Gunhild Agger
Myth and History of Culture in Danish
Advent Calendars,
Scandinavian Cinema and Christmas,
Lund University, 6 December 2012
No. 1
Outline
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introducing the Danish TV Advent calendar
Calendars and folklore
Brief genre history: traditions and developments
Myth and history of culture in advent calendars
Alletiders jul (TV 2, 1994)
Successors and perspectives
No. 2
Choice
• Four Advent calendars are typically screened at the
public service stations DR and TV 2:
• two targeting the whole family and
• two targeting grownups.
• In both cases, reruns are common.
• The regional stations often present an Advent
calendar on radio or television.
• Most of the classical Advent calendars can be
acquired on DVD
No. 3
Audiences: DR ratings
1. Nissebanden i Grønland (1993): 1.136.000 viewers
2. Jul i Gammelby (rerun, 1994): 891.000 viewers
3. Pagten (2009): 859.000 viewers
4. Nissebanden i Grønland (rerun, 2011): 852.000 viewers
5. Nissebanden (1992): 851.000 viewers
No. 4
Audiences: TV 2 ratings
1. Andersens Julehemmelighed(1993):1.651.000 viewers
2. Alletiders Jul (1994): 1.390.000 viewers
3. Alletiders Nisse (1995): 1.364.000 viewers
4. Skibet i skilteskoven (1992): 1.329.000 viewers
5. Brødrene Mortensens Jul (1998): 1.289.000 viewers
No. 5
Hypotheses
• New generations are raised to whom the old
calendars are new
• Older generations amuse themselves with the
pleasure of repetition in the light of remembrance
• The TV stations are able to vary the genre by
renewing it,
- making it comment its time
- making use of myth and history of culture
No. 6
The Calendar Tradition
• The almanac genre: information about holidays,
seasons, weather, names, constellation of stars and
all sorts of practical and religious advice
• Printed cardboard Advent calendars targeting a
children’s audience published in Germany 1903,
imported to Denmark 1932: model for later editions
on radio and TV
• 1962: the first Danish Advent calendar after Swedish
model (1960)
No. 7
The Folklore Tradition
• ‘jul’ (literally ‘yule’): a common Nordic word for an
old celebration – solstice
• Jørn Piø 1977: grotesque, thrilling and horror
elements a part of earlier Christmas traditions:
• plays, cf. Ludvig Holberg’s comedy Julestuen (1724)
• ghost stories and a consciousness of a special
proximity to supernatural phenomena
No. 8
The 19th Century
• Development of national identity and prevalent
traditions of Christmas (surprise gifts, tree)
• The most beloved hymns and carols by B.S.
Ingemann and N.F. S. Grundtvig: Christmas as the
celebration of the hearts
• National symbols on the Christmas tree from 1850
No. 9
Brief Genre History: The puppet calendars
Target group: small children
(and their parents)
Rasmus Tagmus
in Kender du Decembervej? 1967
Vinterbyøster 1974
”that’s where I’m postman”
The children in power
Grownups kind, but confused
No. 10
Brief Genre History: the family calendar
Target group: the whole family
Jul i Gammelby (DR 1979): parallel worlds
Jul på slottet DR
1986 (manuscript: Martin Miehe-Renard)
No. 11
Brief Genre History: Renewal of the family
calendar tradition
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alletiders jul (1994)
Alletiders nisse (1995)
Alletiders julemand (1997)
Pyrus på pletten (a feature film, 2000)
Pyrus i alletiders eventyr (2000)
myth and cultural history in a combination of
entertainment and information
No. 12
Alletiders jul: Time
• “Tider går / Tider skal komme […] Julen er gammel
/ og julen er ny / julen er aldrig den samme” (Ages
pass / Ages shall come […] Yule is old / and Yule is
new / Yule is never the same)
• The first lines refer directly to a beloved hymn by
B.S. Ingemann (1850): “Tider skal komme / tider skal
henrulle / slægt skal følge slægters gang” (Ages shall
come / Ages shall pass / Generation shall follow
generation)
No. 13
Alletiders jul: Location
• Rigsarkivet, the public record office in Copenhagen
stored with books and paperscrolls from all ages
• Inhabited by the Bertramsen, the lonely keeper of
the public records, and Guttenborg, Bertramsen’s
counterpart in the pixie world
No. 14
Alletiders jul: Parallel archive worlds
Bertramsen with Josefine
Brahe, his assistant
Guttenberg with
Pyrus, his assistant
No. 15
The concept of Christmas reconstructed
• Tracing yule back in history
• Beginning in the Iron and Bronze ages, finding a
wheel and later the sun chariot
• Finding the Vikings drinking yule
• The myths of the Nordic gods: A visit to Asgaard via
Bifrost, the Rainbow bridge
• Meeting Hejmdal, the gate keeper
• In Asgaard, meeting Freja, the goddess of love
No. 16
Hans Christian Andersen
• The little match-seller (1845) visualized as a tableau in
the Tivoli Gardens exhibiting the little match-seller’s
imaginations of the good family life with its wellprovided table, its Christmas tree and gifts
• The Fir Tree (1844): Hans Christian Andersen’s
imagination apparently inspired by the presence of
Pyrus, playing with the concept of time
No. 17
Tradition and innovation
• Pyrus wishes renewal of the traditions
• In his song “Cool jul” he advocates modernization of
Christmas in form of modern music, speed, colours
• His rebellion: a very direct manner of approaching
people and telling them the truth as he perceives it
• But there are limits: harmony between generations
and mutual interest of keeping up Christmas
traditions in the light of continuity – provided by
myth and cultural history – is stressed
No. 18
Successors
• Jul i Valhal (TV 2, 2005, rerun 2012):
The Fimbul winter, preceding Ragnarok
• Myth applied in a tale about challenges to the
connection between nature and civilization
• Absalons hemmelighed (DR 1, 2006): a quest
structure requiring – and providing – knowledge of
early medieval history
• Pagten (DR1 2009): the problem of bullying in a
school class, contrasting the values of pixies and
imaginative children to the power of the Ice Witch
No. 19
Perspectives
• The calendars function as a mirror of tendencies in
contemporary society, focusing on the
consequences of globalization and climate issues
• Knowledge of myths and cultural history is needed
to prevent respectively death and apocalypse and to
reconcile attitudes and values
No. 20