In my family my dad tells a funny story, he was a top manager in a company in nothern jutland about 30 years ago, and he had some business visitors from the US, during december and being in nothern jutland (where there is not much city life) he had to of course take care of them, so they were invited on a 'Julefrokost' and it turned into a prolonged evening. The next day they met up at the office again, and one american was shocked at how drunk they had been, and my father asked why, they didn't drink that much, so he couldn't understand that? But the us guy told that he had turned on the tv when he got back at the hotel, and he had seen a tv show, and he could hear they talked english, but he couldn't understand a word of it, so he turned it off and went to bed, beleiving he was drunk beyond his senses. Yup, he had by accident watched "The Julekalender" :-D
"The Julekalender" which is the actual title referencing the Danglish wordplay, is probably the most popular of all time. They are actually not actors but a musical comedy group called De Nattergale, meaning "Those Nightingales" but a play on words meaning "those who are crazy by night". "Gal" is Danish for crazy or mad. They wrote the whole thing themselves, story, script and songs. It got so popular, that it was remade in both Norway and Finland. Gammelnok was played by the legendary Poul Bundgaard, one of the most iconic Danish actors of all time. He used to be an opera singer, but got so much stage fright, he had to retire. Then he was cast in a movie as a character, who wouldn't stop singing all the time, and he realised he could do movies without stage fright. Then he was cast as one of the Olsen Banden guys, the most popular movie franchise ever in Denmark (you should check that out) and the rest was history...
A better translation would be “them nightingales”.. gal in nattergal is not derived from gal as mad/crazy but from its older root meaning to sing.. nattergal means nightsinger. But im quite sure they didnt overthink that when the made up the name, for the group.. Its a well known singing bird
Poul Bundgaard didn’t have that big voice demanded for opera so he was dismissed and had to partecipate in operettas only. It was said that he was hurt by this fact for the rest of his life …
When your Danish is getting better and you become more familiar with the Danish geography, then the radio news in the series is the absolute most hysterical funny side plots of the entire show.
Funny thing: A lot of people remember the line "Jeg ønsker mig en foodprocessor!" by Gertrud, but at no point in the series does she actually say that line. What she says is "Hvor ku' det altså bare være rart med så'n en foodprocessor." It's sort of the same, but not quite.
i remember watching all the adult christmas shows when they first came out... Jul på Vesterbro is my favorite where every character is played by the Danish stand up comedian Anders Matthesen...
I’d been living in Denmark for 3 years when The Julekalender was released and it made a HUGE impact on my and my family’s life ever since. Absolutely brilliant! My Danish wife also went to school with Uffe, one of the actors.
"My father was a famous snitter. He snat a lot of wonderful things." When it was first aired, some teachers of English complained that it was teaching the kids bad English. But others said that it was wonderful. Even the kids who never dare say anything are speaking English. Bad English, yes, but they know it is bad English.
Oh wow, that’s interesting to learn because w do it thought of it in reverse - helping us to learn Danish. I could see their concern, but you’re right - if it gets someone speaking and trying, that’s a good thing. The grammar can come later 😊🇩🇰
Thats great! The first step in learning any language is having the courage to actually say something. Especially at a pre-internet time, before people got 'safespace' for practising.
@@RobeTrotting oh absolutely. The lines from this particular julekalender became household terms and expressions for at leaddt two decades after it for aired. We've had a few of these things that became "kitch". Same with what started out as an ad for a phone company which ended up as a full feature movie and even today the tiny village that laid name to the ad /Movie still gets their city limit signs stolen on regular basis.
Rumour has it the Queen found it absolutely hilarious when it came out in 1991. Half the court began speaking Danglish that December - kitchenstaff, footmen, ladies in waiting .... everybody. De Nattergale split up, but 7 years later, at the queens 70th birthday in 2010, they rejoined to perform for her, at her request. They chose to re-write "it's hard to be a nissemand": Yeeeah, the dæjlig Queen has fødselsdaw i daw. Ps: At the same occasion the Queen Consort asked for Ørkenens Sønner to perform, but it takes a different level of Danish to enjoy them.
I thought it was Prince Henrik, who had a love for Ørkenens Sønner, but no matter what, the best part of that evening was Rune Klan: "Deres Majestæt skal nu vælge en skinke".
Totally agree with you there. You DEFFO want to be more proficient in both Danish language and culture before venturing into the realm of Ørkenens Sønner.... Not to mention, you don't want to be too prudish as well.. lots of their jokes are wayyyy below the belt :P "Fisse fisse, fez fez!"
@@ane-louisestampe7939 In the beginning he was "Prinsen/Prins Henrik" (The Prince/Prince Henrik), then after princes Frederik and Joachim became adults they needed to distinguish between Henrik and his sons - Henrik's title was changed to "Prinsgemalen" (Prince Consort, similar to Prince Albert and Prince Philip). After Henrik "retired" his title was changed again to "Prinsen/Prins Henrik"
The Julekalender is absolutely impossible to accurately convey to "outsiders", but you did a stellar job at giving the meta context required to even comprehend the concept. The whole thing is one long string of "Danish things - but with a whacky twist". There are many idioms I wasn't even aware that I was using until I heard them said in "nisse engelsk" :P
I was today-years-old (43) when i finalen understood the Koch sokker joke. And I am danish. And had to have the joke told by two americans. Merry christmas
Your videos are wonderful. As a Dane, I enjoy watching how someone from the outside see and understand us, and hearing your reaction to one of my all-time favourite Christmas Calenders was such a pleasure. I'm so glad I found your channel Glædelig Jul!
Very cool! I wasn't sure how well "The Julekalender" would translate, if non-Danes would even find it funny. It's definitely camp, filled with silly puns and slapstick - and I love it 😄 And even though I was 15 or 16 at the time, I didn't catch the "Koch Sokker & Sko" joke the first time around. I love how it can be watched and enjoyed by kids, but there's also some VERY adult jokes that'll just go right over their heads 😊
But generally kids eat hing it would absolutely know that joke. But it was made for adults. It's just that that year the regular kids julekalender wasn't too interesting so everyone ended up watching this instead.
I remember arriving at our tech college here in Odense on a December morning in 1991 during my first year as an English teacher - my class of trainee carpenters and bricklayers had suddenly and inexplicably embraced a whole new attitude to speaking the target language -more than ever they now seemed to enjoy putting together half-silly or half-broken sentences and laughing at themselves for failing to speak proper English 😊 Before the day was over, I had found out that they had watched The Julekalender on TV2 the night before … and for years after that, English teachers like myself would refer to this broken Danglish “dialect” as nisse-engelsk! But I think it actually helped a lot of learners become more relaxed when trying to speak English - so it was a blessing as well as a curse, because nisse-engelsk became a sort of goal for some learners of English, which it shouldn’t be - but it can of course be an amusing station along the way!
"The one who first comes to the mill is he who first gets painted. He also said if you sleep in telt make sure that it is raintæt". From the song "Thousands of vendings". Genialt!
Støvledance is one of my favorite christmas songs, you mentioned kids but The Julekalender is actually broadcast as an adult calender, and is broadcast when young kids has normally been put to bed. Probably because of the more dark sides of the story. There used to be 3 calender shows most people saw, dr 1 had one that was primarily aimed at kids broadcast at 18.00 , tv 2 had one broadcast at 20.00 that was a family one, and then the adult one that was around broadcast around 22.00. Not sure how it works now.
@@RobeTrotting Yeah, I "studsede" at the part where you talked about kids enjoying it too. I mean, they might, of course, but as I recall it, it was actually the first ever julekalender to be specifically targeted at an adult audience (I was 15 at the time, and old enough to enjoy it immensely). That was a pretty mindblowing thing back then, since julekalendre had always been a kid's thing by definition. After the popularity of this one, the tv stations would then make a "voksenjulekalender" then make one each year, I think, though rarely /quite/ as popular ;) "Jul på Vesterbro" is a close second for a similar cult status. Don't know if you could enjoy that with your current Danish level? :)
I have beautiful memories with my father. We sat in his big chair, and laughed SO HARD that we cried. Since then I see it every year 💞💕🌹🤗 Glædelig Jul til jer 😍🎄🎅
Hey guys, glad you're enjoying the show. Slight correction: The Julekalender was definitely not meant for children to watch - it always aired at around 10 pm and was called an "adult julekalender".
Growing up as a Norwegian and part time Dane, I made some dumb mistakes. Telling Norwegians that Olsenbanden and The Julekalender was originaly written and filmed IN Denmark before it was copied in Norway was one of them. I would actually be called a liar. Even with proof I was told to take a long walk down a short pier. Mind you. It worked the other way as well, I told the other Kids that Bjergkøbing Grand Prix was Norwegian and that the cartoonist who came up with it was Norwegian and the pupeteer was Norwegian and its actually called Flåklypa Grand Prix? No, they wouldn’t hear it, I was clearly some sort troublemaker og deviant! 😆
@@EmilReiko godt spørsmål. Ting setter sig, dette er før internett, og danskernes generelle kundskap, iver og interesse for Norge er nok langt lavere en mange i Norge ønsker at tro. Det har jeg fått erfare mange mange gange, ikke mindst alle de gange jeg må forklare at jeg og diverse andre personer, ting og steder ikke er svenske. Er du 3-5 år gammel og går i biffen i 70’erne og ser nogle sjove figurer der taler dansk i en film ved navn Bjergkøbing Grandprix og ingen noensinde gir besked om at en film er fra f.eks Norge og et par år senere kommer der en fyr og siger noget andet…? Ja, så tror man måske ikke på ham 🤓
@@MortenAastad Jeg tror danskeres kundskab om norge varierer meget regionalt… Jeg er fra vendsyssel og en hel del fra egnen arbejder i norge som håndværkere… Men klart, svenskere fylder mere - fordi danskere definerer sig selv i opposition til svenskere..
The same guys from The Julekalender made another christmas calendar show called Canal Wild Card, which was a 24 episode christmas special satirizing Danish local television. It's pretty out there and weird at first but it really grows on you and gets increasingly crazy.
I absolutely love this show and it is a classic. I am pretty sure that just like my household, everyone else in Denmark references this show just once in a while. I even promised I would dress up as Gertrud this Christmas because 1/3 of my homefront will get a food processor as a work gift this year and honestly, that basically means I am getting a food processor.
My grandparents had it on VHS and we always asked if we could see it when we went to visit! I wasn't big enough for the English parts, but it was so fun! "Oluf a står under mistelten!" "ja det bar dejli"
Thank you. I am Danish. It is fun to watch how it is to be an American in Denmark. One of my very good friends is from the States and together with people from different countries we sail together near Copenhagen. We have international sailing School day each Wednesday during summer season 😊 Happy Christmas 🌲😊😁
I'm Danish and just watching The Julekalender for the first time this year. The first 8 or so episodes, I just found it weird, but it has really grown on me as the story progress. And frankly I'm so surprised they managed to sneak in words like nosser (balls), Koksokker, and vat pik in there, even though it was the 90's. Very cool hearing your perspective on the show!
as it an adult show, I am pretty sure they could get away with it today as well. But yeah its a bit wierd, but it also a shit ton of fun. J day had a lot of støvle dance in 1991 and 92
The funny thing is, that the news on the radio did sound like that - I was a kid back then, but remember it well. There's a lot of weird talks about building a 4 lane bridge to the small island of Anholt. Obviously referring to the - at the time - planning and financing of Storebælt, that was completed and opened as late as in 1998 (The Julekalender is from 1992). The idiotic political discussions went completely over my head as a child, but I see today, how funny it really was. Now that Storebælt Bridge is done long ago, nobody thinks of the time before it was constructed :D
At your convenience, you should watch the TV-series "Matador". It's a show about people in a small city and their development through the 1920's to early 1950's.
Cool for you to experience this bit of weird Danish culture XD It's a complete classic. To my knowledge, The Julekalender was never really intended for children... Pretty sure it was always meant for adult and was actually aired later. So maybe bigger kids and adults. Have you seen Juletestamentet? There are a few other adult kalenders that also aired later, like after 21. I remember one centering around the new bridge, while they were building that. Most of them a still light-hearted, of course. It is Christmas XDD
Den Hemmelige Tunnel fra 1997 er måske den du tænker på, hvor nisserne bor tæt på der hvor menneskene er igang med at bygge broen, og de behøver meget søvn, men bliver forstyrret. Den har vist aldrig været genudsendt, og det er en familie julekalender, ikke en specifik voksen en.
@@saranissen6210 There's a reason that one was never aired again! It was a second julekalender at the channel (can't remember which one) and felt like an afterthought - and generally terrible
I love "The Julekalender". . the whole consept was sold to Norway in 1993 as well, and is still very popular. It is basicly the same, but norwegian dialect from Trønderlag (middle of Norway) with english. . The songs and the story is the same, but adapted to norwegian viewers. I have acually seen parts of the danish version, and is allmost exactly the same :-) Fun to se you reviewing/reacting to it :-) Merry Christmas !
I'm not sure the concept was actually sold because they used the same settings, so I think perhaps it was done in the same way as Olsen Banden, where Nordisk Film made the original Danish and then the Norwegian remakes using the exact same studio settings at Nordisk Film in Valby outside København. This also made the remakes much cheaper to make, and even probably almost as cheap as doing a voice-over in Norwegian.
@@agffans5725 you are right about the Julekalender, but Olsenbanden was not produced by Nordisk Film in Norway, but Team Film. But it is true that they used some of the studios in Denmark. And the post-sound was made there too.
@@danielfordsmand .. Did not know that, but I remember that they used the same studios in Valby (København). Nordisk Film (Denmark) is by the way the oldest still existing film company in the world.
The Julekalender, one of my absolute favs!! There have been others through the years, with real `nisser´ Jul på Slottet, Jul i Gammelby, Nisserne på Grønland lovin´ the sweatshirt, runic Robing!! hello from Hundested 🌸❄
The Julekalender is the First julekalender that was made for adults - i was in my late teens and going out ( and working at the local disco) the year it aired - the soundtrack was all over the cafés, bodegas and discos I visited - and it kept going for a few years!! The humor is fun to this day, and I love knowing that other countries have made their own successfull versions of it! It’s so ‘dansk’ even in spite of the language - because even people who don’t speak a lick of English can watch and understand it - and the other way around!! De Nattergale were a popular comedy group at the time, and they were - the - only - ones - who could have made this and have it come out great!
I SO wish we could hear these songs at the disco 🕺 We’ll have to pay closer attention for them now, they’re so catchy. We love getting to experience the Julekalender now and you’re right, they did such a fantastic job with it. It’s a masterpiece! 🇩🇰🎄❤️😊
@@daylight3d That was back when there was only one julekalender on TV. It was not announced as an adult calender. It was send atthe usual, child friendly time. It is certainly not suited for children. Whether it is suited for adults is questionable.
I remember when I went to Højskole there was a guy who kept saying "mein vater war ein sehr berühmter spürhund aus düsseldorf" and one time an American girl asked "where it was from because it was so funny?" and he flat out told her he made that up himself. Everyone else were like "what no... That's from The Julekalender" and he tried to argue he had never watched it and by chance made up the same sentence.
You mention the old nisse "Gammel Nok", and translate it to "Old Enough", which is already a funny name - but there's an even more hidden meaning; "Et gammelt nok", can also mean something like "an old git".
Hey Mike and Derek, great video again ,-) Yes "The Julekalender" is so funny, and one of only 2 shows we watch at home, the other being "Jul på Vesterbro" with the danish comedian Anders Matthesen (Isn't that where You guys live?) But "Jul på Vesterbro" is NOT easy to translate! Maybe there's english subtitles on the dvd version? Anyway thank you for this video on my 49'th birthday, always great to hear other views on things that is "REALLY" danish ;-) Greetings and Glædelig Jul from Nørhalne north of Aalborg ;-D
I also think the language thing is a sort of Jylland versus Copenhagen thing. Like it can be hard for someone from Copenhagen to understand some of the dialects in jylland and vice vesa. Plus there’s always been this joke in my family that whenever we see someone go overboard with the Xmas decorations, we call them Gertrud Sand - like the character in The Julekalender.
Hi Derek and Mike. first of all I wan't to thank you for uploading these videos. I find them really amusing and end often sitting in the office watching them :) about the episode today, there is a few facts you kind of needed. 1. Benny: The "Nåssår" can basicly be translated to balls (those between your legs). A funny way to make sure everybody knows who was the bad guy. 2. The Julekalender was such a big succes, that since it's release the serie have been sold to swedish, norwegian and finnish tv as well. So if you go youtube you will find episodes that are directly copied with other actors (De Nattergale, who wrote and played the characters wasn't actually actors, but musicians). 3. It sparked a bit of controversy, when a politician shamed the series. I can't remember which politician it was, but she claimed that the show was being degrading towards people from Jylland. It was more or less the opposite, because De Nattergale are from Jylland and spoke in a very countryside accent, like they did with their music. That's just a few of interesting facts, but I thought you might need them :) Thanks for a great show - see you tomorrow.
Fun fact. The Queen once told an interviewer how the royal family enjoyed watching “ The julekalender” and how much fun the family had speaking “denglish” at the castle 😀
Funny, i thought there was a mistake in the title since im Norwegian and ive watched the julekalender in norway. Apparantly the show i watched was a norwegian version of the danish tv show of the same name! The norwegian version was aired in 1994 on tv2, while the danish was aired in 1991. I did not no this concidering the fact that i am born in 2008 and i only watched the julekalender because my mom showed it too me, and i loved it!
I also find it really funny. Gertrud just decorates the house more and more, and it's kinda too much at the end for such a small living room, and still she complains, that she can't find the big box of Christmas decorations, and when Hansi looks at the Benny the Nåsår and exclaimes "Where is He da ugly" I just always found it funny because they are played by the same actor. 😆
You guys should watch Alletiders Jul. It’s about a nisse named Pyrus who accidentially erases all memory and knowlegde of Christmas from the danish people and how he and his mentor drives into history to rediscover it. It does a good job in finding the roots of danish christmas tradition. There’s also alletiders nisse and alletiders julemand. They do the same with nisser and Santa repectively
The only thing you need now to be fully integrated is the 'Han får for lidt'-song I have had tremendous fun teaching it to an Iraqi friend. He was quoting it in a meeting with a very grumpy boss and everyone had a good laugh. He says they treat him a little different now when he has shown he gets the Danish Christmas sense of humour
De Nattergale are probably some of the funniest humor Denmark has produced. See also the "Canal Wild Card" adult Christmas calendar and other Nattergale things very very funny.
Also try to listen to the news broadcast in the radio that is a part of the Julekalender. The news are hilarious - often about large bridge or tunnel projects that are to be built in a few days. I am quite certain that it is one of the original news speakers from DR who read the news.
I've always wondered how the bilingual humor of The Julekalender would be perceived from the other side of the "language divide". I'm glad you guys are enjoying it.
I love that you guys love The Julekalender. I honestly didn`t think it would catch to anyone not danish because of the very danish sende of humor. But you proved me wrong. OR maybe you are just `enough danish` now to love it like we do! Funfact is that the danish students ability to speak proper english droped significantly after this appered on TV. 😄 Hopefully we are back on track as fair english speakers again now. 🤷🏽♀️😂😅
To bad you guys have already seen it, I would have loved for you to do reaction videos to all the episodes.... That would have been hilarious.... I am particularly fond of some of the "small" details they put in there... Like when Benny first arrives at the Sand residens, and is invited to dinner. Oluf and Gertrud is just stacking their plates with potatoes and like 1 frikadelle. But Benny is just stacking frikadeller... And he is quick to "steal" the last frikadelle, when Oluf reaches for it with his fork.... Or when Benny finally gets the book from the nisser, sits down at the table at the Sand residens, and then he sees a small nisse on the top of the fruitbowl, and flicks it... absolutely brilliant Julekalender, and for some reason it never gets old, it's an evergreen that you can watch over and over again.... Kind of like the 90 years birthday at new years
There are jokes that go much deeper. Examples: the radio news every episode. The Julekalender came out during the initial construction of the great belt bridge, and often the news will tel about another bridge / tunnel construction being planned, such as Denmark-Norway or to some remote island housing a few 100 people. Often the construction is estimated complete the next day. The news play on names of prominent politicians then (like "Tonald Drump" etc). After every news section, it's announced that the storm will continue, and Oluf says, much like an Iowa farmer "Well, now I've heard that.." (very hard to translate). And Gertrud always respond "Let's hope it will be better tomorrow". There's the joke about never finding the "big box of christmas decorations. Oluf never willing to talk about money (stereotype about people from Jutland). Also don't miss the joke of Gertrud and her "monthlies", and many many other subtle jokes. On the Nisse sides, there is "the book" which has zero advise about anything "What was that": see "That was not noget (that was nothign). " Their expressions ("vending"), which they btw never re-use. The more Danish you know, the better it is.
there is so much to take in on this show, the fact that Nissen Hansi wants to beat up him self Benny Jensen and calls him ugly. A Nåsåer is not a nisse but the evil counter part that just hate everything about nisser and jul :) I think they finished the 8 last episode like 3-4 days before they aired. For some years to come, you would hear people quote the show "Bob bob bob Ik", "det´ bår dæjli!", "Det skal æt komme an å det da.", "A står under æ mistelten.", "A tror lige, a skal ud og puste grise op.", "Why is it always me"
Hey you guys need to pay attention to when Oluf is listening to the radio. It’s actually the news broadcast of the day, and within the show they are referring to various building projects. And each day a new project, actually the Femer connection and the timeline is crazy like” with the latest build technology they’ve scheduled to be completed within days😁 it’s in reality a big joke pointed at the danish politicians who constantly talk about planning new projects
oh yes. Kinda feel the Carlsberg Export adverts ("The Danes hate to see it leave") that were shown in the UK, with the old girl trapping the lorry drivers, were somewhat along a similar Danish style of humour.
@@RobeTrotting You too! And if you ever wanna tjek out the danish westside, just give me a call. My family and I would be happy to invite you to dinner and to show you the sights over here. All the best. Rasmus
At some point you will have to watch a julekalender with Pyrus. And you need to watch Jul på Vesterbro. All characters are played by Anders "Anden" Matthesen, and like everything else he does, it's brilliant. He's a stand-up comedian, actor, musician, ect....
The julekalender was the adult advent calendar. Airing around 8 pm, so not a Lot of kids watched it. Often there a two advent calendars for the kids, airing at 6 pm and 7 pm, and then the adult advent calendar would air, when the kids are laid to bed.
I am pretty sure the kids' calender on TV2 was at 8pm after the news and regional news at 7 and 7.30pm the kids' calender on DR1 was at 6 pm but is now moved to 7.30pm i think (not sure been a long time since i saw them), the adult calender were at 10 pm or so and was shorter 10-15min than the kids' calender about 20-25min. This was how it was in mid/late 90's i believe (not 100% sure) the 6pm and 8pm and 10pm, the 7.30pm came after they stopped doing kids' TV on DR1. I am certain TV2 had the news from 7 to 8pm.
@@Sancturis any day of the year: children's program at DR at 6pm (this was before DR2), news at DR at 6.30 pm, national news at TV2 at 7pm, local news at TV2 at 7.30 pm, news at DR again at 9-10 pm, national news at TV2 at 10 pm, local news at 10.15 pm. There was a loooot of news in those days. In December they squeezed the julekalender's in between the news so at children's DR at 6 pm, children's at TV2 at 8 pm and adult's at TV2 at 10.30 pm or 11.15 pm can't remember that one precisely - I was 6 in '91 😅 ( fortunately for me The Julekalender was re-aired the following afternoon)
Wow - my children spoke danish/english / danglish these years and the christmas calender 15 minutes every evening was part of their danish christmas tradition. You know - it’s just a part of our christmas tradition. Humour and a little bit of irony.. All the best to you both in the USA.
Hi! Just watched The Julekalender this year and I have a question. I don't know where in Denmark you guys live, but the Danish couple speak a western dialect known as 'Vestjysk'. Is it hard to understand if you are looking to get every word in?
The Julekaldender wasnt made for kids, it was the first grown up "jule kaldender":) When it was first aired, it was aired like 9 a clock in the evening after the kids julekalderen was aired.
The funniest part of the "Danglish" (Nisseengelsk) and the western jutland dialect, is that they are surprisingly close to each other - the traditional western jutland dialect even uses "english grammar" in terms of nouns and definite articles...
Anders Sand is his name. Say it fast and you get Anders And. And the jokes was definitely for adults. With a guy working for Koch Sokker and the head nisse looking up How to Screw, you take the long dingedot and stick it in the round dingedot, and then you screw. Yeah, Dora the explorer it ain't. We used to love that our very indre missionsk nan was watching this and loving it. 😄
I have always been curious to ask anyone who isn’t from denmark. Do you guys have a Julekalender too? If so then what have you watched? I’m curious to know.
We don’t in this style but all through the Christmas season there are “Christmas specials” of cartoons and television networks show different Christmas movies 😊
The three original members of "De Nattergale" are all from the southwestern part of Jutland, and I think the characters Oluf and Gertrud speak the current Jutlandic dialect variant of that area, whereas the nåsåer speaks with a Copenhagen accent, which is exaggerated and perhaps influenced a bit by how people from Jutland perceive Copenhageners and their speech patterns. Jutlandic is maybe a tiny bit closer to English, which may account for why you find it easier. De Nattergale are just one example of what might even be considered an entire genre of Danish music and comedy. The most significant group in this genre was probably Shubidua, which began in 1973, often with covers of English-language but with new, sometimes totally unrelated and sometimes silly absurd Danish lyrics. "Killing me softly" became "kylling og soft-ice", and the Beatles song _Twist and Shout_ became _Stærk Tobak_ (probably also hinting at something stronger than tobacco...) I think I may have mentioned them in a comment long ago. Anyway, this can perhaps roughly be compared to American singers like Arlo Guthrie and Al Yankowich. I'm sure there are others. Denmark being small of course means that singers and groups like this - other worthy mentions could be Niels Hausgaard, Per Vers, Kim Larsen/Gasolin, Røde Mor, or Eddie Skoller (who is actually born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1944) - become more significant, and they become very popular, their songs often becoming part of "den danske sangskat", which is the term for songs that remain popular and which will be sung when Danes get together. (And their melodies will be used for occasional celebrative songs, which you know we like to sing during party dinners.) Getting to know some of these songs and groups is probably a good way to dig deeper into the Danish "soul", although you guys already are so well-versed in Danish culture that you don't need to be told this. :-)
Oh, you guys kinda broke my childhood. 😅 I have always thought "The joulukalenteri" being Finnish tv-program. After all these years I saw this and googled and came to find out it's actually translated and re-acted for Finnish from the original Danish program 😲 Well it's still good 😄
All the Scandinavian countries insist that their " the julekalender" is the best, lol. I guess that speaks to how well the Nordic countries adapted it to their own culture
You guys really should watch the "sequal" to The Julekalender. Sequal is in "", due to it being a independant plot. It´s called "CWC - Canal Wild Card" and is produced by the same crew, who did The Julekalender. Same concept with short episodes, same cast throughout the characters etc. But a total different story. The humor is more like the good old Monty Python quirky, dark type. If you´re into that it´s hilarious. If not then you would probably just sit like Oluf and Gertrud Sand looking into the camera with their wtf? stonefaces 😀 I find it, in many ways, more funny than The Julekalender. Be advised though: 1. Be sure to get the version with english subtitles, otherwise a lot of the weird subtleties will be missed. 2. Preferably watch it with some good danish friends who can explain the parts you don´t get (if appplicable). P:S. Keep those great videoes coming !
Actually this julekalender was made for adults. Not kids. And I can assure you that the kids old enough to want to see this would definetly know the "Kocks Sokker" joke. And yes. The entire series except GammelNok is played by the same 3 guys who also used to be a band.. Both Norway and Finland made their own version of this julekalender by the way.
@@RobeTrotting Oh Absolutely. I just watched all the episodes of "Jul på slottet" with my daughter as she was sick this weekend. Its one of the old classics as well.
@@kriss3d Jul på Slottet is the ultimate julekalender in my opinion. The master enough plot twists that it never gets repetitive which all other julekalender's are - the only ones who can really use the same plot for 24'ish episodes are the "Alletiders jul/nisse/julemand"
The word Nåsårner, comes from on from Copenhagen. Because, when they don't know how to fix anything and see how its done, they say Nåsån' = nå sådan. So it's a joke in Jytland about those from Copenhagen
You must learn "Støvledans" in the coming year, so you are ready for the discos' December 🕺🏽👢🕺🏼 It came out in december 1991 and for the first few years, they even played it in the summer, and immediately the dance floor was filled with happy twists to the rhythm of Støvledans 🕺🏼🥳 👢 🥳💃🏼 I rrally don't know if it is still danced at the discos, but I hope.. It was at least fun 🥳👢🥳
0:28 good Derek, but can you smack your thigh, smack your boot? (Klask 'a lår, klask 'a støvl') Also something you might have missed with the names of the two nisse groups. "Nisse" is your basic christmas elf or gnome as normal whereas "nosse" though similar in pronounciation is vulgar slang for testicle. There are further slangs based on "nosse" which primarily are used to call someone stupid or incompetent. Final note, none of the actors are actually actors. It was a music band who, as I recall, decided they wanted to make a Yule-kalender, hence why only the three band members are in it and why the elves always start singing. They had some other attempts in acting beyond The Julekalender, but none of it really succeeded.
In my family my dad tells a funny story, he was a top manager in a company in nothern jutland about 30 years ago, and he had some business visitors from the US, during december and being in nothern jutland (where there is not much city life) he had to of course take care of them, so they were invited on a 'Julefrokost' and it turned into a prolonged evening. The next day they met up at the office again, and one american was shocked at how drunk they had been, and my father asked why, they didn't drink that much, so he couldn't understand that? But the us guy told that he had turned on the tv when he got back at the hotel, and he had seen a tv show, and he could hear they talked english, but he couldn't understand a word of it, so he turned it off and went to bed, beleiving he was drunk beyond his senses. Yup, he had by accident watched "The Julekalender" :-D
Hahahaha funny story!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That was a good one …. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
"The Julekalender" which is the actual title referencing the Danglish wordplay, is probably the most popular of all time. They are actually not actors but a musical comedy group called De Nattergale, meaning "Those Nightingales" but a play on words meaning "those who are crazy by night". "Gal" is Danish for crazy or mad. They wrote the whole thing themselves, story, script and songs. It got so popular, that it was remade in both Norway and Finland.
Gammelnok was played by the legendary Poul Bundgaard, one of the most iconic Danish actors of all time. He used to be an opera singer, but got so much stage fright, he had to retire. Then he was cast in a movie as a character, who wouldn't stop singing all the time, and he realised he could do movies without stage fright. Then he was cast as one of the Olsen Banden guys, the most popular movie franchise ever in Denmark (you should check that out) and the rest was history...
A better translation would be “them nightingales”.. gal in nattergal is not derived from gal as mad/crazy but from its older root meaning to sing.. nattergal means nightsinger. But im quite sure they didnt overthink that when the made up the name, for the group.. Its a well known singing bird
@@EmilReiko That's a question of interpretation... A play on words is to assign more meaning than what is obvious...
Poul Bundgaard
didn’t have that big voice demanded for opera so he was dismissed and had to partecipate in operettas only. It was said that he was hurt by this fact for the rest of his life …
I'd argue Nissebanden i Grønland is more popular.
Nissebanden is for kids, The Julekalender is more adult. That scene when he transforms while drinking scared the daylights out of me as a kid.
When your Danish is getting better and you become more familiar with the Danish geography, then the radio news in the series is the absolute most hysterical funny side plots of the entire show.
Funny thing: A lot of people remember the line "Jeg ønsker mig en foodprocessor!" by Gertrud, but at no point in the series does she actually say that line. What she says is "Hvor ku' det altså bare være rart med så'n en foodprocessor." It's sort of the same, but not quite.
i remember watching all the adult christmas shows when they first came out... Jul på Vesterbro is my favorite where every character is played by the Danish stand up comedian Anders Matthesen...
I remember Jul på Vesterbro, if I remember right its from 2003
@@MylarBalloonLover u do remember right :)
@@spyro257 I remember my cousins was visting and it was my dads birthday and Jul på Vesterbro was on the TV.
Oh you must watch, it's brilliant!
I’d been living in Denmark for 3 years when The Julekalender was released and it made a HUGE impact on my and my family’s life ever since. Absolutely brilliant! My Danish wife also went to school with Uffe, one of the actors.
"My father was a famous snitter. He snat a lot of wonderful things."
When it was first aired, some teachers of English complained that it was teaching the kids bad English. But others said that it was wonderful. Even the kids who never dare say anything are speaking English. Bad English, yes, but they know it is bad English.
Oh wow, that’s interesting to learn because w do it thought of it in reverse - helping us to learn Danish. I could see their concern, but you’re right - if it gets someone speaking and trying, that’s a good thing. The grammar can come later 😊🇩🇰
Thats great! The first step in learning any language is having the courage to actually say something. Especially at a pre-internet time, before people got 'safespace' for practising.
Well it's no worse than Bamses Billedbog which taught kids of my generation to speak bad Danish.
@@Ernoskij Ah yes, the plush monster.
@@RobeTrotting oh absolutely. The lines from this particular julekalender became household terms and expressions for at leaddt two decades after it for aired.
We've had a few of these things that became "kitch". Same with what started out as an ad for a phone company which ended up as a full feature movie and even today the tiny village that laid name to the ad /Movie still gets their city limit signs stolen on regular basis.
Rumour has it the Queen found it absolutely hilarious when it came out in 1991. Half the court began speaking Danglish that December - kitchenstaff, footmen, ladies in waiting .... everybody.
De Nattergale split up, but 7 years later, at the queens 70th birthday in 2010, they rejoined to perform for her, at her request.
They chose to re-write "it's hard to be a nissemand": Yeeeah, the dæjlig Queen has fødselsdaw i daw.
Ps: At the same occasion the Queen Consort asked for Ørkenens Sønner to perform, but it takes a different level of Danish to enjoy them.
I thought it was Prince Henrik, who had a love for Ørkenens Sønner, but no matter what, the best part of that evening was Rune Klan: "Deres Majestæt skal nu vælge en skinke".
Totally agree with you there.
You DEFFO want to be more proficient in both Danish language and culture before venturing into the realm of Ørkenens Sønner....
Not to mention, you don't want to be too prudish as well.. lots of their jokes are wayyyy below the belt :P
"Fisse fisse, fez fez!"
That is so cool! As if we needed another reason to love the Queen, she is so down to earth and just a fun person in every sense 😊🇩🇰🎄
@@Raztiana Prins Henrik's title is Queen Consort.
But yes, I also think Rune Klan was the highlight of that evening. Glædelig jul
@@ane-louisestampe7939 In the beginning he was "Prinsen/Prins Henrik" (The Prince/Prince Henrik), then after princes Frederik and Joachim became adults they needed to distinguish between Henrik and his sons - Henrik's title was changed to "Prinsgemalen" (Prince Consort, similar to Prince Albert and Prince Philip). After Henrik "retired" his title was changed again to "Prinsen/Prins Henrik"
The Julekalender is absolutely impossible to accurately convey to "outsiders", but you did a stellar job at giving the meta context required to even comprehend the concept. The whole thing is one long string of "Danish things - but with a whacky twist". There are many idioms I wasn't even aware that I was using until I heard them said in "nisse engelsk" :P
I was today-years-old (43) when i finalen understood the Koch sokker joke. And I am danish. And had to have the joke told by two americans. Merry christmas
I also found it quite funny so see the apperance christmas decorations day by day.
Your videos are wonderful. As a Dane, I enjoy watching how someone from the outside see and understand us, and hearing your reaction to one of my all-time favourite Christmas Calenders was such a pleasure.
I'm so glad I found your channel
Glædelig Jul!
Very cool! I wasn't sure how well "The Julekalender" would translate, if non-Danes would even find it funny. It's definitely camp, filled with silly puns and slapstick - and I love it 😄
And even though I was 15 or 16 at the time, I didn't catch the "Koch Sokker & Sko" joke the first time around. I love how it can be watched and enjoyed by kids, but there's also some VERY adult jokes that'll just go right over their heads 😊
But generally kids eat hing it would absolutely know that joke. But it was made for adults. It's just that that year the regular kids julekalender wasn't too interesting so everyone ended up watching this instead.
I also did not get the Koch sokker and son the first time ( I was 19) may have something to do with my lastname ;)
@@helmutkok7833 Well given that it wasnt made for kids. But the teenage kids who did watch it largely did get the joke.
@@kriss3d kok is my last name
@@kriss3d it was a replay, of 'Jul på slottet' It's decent without being good.
I remember arriving at our tech college here in Odense on a December morning in 1991 during my first year as an English teacher - my class of trainee carpenters and bricklayers had suddenly and inexplicably embraced a whole new attitude to speaking the target language -more than ever they now seemed to enjoy putting together half-silly or half-broken sentences and laughing at themselves for failing to speak proper English 😊 Before the day was over, I had found out that they had watched The Julekalender on TV2 the night before … and for years after that, English teachers like myself would refer to this broken Danglish “dialect” as nisse-engelsk! But I think it actually helped a lot of learners become more relaxed when trying to speak English - so it was a blessing as well as a curse, because nisse-engelsk became a sort of goal for some learners of English, which it shouldn’t be - but it can of course be an amusing station along the way!
"The one who first comes to the mill is he who first gets painted. He also said if you sleep in telt make sure that it is raintæt". From the song "Thousands of vendings". Genialt!
That's there simpelthen over-head not noget to do with.
@@BlackSpiderPro There is nothing that is so shit that it's not good for noget.
@@LottefromDenmark kommer times, kommer road, we are all sailing in the same båd.
Støvledance is one of my favorite christmas songs, you mentioned kids but The Julekalender is actually broadcast as an adult calender, and is broadcast when young kids has normally been put to bed. Probably because of the more dark sides of the story.
There used to be 3 calender shows most people saw, dr 1 had one that was primarily aimed at kids broadcast at 18.00 , tv 2 had one broadcast at 20.00 that was a family one, and then the adult one that was around broadcast around 22.00.
Not sure how it works now.
Ahhh okay, that makes a lot more sense. Thanks so much for explaining that, we definitely missed that detail 😊🇩🇰🎄
@@RobeTrotting Yeah, I "studsede" at the part where you talked about kids enjoying it too. I mean, they might, of course, but as I recall it, it was actually the first ever julekalender to be specifically targeted at an adult audience (I was 15 at the time, and old enough to enjoy it immensely).
That was a pretty mindblowing thing back then, since julekalendre had always been a kid's thing by definition. After the popularity of this one, the tv stations would then make a "voksenjulekalender" then make one each year, I think, though rarely /quite/ as popular ;) "Jul på Vesterbro" is a close second for a similar cult status. Don't know if you could enjoy that with your current Danish level? :)
@@RobeTrotting Yeah I did see it as a kid but the " mysterious man in the dark" you know who scared the absolute shit outta me
@@Munchkinesisk Jul i den gamle trædemølle was the year before.
I have beautiful memories with my father. We sat in his big chair, and laughed SO HARD that we cried. Since then I see it every year 💞💕🌹🤗 Glædelig Jul til jer 😍🎄🎅
Love your The Julekalender review 😄
Would also love to hear your reaction to Jul på Vesterbro….
Oluf and Gertrud Sand, the kartoffelavlers, just happened to be living close by the nissehule. They just didn't know anything about it
I literally love this kind of content. Yay!
Hey guys, glad you're enjoying the show. Slight correction: The Julekalender was definitely not meant for children to watch - it always aired at around 10 pm and was called an "adult julekalender".
Growing up as a Norwegian and part time Dane, I made some dumb mistakes. Telling Norwegians that Olsenbanden and The Julekalender was originaly written and filmed IN Denmark before it was copied in Norway was one of them. I would actually be called a liar. Even with proof I was told to take a long walk down a short pier. Mind you. It worked the other way as well, I told the other Kids that Bjergkøbing Grand Prix was Norwegian and that the cartoonist who came up with it was Norwegian and the pupeteer was Norwegian and its actually called Flåklypa Grand Prix? No, they wouldn’t hear it, I was clearly some sort troublemaker og deviant! 😆
Sorry Morten but that was the funniest I've heard, all day! "Take a long walk down a short pier" .. 🤣
@@EmmelineSama Don't be sorry, it is one of the politest ways to tell someone to f**k off I know of 😆 Very happy if it made some one laugh!
Hvordan kan de ikke se den er norsk, alt i den er så åbenlyst norsk det gør helt ondt…
@@EmilReiko godt spørsmål. Ting setter sig, dette er før internett, og danskernes generelle kundskap, iver og interesse for Norge er nok langt lavere en mange i Norge ønsker at tro. Det har jeg fått erfare mange mange gange, ikke mindst alle de gange jeg må forklare at jeg og diverse andre personer, ting og steder ikke er svenske. Er du 3-5 år gammel og går i biffen i 70’erne og ser nogle sjove figurer der taler dansk i en film ved navn Bjergkøbing Grandprix og ingen noensinde gir besked om at en film er fra f.eks Norge og et par år senere kommer der en fyr og siger noget andet…? Ja, så tror man måske ikke på ham 🤓
@@MortenAastad Jeg tror danskeres kundskab om norge varierer meget regionalt… Jeg er fra vendsyssel og en hel del fra egnen arbejder i norge som håndværkere… Men klart, svenskere fylder mere - fordi danskere definerer sig selv i opposition til svenskere..
The same guys from The Julekalender made another christmas calendar show called Canal Wild Card, which was a 24 episode christmas special satirizing Danish local television. It's pretty out there and weird at first but it really grows on you and gets increasingly crazy.
I absolutely love this show and it is a classic. I am pretty sure that just like my household, everyone else in Denmark references this show just once in a while.
I even promised I would dress up as Gertrud this Christmas because 1/3 of my homefront will get a food processor as a work gift this year and honestly, that basically means I am getting a food processor.
My grandparents had it on VHS and we always asked if we could see it when we went to visit! I wasn't big enough for the English parts, but it was so fun! "Oluf a står under mistelten!" "ja det bar dejli"
I would love to have a repeat of this after you've seen the rest af it!
We could do that this year 😃
Thank you. I am Danish. It is fun to watch how it is to be an American in Denmark. One of my very good friends is from the States and together with people from different countries we sail together near Copenhagen. We have international sailing School day each Wednesday during summer season 😊 Happy Christmas 🌲😊😁
I'm Danish and just watching The Julekalender for the first time this year. The first 8 or so episodes, I just found it weird, but it has really grown on me as the story progress. And frankly I'm so surprised they managed to sneak in words like nosser (balls), Koksokker, and vat pik in there, even though it was the 90's. Very cool hearing your perspective on the show!
We were also a little uncertain for the first few episodes but so happy we continued because it’s so good 😊🎄🇩🇰
as it an adult show, I am pretty sure they could get away with it today as well. But yeah its a bit wierd, but it also a shit ton of fun. J day had a lot of støvle dance in 1991 and 92
The funny thing is, that the news on the radio did sound like that - I was a kid back then, but remember it well. There's a lot of weird talks about building a 4 lane bridge to the small island of Anholt. Obviously referring to the - at the time - planning and financing of Storebælt, that was completed and opened as late as in 1998 (The Julekalender is from 1992). The idiotic political discussions went completely over my head as a child, but I see today, how funny it really was. Now that Storebælt Bridge is done long ago, nobody thinks of the time before it was constructed :D
The 90s were in many ways more liberated than now...
@@aninaholbek As said in the headline, The Julekalender is from '91.
At your convenience, you should watch the TV-series "Matador". It's a show about people in a small city and their development through the 1920's to early 1950's.
1929 to 1947.
I my family we still often say "foooooodprocessor" like Gertrud Sand :😀
😂 I don’t think there is any other option now. You can’t avoid saying it that way 😂
Cool for you to experience this bit of weird Danish culture XD It's a complete classic.
To my knowledge, The Julekalender was never really intended for children... Pretty sure it was always meant for adult and was actually aired later. So maybe bigger kids and adults.
Have you seen Juletestamentet? There are a few other adult kalenders that also aired later, like after 21. I remember one centering around the new bridge, while they were building that. Most of them a still light-hearted, of course. It is Christmas XDD
Den Hemmelige Tunnel fra 1997 er måske den du tænker på, hvor nisserne bor tæt på der hvor menneskene er igang med at bygge broen, og de behøver meget søvn, men bliver forstyrret. Den har vist aldrig været genudsendt, og det er en familie julekalender, ikke en specifik voksen en.
The Julekalender was never for children, but we are usually very relaxed about children watching non-children things.
@@saranissen6210 There's a reason that one was never aired again! It was a second julekalender at the channel (can't remember which one) and felt like an afterthought - and generally terrible
@@annejeppesen160 It was from DR, and maybe not one of their best but I still remember thinking it was ok.
I love "The Julekalender". . the whole consept was sold to Norway in 1993 as well, and is still very popular. It is basicly the same, but norwegian dialect from Trønderlag (middle of Norway) with english. . The songs and the story is the same, but adapted to norwegian viewers. I have acually seen parts of the danish version, and is allmost exactly the same :-) Fun to se you reviewing/reacting to it :-) Merry Christmas !
I'm not sure the concept was actually sold because they used the same settings, so I think perhaps it was done in the same way as Olsen Banden, where Nordisk Film made the original Danish and then the Norwegian remakes using the exact same studio settings at Nordisk Film in Valby outside København. This also made the remakes much cheaper to make, and even probably almost as cheap as doing a voice-over in Norwegian.
@@agffans5725 you are right about the Julekalender, but Olsenbanden was not produced by Nordisk Film in Norway, but Team Film. But it is true that they used some of the studios in Denmark.
And the post-sound was made there too.
@@danielfordsmand .. Did not know that, but I remember that they used the same studios in Valby (København). Nordisk Film (Denmark) is by the way the oldest still existing film company in the world.
The Julekalender, one of my absolute favs!!
There have been others through the years, with real `nisser´
Jul på Slottet, Jul i Gammelby, Nisserne på Grønland
lovin´ the sweatshirt, runic Robing!!
hello from Hundested 🌸❄
It’s so great, really glad we discovered it and now we really want to expand our viewing to the others 😊🇩🇰🎄❤️
The Julekalender is the First julekalender that was made for adults - i was in my late teens and going out ( and working at the local disco) the year it aired - the soundtrack was all over the cafés, bodegas and discos I visited - and it kept going for a few years!!
The humor is fun to this day, and I love knowing that other countries have made their own successfull versions of it!
It’s so ‘dansk’ even in spite of the language - because even people who don’t speak a lick of English can watch and understand it - and the other way around!!
De Nattergale were a popular comedy group at the time, and they were - the - only - ones - who could have made this and have it come out great!
I SO wish we could hear these songs at the disco 🕺
We’ll have to pay closer attention for them now, they’re so catchy. We love getting to experience the Julekalender now and you’re right, they did such a fantastic job with it. It’s a masterpiece! 🇩🇰🎄❤️😊
Actually “Jul i den gamle trædemølle” was made i 1990, so a year older 🎅😎
Poul og Nulle i Hullet. 1980.
@@daylight3d That was back when there was only one julekalender on TV. It was not announced as an adult calender. It was send atthe usual, child friendly time. It is certainly not suited for children. Whether it is suited for adults is questionable.
I remember when I went to Højskole there was a guy who kept saying "mein vater war ein sehr berühmter spürhund aus düsseldorf" and one time an American girl asked "where it was from because it was so funny?" and he flat out told her he made that up himself. Everyone else were like "what no... That's from The Julekalender" and he tried to argue he had never watched it and by chance made up the same sentence.
😂 wow, what a guy haha. I guess there’s a small chance that’s true - but I think he probably watched it haha
"Koch Sokker... & Sko, ikk'?"
Derek, I love your Robe Trotting hoodie.
You mention the old nisse "Gammel Nok", and translate it to "Old Enough", which is already a funny name - but there's an even more hidden meaning; "Et gammelt nok", can also mean something like "an old git".
😂 That’s even better haha
there are 4 actores you forgot Gamel Nok. Støvle dans has been played a lot at every club in december since 1991 in denmark.
Hey Mike and Derek, great video again ,-) Yes "The Julekalender" is so funny, and one of only 2 shows we watch at home, the other being "Jul på Vesterbro" with the danish comedian Anders Matthesen (Isn't that where You guys live?) But "Jul på Vesterbro" is NOT easy to translate! Maybe there's english subtitles on the dvd version? Anyway thank you for this video on my 49'th birthday, always great to hear other views on things that is "REALLY" danish ;-) Greetings and Glædelig Jul from Nørhalne north of Aalborg ;-D
Most TV-julekalender shows from about the 90s till now have been 24-30 minutes each episode.
I also think the language thing is a sort of Jylland versus Copenhagen thing. Like it can be hard for someone from Copenhagen to understand some of the dialects in jylland and vice vesa.
Plus there’s always been this joke in my family that whenever we see someone go overboard with the Xmas decorations, we call them Gertrud Sand - like the character in The Julekalender.
Hi Derek and Mike.
first of all I wan't to thank you for uploading these videos. I find them really amusing and end often sitting in the office watching them :)
about the episode today, there is a few facts you kind of needed.
1. Benny: The "Nåssår" can basicly be translated to balls (those between your legs). A funny way to make sure everybody knows who was the bad guy.
2. The Julekalender was such a big succes, that since it's release the serie have been sold to swedish, norwegian and finnish tv as well. So if you go youtube you will find episodes that are directly copied with other actors (De Nattergale, who wrote and played the characters wasn't actually actors, but musicians).
3. It sparked a bit of controversy, when a politician shamed the series. I can't remember which politician it was, but she claimed that the show was being degrading towards people from Jylland. It was more or less the opposite, because De Nattergale are from Jylland and spoke in a very countryside accent, like they did with their music.
That's just a few of interesting facts, but I thought you might need them :)
Thanks for a great show - see you tomorrow.
Fun fact. The Queen once told an interviewer how the royal family enjoyed watching “ The julekalender” and how much fun the family had speaking “denglish” at the castle 😀
Funny, i thought there was a mistake in the title since im Norwegian and ive watched the julekalender in norway. Apparantly the show i watched was a norwegian version of the danish tv show of the same name! The norwegian version was aired in 1994 on tv2, while the danish was aired in 1991. I did not no this concidering the fact that i am born in 2008 and i only watched the julekalender because my mom showed it too me, and i loved it!
Lol, he he, so funny. The Guys from the musical group The Nattergale, were and Are still very much loved for their brillant play with words. 😊
Loved polterabend more than the julekalender's songs. Absolutely hilarious.
I love this julekalender, and are looking forward to next years from u2 🌲☃️🎅
I also find it really funny. Gertrud just decorates the house more and more, and it's kinda too much at the end for such a small living room, and still she complains, that she can't find the big box of Christmas decorations, and when Hansi looks at the Benny the Nåsår and exclaimes "Where is He da ugly" I just always found it funny because they are played by the same actor. 😆
Same with Günther falling in love with Getrud (same actor)
You guys should watch Alletiders Jul. It’s about a nisse named Pyrus who accidentially erases all memory and knowlegde of Christmas from the danish people and how he and his mentor drives into history to rediscover it. It does a good job in finding the roots of danish christmas tradition. There’s also alletiders nisse and alletiders julemand. They do the same with nisser and Santa repectively
The only thing you need now to be fully integrated is the 'Han får for lidt'-song
I have had tremendous fun teaching it to an Iraqi friend. He was quoting it in a meeting with a very grumpy boss and everyone had a good laugh. He says they treat him a little different now when he has shown he gets the Danish Christmas sense of humour
De Nattergale are probably some of the funniest humor Denmark has produced. See also the "Canal Wild Card" adult Christmas calendar and other Nattergale things very very funny.
Also try to listen to the news broadcast in the radio that is a part of the Julekalender. The news are hilarious - often about large bridge or tunnel projects that are to be built in a few days. I am quite certain that it is one of the original news speakers from DR who read the news.
I've always wondered how the bilingual humor of The Julekalender would be perceived from the other side of the "language divide". I'm glad you guys are enjoying it.
Ha, ha, how did i miss this fun video?
i love how you got introduced to its hard to be a nissemand as one of the first things in danish christmas xD
I love that you guys love The Julekalender. I honestly didn`t think it would catch to anyone not danish because of the very danish sende of humor. But you proved me wrong. OR maybe you are just `enough danish` now to love it like we do! Funfact is that the danish students ability to speak proper english droped significantly after this appered on TV. 😄 Hopefully we are back on track as fair english speakers again now. 🤷🏽♀️😂😅
In my opinion the best Julekalender in DK. And has become such a classic. Love that you liked it to😁
To bad you guys have already seen it, I would have loved for you to do reaction videos to all the episodes.... That would have been hilarious.... I am particularly fond of some of the "small" details they put in there...
Like when Benny first arrives at the Sand residens, and is invited to dinner. Oluf and Gertrud is just stacking their plates with potatoes and like 1 frikadelle. But Benny is just stacking frikadeller... And he is quick to "steal" the last frikadelle, when Oluf reaches for it with his fork....
Or when Benny finally gets the book from the nisser, sits down at the table at the Sand residens, and then he sees a small nisse on the top of the fruitbowl, and flicks it...
absolutely brilliant Julekalender, and for some reason it never gets old, it's an evergreen that you can watch over and over again.... Kind of like the 90 years birthday at new years
There are jokes that go much deeper. Examples: the radio news every episode. The Julekalender came out during the initial construction of the great belt bridge, and often the news will tel about another bridge / tunnel construction being planned, such as Denmark-Norway or to some remote island housing a few 100 people. Often the construction is estimated complete the next day. The news play on names of prominent politicians then (like "Tonald Drump" etc). After every news section, it's announced that the storm will continue, and Oluf says, much like an Iowa farmer "Well, now I've heard that.." (very hard to translate). And Gertrud always respond "Let's hope it will be better tomorrow". There's the joke about never finding the "big box of christmas decorations. Oluf never willing to talk about money (stereotype about people from Jutland). Also don't miss the joke of Gertrud and her "monthlies", and many many other subtle jokes. On the Nisse sides, there is "the book" which has zero advise about anything "What was that": see "That was not noget (that was nothign). " Their expressions ("vending"), which they btw never re-use. The more Danish you know, the better it is.
there is so much to take in on this show, the fact that Nissen Hansi wants to beat up him self Benny Jensen and calls him ugly. A Nåsåer is not a nisse but the evil counter part that just hate everything about nisser and jul :)
I think they finished the 8 last episode like 3-4 days before they aired.
For some years to come, you would hear people quote the show "Bob bob bob Ik", "det´ bår dæjli!", "Det skal æt komme an å det da.", "A står under æ mistelten.", "A tror lige, a skal ud og puste grise op.", "Why is it always me"
Some of those expressions lives on... At least in my family
Åhh shit, it's på Danish. :-) I have seen it maybe 50 times, still watch it every year.
Haha so relatable for us 😂
Hey you guys need to pay attention to when Oluf is listening to the radio. It’s actually the news broadcast of the day, and within the show they are referring to various building projects. And each day a new project, actually the Femer connection and the timeline is crazy like” with the latest build technology they’ve scheduled to be completed within days😁 it’s in reality a big joke pointed at the danish politicians who constantly talk about planning new projects
oh yes.
Kinda feel the Carlsberg Export adverts ("The Danes hate to see it leave") that were shown in the UK, with the old girl trapping the lorry drivers, were somewhat along a similar Danish style of humour.
Wonderful, you guys
Thanks Rasmus, thanks for watching and God Jul 🇩🇰🎄❤️
@@RobeTrotting You too! And if you ever wanna tjek out the danish westside, just give me a call. My family and I would be happy to invite you to dinner and to show you the sights over here. All the best. Rasmus
At some point you will have to watch a julekalender with Pyrus. And you need to watch Jul på Vesterbro. All characters are played by Anders "Anden" Matthesen, and like everything else he does, it's brilliant. He's a stand-up comedian, actor, musician, ect....
Yes, Jul på Vesterbro looks really good - I think we will try to watch that this week if we can binge it 🇩🇰🎄❤️
It is the craziest and most wonderful Julekalender - I love it and have watched it many times!
The julekalender was the adult advent calendar. Airing around 8 pm, so not a Lot of kids watched it. Often there a two advent calendars for the kids, airing at 6 pm and 7 pm, and then the adult advent calendar would air, when the kids are laid to bed.
Ah, okay. Good to know now, we definitely got that detail wrong hehe
I am pretty sure the kids' calender on TV2 was at 8pm after the news and regional news at 7 and 7.30pm the kids' calender on DR1 was at 6 pm but is now moved to 7.30pm i think (not sure been a long time since i saw them), the adult calender were at 10 pm or so and was shorter 10-15min than the kids' calender about 20-25min. This was how it was in mid/late 90's i believe (not 100% sure) the 6pm and 8pm and 10pm, the 7.30pm came after they stopped doing kids' TV on DR1. I am certain TV2 had the news from 7 to 8pm.
@@Sancturis any day of the year: children's program at DR at 6pm (this was before DR2), news at DR at 6.30 pm, national news at TV2 at 7pm, local news at TV2 at 7.30 pm, news at DR again at 9-10 pm, national news at TV2 at 10 pm, local news at 10.15 pm. There was a loooot of news in those days. In December they squeezed the julekalender's in between the news so at children's DR at 6 pm, children's at TV2 at 8 pm and adult's at TV2 at 10.30 pm or 11.15 pm can't remember that one precisely - I was 6 in '91 😅 ( fortunately for me The Julekalender was re-aired the following afternoon)
@@RobeTrotting No worries I definitely watched it as a kid. Most kids did, I think.
You sneaked in the wall, lol 😂
😂 yes 🙌🏼 we had to haha
I loooove the songs in The Julekalender 🤣👏🏻
Wow - my children spoke danish/english / danglish these years and the christmas calender 15 minutes every evening was part of their danish christmas tradition. You know - it’s just a part of our christmas tradition. Humour and a little bit of irony..
All the best to you both in the USA.
Hi! Just watched The Julekalender this year and I have a question. I don't know where in Denmark you guys live, but the Danish couple speak a western dialect known as 'Vestjysk'. Is it hard to understand if you are looking to get every word in?
We have the same in Norsk. Nisse og nåsså. With different actors . 🌲☃️
The Julekaldender wasnt made for kids, it was the first grown up "jule kaldender":) When it was first aired, it was aired like 9 a clock in the evening after the kids julekalderen was aired.
The funniest part of the "Danglish" (Nisseengelsk) and the western jutland dialect, is that they are surprisingly close to each other - the traditional western jutland dialect even uses "english grammar" in terms of nouns and definite articles...
The three actors is a band Called de nattergale
Anders Sand is his name. Say it fast and you get Anders And. And the jokes was definitely for adults. With a guy working for Koch Sokker and the head nisse looking up How to Screw, you take the long dingedot and stick it in the round dingedot, and then you screw. Yeah, Dora the explorer it ain't. We used to love that our very indre missionsk nan was watching this and loving it. 😄
😅 to a pure mind, everything is pure
I have always been curious to ask anyone who isn’t from denmark. Do you guys have a Julekalender too? If so then what have you watched? I’m curious to know.
We don’t in this style but all through the Christmas season there are “Christmas specials” of cartoons and television networks show different Christmas movies 😊
The three original members of "De Nattergale" are all from the southwestern part of Jutland, and I think the characters Oluf and Gertrud speak the current Jutlandic dialect variant of that area, whereas the nåsåer speaks with a Copenhagen accent, which is exaggerated and perhaps influenced a bit by how people from Jutland perceive Copenhageners and their speech patterns. Jutlandic is maybe a tiny bit closer to English, which may account for why you find it easier.
De Nattergale are just one example of what might even be considered an entire genre of Danish music and comedy. The most significant group in this genre was probably Shubidua, which began in 1973, often with covers of English-language but with new, sometimes totally unrelated and sometimes silly absurd Danish lyrics. "Killing me softly" became "kylling og soft-ice", and the Beatles song _Twist and Shout_ became _Stærk Tobak_ (probably also hinting at something stronger than tobacco...) I think I may have mentioned them in a comment long ago. Anyway, this can perhaps roughly be compared to American singers like Arlo Guthrie and Al Yankowich. I'm sure there are others. Denmark being small of course means that singers and groups like this - other worthy mentions could be Niels Hausgaard, Per Vers, Kim Larsen/Gasolin, Røde Mor, or Eddie Skoller (who is actually born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1944) - become more significant, and they become very popular, their songs often becoming part of "den danske sangskat", which is the term for songs that remain popular and which will be sung when Danes get together. (And their melodies will be used for occasional celebrative songs, which you know we like to sing during party dinners.) Getting to know some of these songs and groups is probably a good way to dig deeper into the Danish "soul", although you guys already are so well-versed in Danish culture that you don't need to be told this. :-)
Just a little info 😉 It only took under one day to “filme” the Hole calender 😅👏🏼
jul på vesterbro is also in a category of its own.
To me, "Magnus Tagmus" in Decembervej was the first real Christmas calendar in 1967.
Haha, remember the ending on "nåsåer", if not it sounds like you're saying "nosse", which I'm sure you know what means :D
😂 🙈😂🙈
Oh, you guys kinda broke my childhood. 😅 I have always thought "The joulukalenteri" being Finnish tv-program. After all these years I saw this and googled and came to find out it's actually translated and re-acted for Finnish from the original Danish program 😲 Well it's still good 😄
All the Scandinavian countries insist that their " the julekalender" is the best, lol. I guess that speaks to how well the Nordic countries adapted it to their own culture
You guys really should watch the "sequal" to The Julekalender. Sequal is in "", due to it being a independant plot. It´s called "CWC - Canal Wild Card" and is produced by the same crew, who did The Julekalender. Same concept with short episodes, same cast throughout the characters etc. But a total different story.
The humor is more like the good old Monty Python quirky, dark type. If you´re into that it´s hilarious. If not then you would probably just sit like Oluf and Gertrud Sand looking into the camera with their wtf? stonefaces 😀
I find it, in many ways, more funny than The Julekalender.
Be advised though:
1. Be sure to get the version with english subtitles, otherwise a lot of the weird subtleties will be missed.
2. Preferably watch it with some good danish friends who can explain the parts you don´t get (if appplicable).
P:S. Keep those great videoes coming !
It was a dark and stormy evening.
Actually this julekalender was made for adults. Not kids. And I can assure you that the kids old enough to want to see this would definetly know the "Kocks Sokker" joke. And yes. The entire series except GammelNok is played by the same 3 guys who also used to be a band.. Both Norway and Finland made their own version of this julekalender by the way.
Okay, mistake there then but it’s so good nonetheless 😊🇩🇰🎄❤️
@@RobeTrotting Oh Absolutely. I just watched all the episodes of "Jul på slottet" with my daughter as she was sick this weekend. Its one of the old classics as well.
@@kriss3d Jul på Slottet is the ultimate julekalender in my opinion. The master enough plot twists that it never gets repetitive which all other julekalender's are - the only ones who can really use the same plot for 24'ish episodes are the "Alletiders jul/nisse/julemand"
The word Nåsårner, comes from on from Copenhagen. Because, when they don't know how to fix anything and see how its done, they say Nåsån' = nå sådan. So it's a joke in Jytland about those from Copenhagen
Ha, I always heard it as Noss'ern = Nosserne
My theory is that Nåsåere are tax-people that will go "nå-såååå" when they doubt your tax payments
Hey guys. Are you gonna explain a traditional Danish New Years? With The Queens New Years eve speech and "90 års fødselsdagen" aka "the 90th birthday"
You must learn "Støvledans" in the coming year, so you are ready for the discos' December 🕺🏽👢🕺🏼
It came out in december 1991 and for the first few years, they even played it in the summer, and immediately the dance floor was filled with happy twists to the rhythm of Støvledans 🕺🏼🥳 👢 🥳💃🏼
I rrally don't know if it is still danced at the discos, but I hope.. It was at least fun 🥳👢🥳
I wish you would have reacted to the actual clips.
Ahhhh this is one of the best ones we have made ever😩🇩🇰
The Nisse and the nosse 👌🏼🤣 i love it
0:28 good Derek, but can you smack your thigh, smack your boot? (Klask 'a lår, klask 'a støvl')
Also something you might have missed with the names of the two nisse groups.
"Nisse" is your basic christmas elf or gnome as normal whereas "nosse" though similar in pronounciation is vulgar slang for testicle. There are further slangs based on "nosse" which primarily are used to call someone stupid or incompetent.
Final note, none of the actors are actually actors. It was a music band who, as I recall, decided they wanted to make a Yule-kalender, hence why only the three band members are in it and why the elves always start singing. They had some other attempts in acting beyond The Julekalender, but none of it really succeeded.
Now I want you guys to comment on "Jul på Vesterbro" xD
I laugh everytime you say "Nisse" XD
Okay
@@RobeTrotting in a good/proud n happy way ;)
Kock Sokker .... og Sko - don't forget that last part ;->
"The Julekalender" is a national treasure.
TV2 got another realy funny julekalender. It's called Jul i den gamle Trædemølle.
Oh wow, yeah we definitely need to watch a few more - thanks for the recommendation 😊🇩🇰🎄❤️
The news the farmers hear in the radio also become increasingly unhinged 😅
I feel like some of it had to be improved 😂
The Julekalender is my favorite calender
It really is so good, so happy that we found it 🇩🇰🎄❤️