Watching Danish movies and TV shows is a great way to survive the long Danish winter—and if you're learning Danish or trying to understand Danish culture, it's even better. Many films are available online for free.

Whatever your taste, there are Danish films for it: Danish film noir from the 1940s if you like crime dramas, the classic Olsen Gang comedies if you prefer something lighter, and Danish children's shows that are actually great for adults learning Danish because the language is so simple.

Denmark has been making movies since 1897, and Nordisk Film, founded in 1906, is still the world's oldest continuously operating film studio. You've probably seen their logo if you've been to the cinema in Denmark.

In this episode, I'll tell you about Danish cinema classics you should know about, from Mads Mikkelsen movies like Another Round (which won an Oscar) to vintage Danish TV series like Matador that every Dane has seen.

Want to know where to actually watch Danish movies online? I'll tell you about Filmstriben (free with your CPR number), DR.DK with its treasure trove of classic Danish television, and how Netflix has even started making new Danish-language TV series.

Plus, I'll explain how all this Danish movie production is funded by our giant Danish taxes—and why the government makes Netflix contribute too. It's all part of keeping Danish film and TV alive in an increasingly English-speaking world.

Perfect for: Expats in Denmark, anyone learning Danish, fans of Scandinavian films and Nordic cinema

The nisse is a centuries-old figure in Danish folklore, and every December these tiny, mischievous spirits take center stage. While Santa Claus makes one big appearance late in the month, the nisse are active the whole season long.

With their short stature and bright red hats, nisse are often mistaken for Santa's elves, but they live very different lives. Rather than helping in a workshop, nisse belong to individual households. They slip in and out of the walls at night, hide everyday objects, turn milk strange colors, and generally make harmless trouble. On December 24 they expect a bowl of rice pudding, and if they don't get it, they're known to act out.

In modern Denmark, nisse aren't just folklore—they're also big business. At the housewares shop where I work during the Christmas rush, we stock more than 450 nisse-related products. There are soft dolls, tree ornaments, and hand-painted figurines with names like Asbjørn, Thorkild, Elvin, Liam, and Olivia.

And then there are the accessories: tiny doors for the nisse to "enter" the home, miniature doormats, wooden shoes, rocking chairs, honey cakes, buckets, sleds, toolboxes, and of course the classic bowl of rice pudding. Many families—especially those with small children, and a surprising number of older women living alone—create small nisse worlds inside their homes.

Some families also hang kravlenisser, the little paper nisse that "crawl" up walls and windows. They're not as popular as they once were, mostly because they're inexpensive and don't fuel the booming nisse economy.

Nisse season extends into the workplace, too. Danes might be assigned a nisseven, or "nisse friend," for secret gift-giving at the office. And at holiday parties, even managers may don the pointed red nisse hat—a cheerful symbol of community and self-irony that sometimes surprises international colleagues.

From home traditions to office fun, the nisse remain an essential part of Christmas in Denmark: tiny spirits with big personalities, and an even bigger cultural footprint.

This is the final episode in our 12-part series, The Danish Year. Read more at howtoliveindenmark.com, or buy our books at books.howtoliveindenmark.com.

You can book Kay Xander Mellish, the voice behind the How to Live in Denmark podcast, for a speech or workshop on Danish culture or Danish working culture at events.howtoliveindenmark.com. Learn more about Kay at kxmgroup.dk.

November always seems like the rainiest of Danish months, but it isn't, actually. October is. But November feels rainier, because the sky is so grey, and it gets dark so early, and the rain sometimes comes down in little freezing pellets.

Denmark is a watery country, not just its long coastline and many rivers and lakes, but also the fact it is mostly near sea level. Like the Netherlands nearby, it is extremely vulnerable to flooding.

Climate changes in recent decades have made it worse, and sudden cloudbursts – or skybrud– cause a lot of damage.

So retrofitting Denmark for even more water in the future has become a national obsession.

One popular solution: opening up previously buried rivers and streams, particularly those that were paved over with concrete.

This "daylighting" of buried waterways allows them to collect excess water from storms, and beautifies cities as well.

This is the most recent episode in our 12-part series, The Danish Year.