Friday is J-dag (or in English: J-day): an annual tradition where people across Denmark celebrate Tuborg’s julebryg (in English: Christmas brew) hitting store shelves.
To many Danes, J-dag symbolises the unofficial kick-off to the Christmas season and probably also a pretty bad hangover the day afterwards.
But what is J-dag, why is it a beloved annual tradition, and how did it come about? The Danish Dispatch takes you through this unique Danish Christmas-season tradition.
What happens?
On the first Friday of November, Danes go out to celebrate the launch of Tuborg’s julebryg, a sweeter, darker beer with a high alcohol content. It is a bottom-fermented beer, lightly flavoured with liquorice.
Danes commonly celebrate with friends by going on a night out, which means bars around the country make a big deal out of promoting the beers, which are otherwise also available in stores.
As a promotion, you will often find Tuborg employees acting as elves handing out the iconic blue julebryg-themed Tuborg nissehuer (Christmas elf hats) at bars, pubs, and on the street.
On the night, you may also hear the slogan of the julebryg: “I aften falder sneen” (in English: “the snow falls tonight”), with the falling snow sometimes referring to the release of the beer.
How did the tradition come about?
The traditions around J-dag formally started as a promotional marketing campaign from Tuborg in 1990; however, smaller celebrations had already begun around the launch of the beer in the 1980s.
For the first eight years of the tradition, it took place on the second Wednesday of November, when the beer would be released for sale at 23:59.
However, in 1999, the day was changed to the first Friday in November, and the beers would be released at 20:59 instead.
This change came on the back of school teachers complaining about high absenteeism and hungover students.
Adverts for Tuborg
Tuborg’s Julebryg is not just iconic due to J-dag, but also because of the famous advertisements associated with it.
The animated advertisements created by iconic Danish ad-man Peter Wibroe show Santa’s sleigh chasing a Tuborg van in pursuit of a julebryg to the melody of ‘Jingle Bells’.
