In this solo episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish outlines her cultural‑training program for international specialists moving to Denmark and then dives deep into one of Denmark’s most iconic rites of passage: the high‑school graduation cap (huen) and the accompanying truck tour. She explains the structure of the “Danish year” – seasonal holidays such as Sankt Hans bonfires and Mortensdag – before focusing on the white cap, its handmade production, cost, personalization options, and the meaning of its colored bands (burgundy, dark blue, light blue, etc.). Mellish describes the logistics of the truck tour, the loud music, raunchy banners, stops at classmates’ homes, and the communal drinking rituals, as well as quirky hat‑related customs like biting the rim or cutting shapes into the band. Personal anecdotes illustrate how strangers publicly congratulate graduates. The episode concludes with announcements about her upcoming “How to Work in Denmark” audiobook and a series of audio city tours, including a Helsingør tour launching in June 2024.
Chapters
Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. I'm occasionally hired to do cultural training. For international specialists who are being brought to Denmark. This involves 4 hours of explaining the basics of Danish life: the banking system, the healthcare system, how to shop for food. For example, the fact that yellow is the color of discounts in Denmark. If something has a yellow price tag, the price has been cut. And I always include a section On the Danish year. By the Danish year, I mean the rhythm of vacation weeks and holidays from year to year, from bonfires at Sankt Hans in midsummer to the eating of duck on Mortensdag in November. Mortensdag isn't as popular as it once was, but if you didn't know about it, you might wonder why there are suddenly pictures of ducks all over the place. But what always gets the most interest is what's about to occur over the next couple of weeks: Danish high school graduations and the accompanying truck tour. If you've been in Denmark in June, you've seen this: open-backed trucks packed with teenagers wearing fresh white caps and cheering or blowing whistles. Usually there's some pop music pumping at a very high volume. The sides of the truck are covered with white banners, traditionally bedsheets, on which are painted slogans that are more or less obscene. Everybody on the truck, except the driver, is several beers in and shouting at passersby on the sidewalk, who shout back. These kids have just graduated gymnasium, which is the Danish equivalent of high school. The stiff white caps that they are wearing are all handmade and cost about 2,400 Danish crowns, or $300. They are made by a single supplier, and the student's name is embroidered in gold on the back. You can also decorate your hat with other symbols, such as a cross if you're a Christian, or a medical symbol if you plan to be a doctor. The more personalization, the more it costs. After the final exam is complete, Some honored person from the family— perhaps a parent, or a grandparent, or an older sibling— will ceremoniously put the white hat on the graduate's head. Then everyone eats Danish strawberries and drinks bubbly— either champagne or just sparkling juice, depending on your preference. You wear the white hat everywhere you go for the next couple of weeks. The white hat awakes a deep sentimentality in the usually practical and privacy-obsessed Danes. It has a sort of magic. When my daughter received her white cap last year, total strangers stopped her in the street to say congratulations. Congratulations on the hat. Tillykke med huen. Bus drivers congratulated her as she boarded, and so did supermarket clerks at the checkout counter. Getting the hat is seen as a very happy occasion on the road from childhood to the big wide world. The white hat also set off a round of parties with family and friends. We ended up hosting 3. And then the students, who are between 17 and 20 years old, begin to get ready for university in the fall, or perhaps a gap year, or maybe some time in the Danish military. But the celebration for these events, especially university graduation, isn't as big as it is for the white cap. The white cap holds a special place in the Danish national consciousness. Now, here's a good moment to point out that not every cap is white. There is a black cap, which you can achieve if you've taken some extra high-level courses. And the white caps themselves have different color bands. The most common is the Burgundy Band for a 3-year classical academic education. I was surprised to find out that this still includes a course of Latin, plus classical history and comparative religion. Personally, I think it's the equivalent to the first 2 years at an American university. But you can also get a Dark Blue Band if you've taken an HTX technical degree, or a Light Blue Band for a 2-year education. I have heard about a green band for agricultural school or a pink band for hairdressing school, although I've never seen these in person. But whatever hat you get, you look forward to the truck tour. Now, these are booked far in advance, as almost everything is in Denmark, because you need a certain type of truck and a certain type of driver. They are almost always very large men from the countryside. The sort of man who is able to control 25 deeply drunken teenagers. The night before the trip, the class decorates the truck with balloons and the white banners. The banners are often directed at the other drivers on the road. For example, one honk, the girls will drink. 2 honks, the boys will drink. 3 honks, it's bottoms up for all of us. I chose one of the cleaner messages to spare your tender ears, but They can get pretty raunchy. Early in the morning, the journey begins. The idea is to go to each classmate's house and enjoy an alcoholic drink at every stop. The classmate's family will be there to celebrate, sometimes wearing their own white hats that are decades old. Jantelov gets thrown aside on this day. Each family tries to outdo the next with the most impressive spread. In my daughter's class, one family brewed its own beer and put it in bottles with the son's face on the label. As the day wears on, the students get a little overwhelmed as they get on and off the truck again and again, drinking various forms of alcohol again and again, especially if it's a hot, sunny June day. I'm not the biggest drinker, and we were number 14 on the list of 24 stops. So I decided to serve fruit sodas in the garden. One of the guys in the class asked, Is there alcohol in this? No, I said. It's just a soda. He responded, Oh, thank you so much. It's the best thing I've had all day. You can continue to wear your hat after your truck tour to various graduation parties. The hat comes with an insurance policy in case you lose it. And there are a number of traditions involved. Your best friend is supposed to bite the rim of the hat, for example. Or you make a cut in the shape of a house in the interior band if you've consumed an entire case of beer and managed to stay awake to see the sunrise. Or you cut a lightning shape in the band if you've had sex with the hat on. You won't be able to see these more intimate marks as the student truck rolls past you on the street, of course. But stop and wave and cheer for the students anyway. The truck tour is probably one of the most memorable days of their lives. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. The How to Work in Denmark audiobook is coming soon. I've been working on it for What seems like forever. And I'm also introducing a series of audio tours for major Danish cities, which you will be able to access via TripAdvisor. The audio tour of Helsingør drops this month. Helsingør is the home of Hamlet's castle, and I will show you around and introduce you to the male Little Mermaid, which is in Helsingør. It comes out later in June 2024. In the meantime, check us out on howtoliveindenmark.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube. See you next time.
