How do you celebrate your birthday? Maybe you have a party with friends, eat your favorite cake or decorate your house with balloons, but what if you decorated with American flags instead?
When I studied abroad in Copenhagen in 2025, I celebrated my birthday in Denmark. I learned that while Danes celebrate birthdays in many of the same ways we do in the United States, they also have some unique traditions. One of these traditions is that they use their national flag, called the Dannebrog, to celebrate.
In Denmark, the Danish flag is a popular decoration for birthdays and other celebrations. You will see small red-and-white Danish flags on birthday cakes, dinner tables and in windows.
On my birthday in Copenhagen, I went out for coffee with friends. When we told the café workers that it was my birthday, they placed a Danish flag on our table. When I celebrated by hosting a picnic in a nearby park, I also enjoyed a chocolate birthday cake decorated with small Danish flags.
Danish children sometimes celebrate their birthdays with a traditional birthday cake called a kagemand (cake man) or kagekone (cake woman). It's a large cake or pastry shaped like a person, often decorated with frosting and candy.
