Carnival in Denmark

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The Danish word for Carnival is "Fastelavn", which is the same word as the German Fastelovend (which is the local German word for one of the world's biggest Carnivals, which is in the Rhine area in Germany, and which is pronounced the same way), and the word is also closely related to the Dutch Vastenavond.

Today it might be described as a Nordic Halloween with children dressing up in costumes and gathering treats for the Fastelavn feast.

In Denmark more traditional aspects include slå katten af tønden ("hit the cat out of the barrel"), which is somewhat similar to a piñata, except that there is a wooden barrel, which is full of candy and has the image of a cat on it. Historically there was a real black cat in the barrel, and beating it was superstitiously considered a safeguard against evil. After the candy pours out, the game continues until the entire barrel is broken. The one who knocks down the bottom of the barrel (making all the candy spill out) becomes kattedronning ("queen of cats"), the one who knocks down the last piece of the barrel becomes kattekonge ("king of cats"). In Norway it is predominantly a children's day.

Fastelavnsboller

In Denmark and Norway a popular baked good associated with the day is Fastelavnsbolle (lit. "Fastelavns bun", also known in English as "shrovetide bun" or "lenten bun"), a round sweet roll usually covered with icing and filled with cream. Similar buns are eaten in other northern European countries, for example the Swedish Semla.

Some towns in Denmark are renown for their large Fastelavn festivities and parades.

Ísafjörður is the only town in Iceland that celebrates Fastelavn on the same day as the Nordic countries, the day being known as Maskadagur (from the Danish word mask, meaning to dress-up or put on a mask).

There seems to be some small local traditions which are closer to the carnival traditions of other countries, including ash Wednesday, carnival parades, pancake Tuesday and eating special food after ash Wednesday, but they are not recognized as typical Danish.