Rebeccas konfirmation maj 2009

I fredags blev vores niece Rebecca konfirmeret. Det var en dejlig dag og hele familien var så stolte af Rebecca. Plus jeg lærte så mange nye ting om den danske konfirmation siden Rebeccas er den første at jeg har oplevet. Jeg har lært at den danske konfirmation har 4 dele-- klasserne, konfirmation, festen og "blå mandag".

On Friday our niece, Rebecca, was confirmed. It was a precious day and the whole family was so proud of Rebecca. Plus I learned so many new things about the Danish confirmation since Rebecca´s was the first that I have ever attended. I have learned that the Danish confirmation has 4 parts--the classes, the confirmation, the party and "blue Monday".

Del 1- Klasserne---Rebecca og andre 21 teenager i hendes gruppe har haft klasser med præsten siden September for at blive klar til konfirmation. Konfirmation klasser er del af den offentlige danske uddannelse når eleverne er i 7. klasse.

Part 1-the Classes--Rebecca and the other 21 teenagers in her group have had classes with the priest since September to prepare for confirmation. Confirmation classes are a part of the public school education when the students are in 7th grade.

I fredags mødte vi hos Rind Kirke i Lind (3 km syd for Herning, hvor Mads voksede op.) Rind Kirke er meget vigtig i vores familie fordi mange familiemedlemer blev dåbt der, blev konfirmeret der, og blev gift der, så Nørgaards har mange specielle minder i Rind Kirke--inklusiv Rebeccas konfirmation i fredags.

On Friday, we met at the Rind Kirke in Lind (3 km south of Herning, where Mads grew up.) Rind Kirke is very important to our family because many family members were baptized there, confirmed there and married there, so the Nørgaards have many special memories at Rind Kirke--including Rebecca´s confirmation on Friday.

Del 2--Konfirmation--Rind Kirke, ligesom de fleste kirke i Danmark, er meget lille så de 22 konfirmanderne havde kun få siddeplads i kirken; resten af familien sad i et telt udenfor kirke, hvor vi alle så på en storskærma tv. Men vi havde et specielt øjeblik da præsten bragte konfirmanderne i teltet før de gik ind i kirken.

Part 2--Confirmation---Rind Kirke, like most of the churches in Denmark, is very small so each of the 22 confirmation participants had only a few seats in the church; the rest of the family sat in a tent just out from the church, where we saw the service on a big screen tv. However, we had a special moment when the priest brought the young people out into the tent before they went into the church.

Lige før præsten begyndte hendes tale til konfirmanderne, talte hun om tiden at hun har haft med eleverne siden september. Selv om du kan ikke forstå alle ting hun siger (på dansk), se hendes ansigt-- det var meget klar at hun har nydt tiden med hver dreng og pige!

Just before the priest began her confirmation charge to the participants, she talked about the time she had had with the students since September. Although you cannot understand all the things she is saying in Danish, watch her face--it is obvious how much she enjoyed her time with each boy and girl!

Rebecca og hendes onkel Mads i Rind Kirke have.

Rebecaa and her Uncle Mads in the Rind Kirke garden.

3 flotte mænd gik ud fra Rind Kirkegard lige efter konfirmation. Jeg var sikker på at de var 3 "flotte stjerne" fra filmen "Oceans 12" men jeg indset at de faktisk var min mand, min svoger og min nevø! :o)

3 handsome men walked out from the Rind Cemetary just after confirmation. I was certain at they were 3 "handsome stars" from the film "Ocean´s 12" but then I realized they were actually my husband, my brother-in-law and my nephew! :o)

Del 3--Festen. Vi mødes til Rebeccas konfirmationsfest i fredags eftermiddag og aften og havde en VIDUNDERLIG TID sammen med familie og venner. Jeg kaldte Rebecca "Konfirmation Prinsessen" fordi alle havde fokus på hende. Det var så utroligt sødt. Vi spiste lækker mad, havde dejlig samtale sammen, hørte søde taler til Rebecca og sang mange sange at folke har lavet om Rebecca. DET VAR SÅ SJOV og SÅ SØD!

Part 3--the Party. We met for Rebecca´s confirmation party on Friday afternoon and night and had a WONDERFUL TIME together with family and friends. I called Rebecca the "confirmation princess" because everyone was focused on her. It was so incredibly sweet. We ate delicious food, had great conversation together, heard sweet speeches to Rebecca and sang several songs that people had created in honor of Rebecca. IT WAS SO FUN AND SO SWEET! Rebecaas far, Mogens, gav en meget sød tale fra ham og hendes mor.

Rebecca´s dad, Mogens, gave a precious speech from him and her mom.

Rebeccas morfar (hun kalder min svigerfar "morfar" fordi han er hendes mors far men til Jess, Thomas er "farfar") gav en dejlig tale til Rebecca fra ham og hendes mormor.

Rebecca´s grandpa (she calls my father-in-law "morfar" because he is her mom´s dad, but to Jess, Thomas is "farfar") gave a sweet speech to Rebecca from him and her grandma.

Rebecca og hendes mor, Trine (Mads´ søster)

Rebecca and her mom, Trine (Mads´ sister)

Jeg lærte at det er en tradition at lave en sang om konfirmanden. Sangen har en melodi som alle kende (undtagen tanten fra Texas!) og ordene i sangen fortæller en historie om Rebecca. Vi havde 4 forskellige sange som var lavet om Rebecca til festen. Hver var forskellig fra andre og var utrolig sød!

I learned that it is a tradition to write a song about the one being confirmed. The song has a familiar melody (to everyone except the aunt from Texas!) and the song´s lyrics tell a story about Rebecca. We had 4 different songs that were written about her for the party. Each was different from the others and were incredibly sweet!

Jeg lærte også at efter sangen er slut, siger du "hurra" 3 gange... og at vi har mange forskellige slags af "hurra" i Danmark! Det var så sjov at prøve at lære det "system"! Og selvfølgelig....som ALLE danske fester, sagde du "skål" mange gange under aftenen!

I also learned that after each song is over, you say "hurrah" 3 times...and that we have many different types of "hurrah" in Denmark! It was so fun to try and learn the system! And of course...like ALL Danish parties, we said "Skål (cheers)" so many times throughout the night!

Under festen åbnede Rebecca alle gaver som hun modtog. Hun fik så mange flotte ting...inklusiv mange penge... hvilket fortæller om "del 4--BLÅ MANDAG".

During the party, Rebecca opened all the gifts that she received. She got so many nice things...including quite a bit of money...which leads me to "part 4--BLUE MONDAY".

Alle som blev konfirmeret denne weekend har en fridag fra skole i dag. De vil tage til de store byer for at gå på indkøb. Mads kan stadig huske at hans konfirmation gruppe tog toget til Århus for deres blå mandag. Jeg er sikker på at alle klasserne konfirmanderne skal tage under året er ikke så svært når de tænker på del 4 af konfirmationprocess---"blå mandag"!!

All who were confirmed this weekend have a day free from school today. They will take trips to the larger towns for a shopping day. Mads can still remember that his confirmation group took the train to Århus for their Blue Monday. I am pretty sure that all the classes the confirmed students must take during the year are not so bad when they stop and think about part 4 of the confirmation process-- Blue Monday!!

Tillykke Rebecca! Jeg er glad for at jeg var en del af din konfirmationsdag!

Congratulations Rebecca! I am glad I was able to be a part of your confirmation day!