The Potato Holiday

There is no Thanksgiving in Denmark, instead there is the autumn break. This holiday does not have any religious reasons. It is just a much needed break in the middle of autumn, always week #42, a Danish school holiday giving kids some time off from school and families some time off from work. In the old days, schools closed because the extra hands were needed to help with the potato harvest, which used to be essential in the Danish diet. 

Potatoes have recently become a fundamental staple in Sean's and my diet, despite my previous dislike of potatoes and a preference for yams. Sean has made continuous attempts to hide potatoes in various dishes and I have been tricked into eating them time and time again. Now I have come to tolerate them, and even enjoy them, especially since they are cheap and don’t die in the fridge after a week if you forget about them.

The Danes call this holiday Efterårsferie (Autumn holiday) or Kartoffelferie (Potato holiday) and it is the only holiday during the fall. Unfortunately, the university does not officially support this break so I won’t be getting extra play time with Sean.

Since I like mingling among the crowds – I will be out in the streets to enjoy the festivities of this holiday and hopefully collect a couple of cans for my winter coat, as today was the first time I felt a chill in my bones. Rumour has it that many people from the Jutland area come to Aarhus, the big city, this week to shop and enjoy city life and several cultural events for familiars take place. So, the crowds should be really big.