Juleaften
Christmas Eve, the main holiday event, when families dance around the tree, feast on roast pork or duck and eat risalamande.
Juleaften, 24 December, is the day that matters in Denmark; Christmas Day itself is for sleeping in and leftovers. The afternoon begins with a church service for those who go and with television for everyone else, and at about six the family sits down to julemiddagen: flæskesteg, roast pork with crisp crackling, or andesteg, roast duck stuffed with apples and prunes, with boiled potatoes, brune kartofler, small potatoes caramelised in sugar, red cabbage and gravy. Dessert is risalamande, cold rice pudding with chopped almonds and cherry sauce, in which one whole almond is hidden: whoever finds it wins the mandelgave, the almond gift, and everyone keeps eating until it turns up.
Only then are the candles on the tree lit. The family joins hands and walks around it singing 'Glade jul, dejlige jul' and the other carols, and the evening's climax is 'Nu er det jul igen', when the chain runs through every room of the house. The presents under the tree are handed out one by one, usually starting with the youngest, and every parcel is opened while the others watch. The night before, lillejuleaften, is for decorating and for a bowl of risengrød left in the attic for nissen, the house gnome who protects the family as long as he gets his porridge.
The pack has 36 words spread across these domains.
Same words in both. Beginner gets more help: matching and completing. Advanced listens and spells it out unaided. Pick it in practice; it locks when you take the scored run.
Practise as often as you like, all year. The scored run happens once, while the competition is open, and cannot be retaken.