Adventskransen i Danmark - blomsterhandlernes eller husmødrenes tradition?

Resumé

The Advent crown

In Denmark Advent crowns became popular in the 1930s and 1940s. The Advent crown is made with four candles which today represent each of the four Sundays of Advent. When the tradition came to Denmark from Germany via South Jutland the decoration could also have six candles, and it was common to light them in the evening during the Advent season as a whole – not only on the Advent Sundays. Families gathered around the Advent crown and sang Christmas carols and hymns, and especially during WW2 this was seen as a way of creating hope and a sense of togetherness in the family.
Research in newspapers and trade journals for the florist business shows that housewives rather than florists promoted the Advent
crown. However, one of the trade journals from 1936 mentions how the German envoy von Renthe-Fink in Copenhagen has Advent crowns in his home and suggests that the florists use the tradition to earn more from Christmas shopping. But neither newspapers
nor trade journals show any sign that this is true. In 1946 an Advent crown was used as an illustration for the special Danish Christmas
stamp. This shows how the Advent crown was by then widely known in Denmark, and the illustration contributed to a common consensus on what a ‘real Advent crown’ should look like.