Our Adopted Danish Christmas Tradition

After living abroad we learned many things about ourselves, but mainly that we weren't as open-minded as we had thought.  Not that we were discriminating against others, but that we considered our ways, American ways, to be superior to other cultures.  

One thing about the Danes that I thought was curious was the love of their flag.  Most larger homes in Copenhagen had the huge metal flag poles in their front yards for displaying the national flag.  The flag is so revered, that you are only legally allowed to display it on your birthday or on a designated flag holiday.  They also used the Danish flag to decorate their Christmas trees.  

I think it made their flag special in some way.  It ensured that they didn't take their flag for granted.  It had a way of uniting the country with a sense of national pride on their flag days.  I'm not sure I'm in favor of giving up my civil liberties and my God-given right to display my flag on non-flag holidays, but it did make me think about my own country's flag in a new way.

We adopted the Danish tradition and now incorporate smaller American flags as ornaments on our own Christmas tree.  Every time I look at the American flags on our Christmas tree, I'm reminded of how great it is that we live in a country where we can worship as we please, and fly our flag on whatever day we choose.