Around the world birthdays are celebrated with local traditions and the 1st birthday for the LEGO House has been celebrated in true Danish fashion. As an outsider looking in, a lot of the celebrations might not make sense, but this birthday is as authentic as it gets.
Today was celebrated with flags, treasure hunts, more flags, cake and obviously more flags!
Flags
As you can see in nearly all the photos there were thousands of Danish flags (Dannebrog) and very few balloons as typical with other cultures. These flags were not only inside the LEGO House but were all around Billund. The Danish flag is not just symbol for national pride but is the symbol for a celebration. Whether it is a new employee at the LEGO Group, a birthday or a graduation the flags come out in full force. The moral of the story, the more flags the better! Throughout the LEGO House you would see flags added into scenes and giant flags being built by visitors. Every flag you see was specifically added for this celebration and will be removed after the celebration is over.
Treasure Hunts
All month visitors could also explore the LEGO House in hopes of finding all the hidden cakes. Seeking out these cakes required a keen eye and encouraged play throughout the building. The reward was worth it! Did you realize that having a treasure hunt is another Danish birthday tradition?
Cake
In many cultures you might have many different cake options but in Denmark there are a few simple rules. The cake should be a layered cake and the birthday host provides their own cake.
While the LEGO House could not make a cake, we were lucky enough to celebrate the LEGO House birthday party with an award-winning baker Annemette Voss. Outside of Denmark you might not have heard of Annemette but she won the second season of “Den store bagedyst”. This Danish baking show has kicked off Annemette’s career which you can follow on www.annemettevoss.dk and shop.annemettevoss.dk.
What did Annemette and todays visitors make for everyone? Obviously, a Danish flag birthday cake! You could even have a slice once the cake was done.
Sunny or Dreary
Did you know that the LEGO House was responsible for the weather today? It is a Danish tradition that the weather reflects your behavior over the past year. You can tell by the weather if the birthday celebrant was good (sun) or bad (dreary) this year. The morning started without a cloud in sight, we can speak for the rest of the day, so we know the LEGO House was very good this year!
We all know that the LEGO House was good because of the joy and inspiration that it helped bring to thousands of fans. Employees in the LEGO House also stated that they see more parents getting involved and setting aside their phones for the day. Perhaps the LEGO House is even helping to get some of these adults out of their dark ages and back to building!
Mark Your Calendars
If you were not able to join the LEGO House this year for their birthday day celebration don't worry because there are many other unique Danish birthday celebrations coming up in the years to come. The Danish have fun traditions for celebrating “round birthdays” (20, 30, 40, etc.) as well as cinnamon and pepper birthdays. I am not certain what the LEGO House will have in store for us in the years to come but if they continue to follow Danish traditions they will have some exciting events planned for us.
See you in Billund on September 29, 2019 and until then please let us know if you incorporate any fun Danish traditions in your next birthday party!
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