Scandinavian market signals the start of Christmas at Danish Church

East Yorkshire’s Scandinavian community is aiming to make its biggest event of the year better than ever by partnering with colleagues in London to present this year’s Christmas Market.

The one-day event, which attracts hundreds of people to Hull’s Danish Church, has become more of a challenge for the organisers in recent years because of the impact of Brexit on availability of products.

This year the community in Hull are teaming up with the Danish Church in London and the Danish YWCA, which operates a big Christmas market. They have submitted joint orders for an array of Nordic products and produce and they hope to receive a wider range of items for sale at the event in Hull on Saturday November 30.

Charlotte Theill, manager of Danish Church and Nordic House, said: “The market was first held in 1966 and before Covid we attracted about 1,200 people over two days. We had to miss 2020 but the numbers are picking up now. Last year we got 800 on just one day, and we’re expecting even more this year.

“We also expect to have more to offer because of our partnership with London. Before Brexit we could just order what we wanted and it all came on a pallet from Denmark just a few days later. Now it takes longer and it costs more because of import duty and clearance, but by working with the Danish Church in London we can simplify some of the procedures and then just bring the products up to Hull.

“We’ll be selling Danish produce – cheese, chocolates, herring, pickles, gifts, decorations, Danish books. There has always been high demand for Scandinavian design. All sorts of quirky things that you can’t find anywhere else in the local area!”

The market will also once again feature a pop-up café serving open sandwiches of salmon, prawns and herring as well as home-made fishcakes, gravlax, rye bread and a liver pate prepared by Danes to their secret recipe.

The new partnership has enable the organisers to increase their stocks of salted liquorice, honey and jams including carrot and orange, rhubarb and strawberry, rose hip and boysenberry from Denmark and Finland. They will also offer smoked eel from Lincolnshire.

International businesses are making various contributions to support the event. Bakkafrost in Grimsby will supply salmon from the Faroe Islands. Nordic Seafood in Louth will provide prawns for the lunch and the operators of the Kirkella trawler have donated a box of cod for the fishcakes.

Charlotte said: “We couldn’t hold the market without the help of the businesses and our volunteers – there will be about 50 here on the day running the stalls, preparing and serving the food and generally making sure everybody has a fantastic Scandinavian festive experience.

“The market attracts the Scandinavian community from far and wide and we also get a lot of people from in and around Hull. Some of them have been coming here for years and  they tell us that they see it as the start of their Christmas.”

The Scandinavian Christmas Market will take place on Saturday November 30 from 10am until 4pm at the Danish Church in Osborne Street, Hull. Admission is £2, which includes Danish mulled wine and a festive biscuit, subject to availability.

A mini market featuring stalls but not the café will take place at the Church on Saturday December 7 to give people a last chance to buy Scandinavian gifts before Christmas.