Episode 4: K*ll the Cat?! Candy, Barrels and Danish Childhood Traditions

In this shorter episode of The Scandi Shift, Meg and Selena unpack one of Denmark’s most beloved — and most alarming-sounding — childhood traditions: Fastelavn.

At first glance, it sounds deeply unsettling. Kids shouting “I killed the cat,” adults encouraging them to hit a barrel with bats, and black cats painted everywhere. But once you understand the history, symbolism, and modern version of the holiday, Fastelavn becomes a perfect example of how Danish culture can feel shocking on the surface — and surprisingly gentle underneath.

We talk about:

• What Fastelavn is and where it comes from
• Why “killing the cat” doesn’t mean what it sounds like
• Candy barrels, costumes, crowns, and community rituals
• How a dark historical practice evolved into a kid-friendly celebration
• The true star of the season: fastelavnsboller (and why everyone has opinions)

This episode is a classic “wait… what?” moment of expat life — one that captures how living in Denmark often means learning to pause, ask better questions, and look past literal translations.

Cultural traditions Denmark, Fastelavn explained, Danish holidays, expat life Denmark, Scandinavian childhood traditions, living in Denmark.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:10

Welcome to the Scandis Show, the podcast where two expat moms talk honestly about building a happy life in Denmark. I'm Selena. And I'm Meg.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

And today I'm gonna open the episode of With a Riddle. What do black cats, bats, and candy all have in common? Hint, it's not Halloween. It's the Danish holiday of Bestalone, a kid favorite with a bit of the dark past.

SPEAKER_03 0:36

Oh, that does remind me though, before we jump into it, I would like to give a shout out to Marlene from Sweden for inspiring this episode. Oh my god, thank you, Marlin. Yeah, and just to set expectations, this is absolutely not a deep cultural analysis. It's very much uh wait, what? Kind of episode. I think it's safe to say that even Swedes can still be shocked by some of the Danish cultural quirks. So it kind of makes me feel better, actually.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

I love the fact that people are actually writing in and also still have what moments, even if they've been living here, because the Danes don't have it. You know, they really don't question it. It's just a huge part of their history.

SPEAKER_03 1:17

And it makes it even better when they're Swedish. So they're like next door, not that far away, you know, and still shot. So that's nice.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

Yeah, they're just a little train right away. Yeah, it humanizes the old. Exactly. So uh a little background on Vestadon, because if you don't know it, which most people don't unless you're here, it's a very old Danish tradition. So I did a little digging just to make sure I wasn't misquoting things, but uh it dates back to the early 1500s, I think mostly popular in like 1600s, 1700s, and originally tied to the period before Lent, right? So if you're Catholic or at least strongly Christian, you definitely have a lot of things that you do around Lent. I know in the States we've got uh New Orleans and like Fat Tuesday and Shrove Wednesday, which I think is pancakes related. I'm not really good with religious holidays, but um, here it's traditionally celebrated on the Sunday or Monday before Ash Wednesday, so about seven weeks before Easter Sunday, and it marks a transition from winter towards spring. And so for this year, that means it's falling on Sunday, February 15th. So that weekend's gonna be big. You've got Valentine's Day, hearts, candy, chocolate, and then you let's jump back in and it's like fest aloud, and you're like, screw them up.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

Yes, darkness, let this go. Grandma or Nike Sam. Not that I think screw up. I love my husband, very black, but I do uh type of a fest alarm.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Yeah, I mean I I honestly hear I think people do too, right? Yeah, Valentine's Day is not bigger. In fact, my husband's like, you don't celebrate Valentine's Day here as a way to like warm this way out of some dinner.

SPEAKER_03 3:03

You're like, I'm American. We created that shit. Our flowers, our negates, don't think for a second you're getting out of it.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

And don't think I do not expect my flowers delivered to the house. I don't want them hand wrought. I want a delivery with a stranger handing me beautiful flowers and some card. But anyway, over back to Festaline. So over time it's evolved. And today the modern version feels a bit like Danish Halloween.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

Yeah, and exactly. So kids dress up, there's candy, there's some community events, a lot of stuff uh surrounding the schools and daycares, of course. It's really where kids come into their own epic year. And and it's also much more calm in my experience and less scary than Halloween.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Yeah, I agree. I Halloween year is it is it's much scarier than I'm used to Halloween in the States. And here, Festa Lounge is just really cotton. Like they're wearing cute costumes, everything has a a little bit more of like an innocence to it, which is kind of ironic given what Bestalone started off as. So the made of it, so the made a bed that they everyone actually shows up for is what they call. All right, I'm gonna try this. All right, guys, I'm breaking out some Danish. Danny smoke.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

How many times I'm gonna practice this before we say it.

SPEAKER_02 4:23

So slow cat nahton. Is that not bad? Okay. Which means which basically means hitting the cat out of the barrel.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

And when we say barrel, it's a literal barrel. And sometimes words, sometimes more like pig remache, but it's hung up so the kids take turns hitting it.

SPEAKER_02 4:43

Yeah, it's kind of like a pinata, right? It's except like you said, it's barrel-shaped. It's it's a barrel. So it doesn't have a cute, there's no elmo pinata or finding Nemo. It is just this barrel, and it's painted on the outside with a black cat.

SPEAKER_03 5:00

Yes, and inside now is just candy, no cat, nothing scary, just the lum sugar.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Yeah, but that was not the case in the past, right? So in the past, it was a cat. The reason that the cat on the outside is because it used to have a live cat on the inside, like actual poor black cat, always a black cat. I don't know why they get the short end of the steak, always, but yeah, it used to have a black cat, and this event was for adults. So adults would actually line up in a very orderly line with a giant bat and hit the barrel as hard as they possibly could. And the whole point was that, oh, and they would dress up too, kind of like a little masquerade for adults, and they would um hit the barrel as hard as they could until they break it and then release the cat. And the screeching and the releasing of the cat was like releasing evil spirits and shooing away the darkness. I'm not, I'm not sure if the cat would survive all the time. I mean, it was definitely traumatized. Is there like a little black cat PTSD service here in Denmark in the past?

SPEAKER_03 6:12

If this is happening today, they would definitely be like, no, don't worry. I mean, the cat has had a fantastic lie. I mean, it is raised on Spawn, although the cat friends, you know, the Fedwell. Five every how we justify justice anything.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Exactly. Wait, side note on that, on Fedwell and slaughtering. So this has nothing to do with Feston except that it has some candy involved. When I went to the Lucas by Bulo factory, the big famous factory here that does licorice, I found out that the licoricees that are rejected, like they don't make it, they get sent to a pig farm in uhland. So somewhere in Uland is a pig farm where the pigs are literally fed licorice. Wow. I know. I I kind of feel like we should find that pig farm and make our own. I have song here. I know, right?

unknown 7:06

That's gonna be the best.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

Mango licorice. Okay, wait. I forgot I to purge. Okay. Now best allowed.

SPEAKER_02 7:20

Best allowed, yes, no more licorice. Um, so now it's definitely more kids related. Uh the adults aren't really as active.

SPEAKER_03 7:29

Kids dress up, it's really fun. There's a whole system to it. Um, they line up, they take turns hitting it with the bat until it starts to break apart. And the kid that knocks the bottom out becomes the cat queen or the cat kid. And the kid who finally smashes the whole thing apart gets crowned. So there's actually it's multiple prices. Yeah. It's very inclusive. Very inclusive eating winning animal cruel cities. With there's no cat. No, I want to just be very clear. If your kid is in daycare, they are not going to hit a fowl with a live cat in it. That's not happening.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

No, no, no, no, no actual cat. But yeah, the the crowns that they have are really cute little paper crowns, kind of like you have in a Christmas cracker.

SPEAKER_03 8:13

Yeah, exactly. They last like 30 seconds. But everybody claps, it's very ceremonial. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

I think I have to say, when I first moved here and someone explained the whole festivity, it gave that polite like expat smile. You're like, oh, okay. Wait, what? Like if your brain is screaming, I'm sorry, hit the cat out of the barrel. The symbolism of what? And then you look around and realize that you're really the only one having that reaction and think, okay, great. This is just completely normal here. No one's seeking. This is like an odd thing to say. But I did ask if the cat was still in there because you never know.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

I know. Really, you ask that. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

I just want to just double check. Is the cat still in the barrel? Like amongst the candy, or it's it.

SPEAKER_03 9:05

But I get it because the part that really gets you here is the language that you use. So, you know, kids do come running over and yelling, I killed the cat, I killed the cat. And you know, you're cried on their face. Yeah. So it, yeah, I get it.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

You're like, wait, where's the cat? Well done, honey. Yeah, yeah, you go.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

Wait, good job, good job. I mean, that is alarming to say the least. Yeah. But it's all fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

But honestly, when I think Festalow, I basically just have two questions for myself. And we've pretty much covered the first, which is, what are my kids gonna wear? Yeah. And no, yet are your kids gonna wear it? Well, yeah. I mean, I have this whole it's basically like a broken down panic process every year, even though I know it's coming and we talk about it. It's like, okay, recycle from Halloween. Yeah. Are you good with that? Are you good with that? Because I have three kids, right? Yeah. Obviously, there's a chance one of them won't be. So then it's a crazy last-minute dash to anywhere that has any costumes that will remotely fit them, because at that point, usually they don't. Yeah. And if all else fails, I have face paints in the cupboard. So I just offer to paint their face and then we just make something up with a costume.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

I mean, honor back to it. Kids love face paint. If you could paint a kid's face every day of the week, they'd be super happy.

SPEAKER_03 10:27

Yeah, and I do, they'd be really loving it. Yeah, like it's fun.

SPEAKER_02 10:29

I uh I'm actually no good at it, so I always like outsource that.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

I'd be like a friend who has a good painting skill, so I'm like, hey. I don't think haven't done it. I still have to do it. Oh, I can't, I haven't found any words well. Oh, sorry. And then the second question is where can I get the absolute best? Fest allow and baller.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

Oh, yes, fessal on baller. Now, this is actually really funny. We paused the recording just now because as Selena was talking about Festalon Baller, her doorbell rang. And we're like, wait, what? And we look at each other and we're like, oh my god, right?

SPEAKER_03 11:06

We ordered Festalon Baller. Oh, we forgot, and also we had these headphones on, good alone. Noise cancelling. So it sounded like my neighbor's doorbell was going, but it is actually my bowl.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

So we ordered in Festalon Baller. I've been a little sick. It's that season where everyone's picking up colds and it's freezing cold in Copenhagen right now. So we're like, you know, I don't think it's a good idea if we bike around in the cold to do this trial that we were interested in doing. So we kind of cheated and we ordered them in.

SPEAKER_03 11:36

We part cheated. Part cheated, but already tried two. Yes, and two different bakeries, and now we have two more.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

That's true. Actually, we've got two more bakeries, but I I did order two different ones from two bakeries.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

So we've got four. I am absolutely not gonna be able to eat those, but I'm gonna enjoy the bits that I have, at least to be able to do the taste thing on Instagram.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

Okay, so people know that Denmark makes some of the best pastries, right? I mean, it's called a Danish for a reason, at least the mistakes. Anything that's a pastry is called a Danish, right? And it's because most of the really good ones came from Denmark. And so I love, love, love Festa Laun Baller. It is the first Danish, honestly, I tried when I moved here because we'd moved and they sort of launched the season, so to speak. And so for me, Festa Laun, it's fun for, you know, my son, whatever. But for me, it's the season of Festa Laun Baller, and I get so excited.

SPEAKER_03 12:37

That's what I mean. It's like there's two things. You have to sort your kids out as priority, but then it's all about me. But this is where Festalaun really shines, I think. So there are basically two camps. One is the cream-filled version, more donut-adjacent type thing. Yeah. Sometimes with custard, sometimes with whipped cream, sometimes both, uh, if you're lucky, and usually talk with icing or chocolate. So they're pretty intense. Yeah, but delicious. And then there's the more traditional version, which is softer, more sort of croissant build, with cream again, and they're both really good.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

I could, I think I ordered us Gamel Day's Festival and Bala, which is more of that donut-y one, and then also the sort of Viennese ball version, like Wasante version. So we'll see. So as we said, like when Festalon comes, they launch the season. So the bakeries go all in. Every bakery does them, and every bakery does them slightly differently, which means everyone has a very strong opinion. There are lists that come out every year of what are the top festalown ballers and where are the places you should go? And obviously, they're always the Dongletaires on there or the super fancy places. But Selena and I were talking about it. We're like, those were amazing. They're gonna be great. But in reality, how many people, how many times want to spend like 80 Kroner plus on a festalown dollar?

SPEAKER_03 14:03

I mean, I'm very happy to do that. Yes. Once. But if you like to indulge further, I feel like 80 kroner a pop is quite steep.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

It's a it's a little excessive. I think so. Being able for us to go and say, all right, we're gonna try these. We're gonna do a like a battle of the battle of the chains. Battle of the chains. If you're walking around Copenhagen, you're like, you know what? I'm just gonna pop it and get a festival and baller. We're gonna try all the chains.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

And they're only somewhere between 35 to 55 kroner in that area. I think one was almost 24, but with delivery fee, it kind of went up.

SPEAKER_03 14:42

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that we paid a premium for these ones. But you're right. We're just keeping it real. You know, if you think I'm just gonna pop out Professor Larne's bullet, 98% of people probably don't go, I'm just gonna bite to Don Later. It's a sole meat from the Don Late. Um, and the Don Later is amazing. It is. I'm gonna say we already say that the one there is incredible. Yeah, no shade on Don Latare. It's actually rubbed the Don't Terre, but this is this is like at least eating it real kind of things.

SPEAKER_02 15:14

So this is my second vestalon since I've been here. And my biggest regret last year was that I did not try as many as I wanted to, and I did not hit the top list as much. And so this year I was like, you know what? Well, we're talking about this, we're gonna try as many as we possibly can. So, you know, screw my January cleanse, kick February off with as much sugar and pastry cream as possible.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:44

Oh god, yeah. But I'm really, really happy to be part of your New Year's anti-clean resolution. Um, so we will we won't um I guess we don't really need to talk about this so much more. No, we have picked four bakeries, they're all chain bakeries, they're easy to get to in and around Copenhagen. We will post our bots on Insta. So just please go and check it out and let us know actually if you've tried any of these and you agree with our opinions. We love a debate or you know, whatever. Opinions are great. So just let us know.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

Yeah, and honestly, if you see some of the smaller ones and you're like, hey, it's not a big chain or it's a small chain and you missed it, go check them out. Let us know. We'd we'd love to include those as well. Um you know, but let's be honest when you need a quick fit, think chain, deliciousness.

SPEAKER_03 16:34

Perfect. So that's best a lao, candy, costumes, bats, and mau, mau, ma. That's a lao and baller, part of me. And uh maybe slightly aggressive relationship with the barrel, all in good fun, and I do support it with my children.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

Yes, yes. We are not at all, I guess, bashing.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

So that was so corny. My God. It's like your bad bad joke.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

It is a bad chat joke. Do they have bad mom jokes? I think I've cracked my swatches. That was like the first one. No, but we we do love this holiday, it's really fun. Um, and so you know, if you have small children, uh, why not have them chase the evil spirits away while you munch on a festival and baller? And if you are invited to a party this year, go for it. It's a lot of fun. Find one of them in like your local commune. It'll be great. And yeah, enjoy.

SPEAKER_03 17:23

And thanks for spending part of your day with us. And please remember to write to us. We love hearing from people. And you can get us on the skandishi at gmail.com or you could just DM us on Instagram, which is at the Scandishi.

SPEAKER_02 17:36

Yes. Uh, thanks again. And don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, share with a friend. It really helps. Also, someone reminded me that we're like, wait, where are you guys uh posted? I'm like, yes, all of the normal uh places that you get your podcast. So Apple, Spotify, we're on Audible. I saw that over the weekend. That was exciting. Yeah. So anywhere you get your your regular podcast, we're there so you can share with a friend. Tech for day, talk free day.