Name: Bake fastelavnsboller and eat them too
Start: 2026-02-01T13:30:00+01:00
End: 2026-02-01T16:00:00+01:00
Location: Frederiksborgvej 54, 4000 Roskilde, Danmark

Enjoy baking and eating the traditional "fastelavnsboller" this Sunday (and practise the tounge twister "fastelavnsbollebagning").
There is no charge for this baking event.
Let us know if you wish to bake with us. Sign up by sending an e-mail to [email protected].
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Read much more about "Fastelavn"/shrovetide below.
"Fastelavn" / shrovetide comes early this year, and the festive celebration is near. But "what and when is Fastelavn"?
The "Fastelavn" traditions come from when Denmark was a catholic country, and Shrovetide is the feast before Lent. During the 40 days of fast before Easter there were many restrictions on when and what a meal could be. Vegetables, bread and fish might be part of a meal during the fast, which started on Ash Wednesday. Fastelavn / Shrovetide festivity is still a part of the cultural life in Denmark.
Fastelavn falls between 1st of February and 7th of March in relation to when it is Easter the same year, as "Fastelavn Sunday" is seven weeks before Easter Sunday. In 2026 "Fastelavn Sunday" is the 15th of February.
Before the fast there were some days with traditions for eating food which were not allowed during the fast. On the Sunday (pork Sunday) and the Monday (pork Monday) people could still eat meat. The Tuesday (white Tuesday) was the last day with white bread, and we have our fastelavnsbolle / Lenten bun tradition from this. A fastelavnsbolle recipe has wheat flour, eggs, butter, sugar and milk/cream, and it was the last chance to enjoy this. See our link for some of the places in our area, where you can enjoy this delicious treat. If you wish to try baking them, it is easy to find recipes online if you search for "how to bake fastelavnsboller".
Maybe you know children who celebrate Fastelavn at school, this is usually on the Monday, and they will dress up in homemade or bought costumes and "slå katten af tønden" = hit a hanging barrel decorated with black cats. The Barrel will contain candy, not a cat as back in time. The person who hits the barrel so that the bottom opens (and the candy falls out/the cat ran away) is crowned Kattedronning (Queen of the Cats), and the person who knocks the final board of the rope is crowned Kattekonge (King of the Cats). The hitting of the barrel symbolises battling evil. The special fastelavn song "Boller op, boller ned" is about asking for and getting fastelavnsboller / lenten buns or if not, making trouble. Fastelavnsris = shrovetide rods symbolising fertility are part of the traditions around Fastelavn, and many people make an event of decorating them together.
Fastelavn and other Danish traditions are well described on web pages such as natmus.dk, folkekirken.dk and Wikipedia.