appearance, with fangs, and thick-rimmed glasses. The three merrily set off, and this is where the first episode begins.
One of the quirks of the series, and one which made up a good share of its appeal, is the strange language that the Nisser speak. They themselves call it English, but it is an odd mixture of both Danish and English vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure, leading to some very humorous phrases and structures (at least, to anyone who speaks both English and Danish). This was likely a good-natured jest at the heavy Danish accent that many Danes speak with, and the (back then) fairly low level of English proficiency of Danes, especially outside of large cities. Examples of particularly interesting, odd, or funny phrases are listed here (without an understanding of Danish, the humour will likely be lost):
"He who first gets to the mill is he who first gets painted"
"Think you da lige a little about"
"Let us straks try to smake it!"
"That is simpelthen ,overhead not noget to do with"
Additionally, key characters, events, or items are also called by odd hybrid names: the music box, for example, is a play dåse, Father Christmas is the Christmas man and the act of wood-carving is called "snitting". Since De Nattergale
are actually musicians (albeit comedy musicians), the Nisser often burst into song, or find excuses to work music into each episode.
Another large part of the appeal are the highly stereotypical Danes that the same three actors also play: Oluf and Gertrud Sand, a country bumpkin couple that live and work on a potato farm in Jutland
, and Benny Jensen, a travelling salesman (or so he claims) from Copenhagen
(who turns out to be a Nå-såer). Oluf and Gertrud speak with a broad country dialect, often leading to Benny misunderstanding what they say. There is also a large clash between the two different ways of life (as Benny comes to move in with Oluf and Gertrud in an early episode, as his car runs out of petrol, punctures, breaks down completely, and then gets stolen, supposedly by the "Polish Mafia"). Benny also think Oluf's fathers name is funny, because it's Anders Sand, Which closely resembles Anders And, the Danish name for Donald Duck
.
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
1991 (a Norwegian version was made in 1994, and a Finnish version
The Joulukalenteri
The Joulukalenteri was a 1997 Finnish television miniseries produced by MTV3 that was broadcast again in 1998. It was based on the Danish series The Julekalender from 1991...
appeared in 1997). It was written and performed almost entirely by a trio of Danish comedy musicians called De Nattergale
De Nattergale
De Nattergale is a Danish comedy band/act. They have made several CDs and three TV advent calendars on TV2, of which the most famous is The Julekalender...
with financial and technical assistance from TV2
TV 2 (Denmark)
TV 2 is a publicly owned television station in Denmark based in Odense. The station began broadcasting on 1 October 1988, thereby ending the television monopoly previously exercised by the Danmarks Radio ....
, a Danish television company. It was hugely successful at the time, causing many invented phrases from the series to enter popular culture and was later released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, and recently, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
It had 24 episodes (one for each day of December until Christmas Eve), as has been typical of other TV "calendars" before and since The Julekalender.
Each of the three actors had two roles. One role was as a Nisse
Nisse
Nisse can refer to:* Nisse, Netherlands, a town in the municipality of Borsele* Another name for the tomte, a mythical creature in Scandinavian mythology* A pet form of the Scandinavian given name Niels, Nils-See also:...
, a type of gnome
Gnome
A gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...
or elf
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
associated with Christmas in Danish tradition but not to be confused with Norse
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
mythology. The other role is as a normal, if overly stereotyped, Dane
Dane
- General :* Someone from the Kingdom of Denmark, or of Danish descent** Dane, a Danish national, resident or citizen ** Dane, one of the Danish people** Dane, a member of the Danes...
.
The premise of the film is fairly simple: long, long ago, the race of Nisser lived happily in Denmark getting up to mischief with the humans, drinking, and making merry. Then the "Nå-såere" came - evil, vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
-esque creatures with an unhealthy obsession for money and counting, and almost eradicated the Nisser. A few Nisser survived, among them good old Gammelnok (literally, "old enough", the one character not to be played by a member of De Nattergale
De Nattergale
De Nattergale is a Danish comedy band/act. They have made several CDs and three TV advent calendars on TV2, of which the most famous is The Julekalender...
), who is now on the brink of death, as the music box that plays his life tune needs to be wound up. Gammelnok gathers three of the remaining Nisser (Hansi, Gunther, and Fritz) and sends them off to Denmark, to find the old Nisse cave where the key to wind up the music box is. He gives them The Book to take with them, an ancient tome that contains the answer to any and all questions, warning them to take great care that it does not fall into the hands of a Nå-såer. If this were to happen, all would be lost. They are also warned to take care, as the Nå-såers nowadays have taken the appearance of normal humans, but when they consume alcohol, they regain their original appearance, with fangs, and thick-rimmed glasses. The three merrily set off, and this is where the first episode begins.
One of the quirks of the series, and one which made up a good share of its appeal, is the strange language that the Nisser speak. They themselves call it English, but it is an odd mixture of both Danish and English vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure, leading to some very humorous phrases and structures (at least, to anyone who speaks both English and Danish). This was likely a good-natured jest at the heavy Danish accent that many Danes speak with, and the (back then) fairly low level of English proficiency of Danes, especially outside of large cities. Examples of particularly interesting, odd, or funny phrases are listed here (without an understanding of Danish, the humour will likely be lost):
"He who first gets to the mill is he who first gets painted"
"Think you da lige a little about"
"Let us straks try to smake it!"
"That is simpelthen ,overhead not noget to do with"
Additionally, key characters, events, or items are also called by odd hybrid names: the music box, for example, is a play dåse, Father Christmas is the Christmas man and the act of wood-carving is called "snitting". Since De Nattergale
De Nattergale
De Nattergale is a Danish comedy band/act. They have made several CDs and three TV advent calendars on TV2, of which the most famous is The Julekalender...
are actually musicians (albeit comedy musicians), the Nisser often burst into song, or find excuses to work music into each episode.
Another large part of the appeal are the highly stereotypical Danes that the same three actors also play: Oluf and Gertrud Sand, a country bumpkin couple that live and work on a potato farm in Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
, and Benny Jensen, a travelling salesman (or so he claims) from Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
(who turns out to be a Nå-såer). Oluf and Gertrud speak with a broad country dialect, often leading to Benny misunderstanding what they say. There is also a large clash between the two different ways of life (as Benny comes to move in with Oluf and Gertrud in an early episode, as his car runs out of petrol, punctures, breaks down completely, and then gets stolen, supposedly by the "Polish Mafia"). Benny also think Oluf's fathers name is funny, because it's Anders Sand, Which closely resembles Anders And, the Danish name for Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
.