By Pat Murphy

“Danes are rich in tradition. Santa Claus is known as the Nisse Man and his elves, who live in barn lofts or attics, are known as the Nisser.”	Do you love Christmas? When you were a child did you wish it could happen every day? Guess what! It can!   Back in 1967 Clare and Dwight Watts decided to make this wish come true and opened a store in Solvang called the Jule Hus. Since 1990 it has been under the direction of the Watts' son David and his wife, Lauren, and is filled to the rafters with beautiful Christmas decorations that simply dazzle the eye. As you walk in, each color of
the rainbow celebrates itself and calls for your attention and Christmas music softly draws you into the Christmas frame of mind.   You won’t see the usual department store display of powder blue Christmas trees with plastic ornaments. The Jule Hus features very unique Victorian and European ornaments, often created of hand blown glass. The Watts find these treasurers by traveling all over Europe and meeting with the artists. Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia are the sources for many of the handmade ornaments and the intricate patterns are often handed down from generation to generation. Fruits and vegetables as well as quaint figure are often portrayed and even an American cowboy has emerged. The little metal crowns from which the ornaments hang were invented in Germany and a star on the crown indicates it is an Old World decoration. In the early days, the crowns were made of cork, wood or cardboard.   Strangely enough, the first American importer of European glass ornaments was F.W. Woolworth who sold them in his famous stores for nickels and dimes. Now those same ornaments are pricey antiques, if you can find them. But you can still find authentic European ornaments of all kinds at Jule Hus, including European glass ornaments. Danish artisans in Solvang also contribute traditional Danish holiday decorations for this unusual store, which is right in their hometown.   “Originally, people made all their own Christmas ornaments by hand,” explained David. “These were kept from year to year and usually needed a little repairing or repainting before they could be used again. This was done a day or so before the tree was put up on Christmas Eve. The Danes still have a special day just before Christmas for creating and repairing Christmas ornaments and making candles.”
“Then about twelve days after Christmas, on King Knut’s Day, everyone gathers together to burn their dry Christmas trees. This tradition is carried out here in Solvang and the whole Valley participates,” David added.   In case you’ve never heard of King Knut, he is very special to Danish people. Tradition has it that he was a wise and modest Danish king,
devoid of pomposity. He got tired of members of his court flattering him with greatly exaggerated stories of his accomplishments, hoping to be granted outlandish favors. So King Knut decided to teach them a lesson. He had his courtiers carry his throne down to the edge of the ocean and commanded the waves to stop. Of course, the waves simply crashed over him and he was drenched with the seawater. He said to his men, “Now let this be a lesson to you. I am not God!” Now that’s a story some of our current-day leaders could benefit from!   Solvang especially lends itself to the whimsy of a year-round Christmas, because the Danes are rich in tradition. Santa Claus is known as the Nisse Man and his elves, who live in barn lofts or attics, are known as the Nisser. In Solvang, any Dane will tell you with a straight face that many of the Nisser live in an old oak tree on First Street. (This tree is right in the middle of the street and no one has ever even considered chopping it down). The Nisser do kind and wonderful things. (In 1971, they helped build the Solvang Theaterfest building in record time for its opening in August of that year). On Christmas Eve Danish children leave rice pudding and a mug of beer for the Nisser, and in the morning their shoes are filled with presents.   When you stop by the Yule Hus you might find Ruth Lindegaard (who speaks classic Danish), Stacy Gibbs, Paula Cookenour or Katie Young gently waving pastry brushes they are using to dust the glass ornaments. “We have been fortunate to find help that can listen to Christmas music all year round and still smile,” says David. “The Yule Hus is a family operation and from time to time our sons Brian and Nathan have helped out too. We all enjoy hearing visitors tell of their favorite memories of family Christmases, especially those from foreign lands”.   It is usually a peaceful store but one day things got a bit too exciting. A hawk flew in through the open door and cruised around and around over all the delicate ornaments. Paula quickly took off her apron, David threw it over the hawk and took it outside and released it. Miraculously, not a single ornament was broken! “This reminded us that Solvang is still a country town,” said David.   “When David walks into the store with boxes of new merchandise, people just gather around him,” added Lauren. “Pretty soon he’ll be telling them the legends and stories and people are enchanted and usually walk out with a few treasures.” One of the favorites is the Christmas pickle story. In Germany, after all the other ornaments are hung on the tree, a green pickle is hidden deep within the branches. The first child to find the pickle receives a special gift from St. Nicholas. Yes, the Jule Hus has bright green glass pickles right from Germany! If you suspect that you still have a kid hiding inside of you, stop by the Jule Hus and indulge yourself.   The Watts family agree, “People can come to Solvang and have an old fashioned Christmas. It’s like a time capsule, people can step back a couple of centuries and experience Christmas as it used to be.”   The Jule Hus is located at 1580 Mission Drive, in Solvang near the Petersen Inn. They are open seven days a week. Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm. Sundays from 10-5.