March, "Gække Letters", and the things lost in Digital Denmark: The Danish Year Part 3

Gækkebrev are a great Danish tradition, but like many other Danish traditions, they are fighting to survive amid the country's ambitious digital agenda. What is a gækkebrev, or gække letter? A single piece of paper, cut into a lace-like design somewhat like a snowflake, sent anonymously in the days before Easter. A poem is handwritten on the letter, but it is unsigned...except for a number of dots that correspond to the number of letters in the sender's name. If you can guess who sent the letter, that person owes you a chocolate Easter egg. If you can't guess, you owe them a chocolate Easter Egg whenever they reveal themselves. Needless to say, gækkebrev are very popular with small children looking for candy. (The "gække" refers to a vintergække flower that used to accompany the letter back in the day) But the tradition is slowly dying out, thanks to Denmark's widespread digitalization. Paper letters have almost disappeared; it's quite possible to go for months without receiving any physical mail at all. Stamps and coins are also dying out. While Denmark got a new king more than a year ago, I've yet to see his image on any stamps or coins...because I so rarely see stamps or coins. Read more at howtoliveindenmark.com.

You can listen to March, "Gække Letters", and the things lost in Digital Denmark: The Danish Year Part 3 online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

March, "Gække Letters", and the things lost in Digital Denmark: The Danish Year Part 3 is an episode from How to Live in Denmark by Kay Xander Mellish.

This episode is 08:22 long.

This episode was published on Mar 5, 2025.

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