In this solo episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish explores the character of Danish autumn, which begins in mid‑August as school resumes after a brief six‑week summer break. He describes the rapid shortening of daylight—from long evenings in July to dark mornings by October—and how Danes respond by staying active, shopping for warm clothing, and enjoying seasonal foods, especially the wide variety of apples. Mellish highlights cultural events such as the mid‑October school fall vacation, Copenhagen’s Culture Night, Tivoli Gardens’ Halloween pumpkin contest, and the modest holiday Morten’s Aften (duck dinner on November 10). He notes the growing popularity of Halloween, its perceived American influence, and the traditional lack of Danish fall holidays. The episode also offers practical advice: autumn is a prime time for job hunting because companies aim to spend remaining budgets, and for applying to educational programs that start early the next year. Mellish connects modern autumn activities to historic practices of harvest and winter preparation, encouraging listeners to start crafts or binge‑watch series to brace for the long winter darkness. He closes with calls to engage via social media, the website, or to book him for speaking engagements.
Chapters
Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. When I was working on the 5th anniversary podcast last week, I realized that I'd had podcasts on spring in Denmark, summer in Denmark, winter in Denmark, but nothing on autumn in Denmark. And that's too bad because early fall can be one of Denmark's prettiest seasons. Autumn in Denmark actually starts in mid-August. That's when the kids go back to school. Danish kids have a very short summer holiday, usually only about 6 weeks. By late August, you can definitely feel a little fall crispness in the air. By September, the leaves start to change, and by the end of October, many of the trees are already bare for the winter. But what really defines fall in Denmark is the slow fading of the light. In June or July or even August, you have those wonderfully long evenings where the sunlight lasts until almost 10 PM. People sit outside at their summer houses or on their balconies in the city, drinking a glass of wine, a cup of tea, or just chatting in an enjoying the wonderful scent of the summer air. It's in September that you start to notice that there are a lot fewer hours of daylight, and then in October it's often dark when you leave your house for work in the morning. It's in September that you start to notice there are a lot fewer hours of daylight, and then in October it's often dark when you leave the house for work in the morning. Once the clocks are set back at the end of October, the big winter darkness has arrived. But before that, people are very active in Denmark during the fall, almost as if they're trying to outrun the light. It's a busy time for schools, it's a busy time for companies, and it's a busy time for shops selling all the sweaters and boots and coats people are going to be wearing until, oh, April or May of next year. Fall is a great time for people who love fresh fruit because it's when Danish plums and pears and particularly Apples are at their peak. In fact, there are so many different types of Danish apples, I get confused in the supermarket. Should I pick the Ingrid Marie apples or the Filippa apples or the Grosten apples? That's Denmark's national apple. One local supermarket lists 17 different types of apples on its website. That's a lot of apples to keep track of. You can go apple picking if you like, or you can just take a walk in the woods and enjoy Denmark's wonderful nature in fall, with all the golden reds and oranges and yellows of the leaves. Danes get a week's vacation in mid-October, called fall vacation for the kids at school, and a lot of them choose to stay in Denmark. Unlike, say, winter vacation during the ugliest days of February. Everyone who can afford to gets out of Denmark during winter vacation. But in fall vacation, there's lots to do. Copenhagen has its famous Culture Night, where otherwise inaccessible places like steeples and castle attics are open to the public for one night. And Tivoli Gardens now has a regular Halloween season with a giant pumpkin contest that ambitious Danish farmers can try to win. Last year's pumpkin set a record. It was almost 500 kilos. Seriously, it was the size of one of those, like, electric smart cars. Huge pumpkin. Halloween is a relatively new holiday in Denmark, adopted from the US. Now, some people say that's just creeping Americanization, but I also think it was chosen because there aren't really any traditional Danish holidays in fall, so there was an opening in the calendar. I guess there is one holiday, Morten's Aften, in November. But all you really do on Morten's Aften is eat duck for dinner. That's because in the 3rd century, Morten was a man who hid among ducks and geese. So now we eat ducks or geese on November 10th. But the American holiday of Halloween has become very popular, particularly among small children. In my apartment building, the little ones dress up as ghosts or witches, and they go door to door saying, Slik eller belel? Which means candy or trouble. I always pretend to be very afraid of them. Oh no, oh no, please no trouble. And then of course I give them some candy. Anyway, fall in Denmark is a great time to get things done. If you're looking for a job, fall is the time when a lot of people get hired because companies and agencies have to use up their annual budgets by the end of the year. If you're applying to a school, a lot of places have terms that start in January or February that might not get as many applications as their August or September terms, you can apply in fall. Fall has always been a busy time. 100 or 1,000 years ago, fall in Denmark was a busy time too, as people brought in the harvest and prepared for the long winter. It's a good time for you too to prepare for all the dark nights ahead, particularly the dark months after Christmas. Start a craft project, get some really fat books, or download a box set. Because when Denmark's beautiful fall is over, there's nothing ahead but the long Danish winter. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. You can comment— leave a comment on our Facebook page, visit our website at howtoliveindenmark.com, or talk to us on Twitter @howtoliveindk. The 2 is a number. You can also book me, Kay Xander Mellish, for a speech at your organization or school. Just go to events.howtoliveindenmark.com. See you next time.
