Watch: Colourful kayakers light up Copenhagen canals for parade

As days grow shorter and temperatures plummet, few kayaks are spotted gliding through Copenhagen’s 17th-century waterways.

That is, of course, apart from on December 13th.

Danes on Thursday evening staged an alternative take on the traditional Santa Lucia parade, kayaking through Copenhagen’s darkened canals while singing carols and decked out with fairy lights and festive clothing.

Some wore Christmas-themed hats, such as present boxes or angel stars, while others decorated their kayaks with trees or reindeer lights.

“It’s quite an extreme experience because it’s dark, and it’s cold and everything, but it’s very beautiful,” Gitte Bier Ager said, a 55-year-old kayaker who fixed a mini-Christmas tree to her red-coloured kayak.