Each year Kajakhotellet.dk organises a Santa Lucia procession in kayak to collect funds for Amnesty International.

Santa Lucia procession at Christianshavn

Besides having a charitable purpose—each paddler paid €15 to AI to participate—its also a good excuse to get to paddle a bit off season. We were around 100 paddlers today. I saw one or two television crew on land, so we might have made the local news.

The Santa Lucia procession is a celebration for the return of light, so we put lights on our kayaks and paddle through the canals of inner Copenhagen after dark. At times the children on the quays spontaneously sang the Santa Lucia carol as we passed, and people shouted comments and salutations. Most people found it very beautiful with a hundred illuminated kayaks in the canals.

At a canal side café we all had gløgg and æbleskiver, served in the boats 🙂

Pavia Lumholt participated too, and he promptly capsized. Good thing he knows who to roll 🙂

Santa Lucia procession with Pavia Lumholt Santa Lucia procession with Pavia Lumholt

Actually, Pavia did a very impression little rolling demo in some very cold water.


Comments

2 responses to “Santa Lucia”

  1. Douglas Wilcox avatar
    Douglas Wilcox

    “At a canal side café we all had gløgg and æbleskiver, served in the boats”

    Rene, I have been running a series of reviews of sea kayaking pubs here in Scotland. I have to say Scottish refreshment houses must learn a great deal from, their Danish colleageus hospitality.

    I was in Denmark in the spring but did not come across gløgg. I can only begin to guess as to its beneficial effects upon a cold paddler.

    Last night we went paddling in -5C
    http://seakayakphoto.blogspot.com/2007/12/mysterious-nocturnal-goings-on-on-lady.html

    We had no gløgg but David was in Latvia in the summer and had brought back a supply of a strong dark Latvian liquor, which we found most reviving. :o)

  2. René Seindal avatar
    René Seindal

    Gløgg, or Mulled Wine, is only made around Christmas here. Æbleskiver are eaten all year around, though.

    I’m afraid there are no sea kayaking pubs around here that I know of, though there are many pubs near the various canals in town.

    Are there any rules about PUI in Scotland? 🙂

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