Dagmar Winther: The Sarah Lund Christmas Jumper

Dagmar Winther (one half of Danish writing duo Sander Jakobsen):

The Sarah Lund Christmas Sweater

I bought a Christmas jumper a couple of years back. You know, before it was famous. I like to think of myself as a bit of a trendsetter that way.

It is so uncomfortable.

The very idea of a Christmas jumper is ridiculous, especially if you live in Denmark. A traditional Danish Christmas will make your living room warmer than a summer’s day. Not lovely, not more temperate.

You light all the candles on the Christmas tree and all other candles in the house just for the hell of it. You eat for two solid hours – in my family it’s turkey and the traditional ris a l’amande with an almond hidden in it. You drink glögg – a piping hot beverage with red wine, nuts, cinnamon and raisins.

The last thing you need to do is get warmer. You do not want to be wrapped in a 100% hand-knit organic wool.

I still wear it every year, though. I normally last about twenty minutes in my Christmas jumper, then it has to come off.

It wasn’t the 300-Euro Gudrun sweater, though, the real deal.  So I won’t be celebrating Christmas like Sarah Lund.

Then again, knowing her, she probably would have ditched the whole thing and her family because of a mysterious phone call.

Merry Christmas from Denmark!

Sander Jakobsen’s debut, The Preacher, is an ingenious thriller from an exciting new Danish writing duo.

Will you guess the secret to unlock the killer twist?

Click here to find out more and to read the opening pages.