Denmark and the Danes

Hygge, humour and Danish mentality

Hygge is an important element of the Danish culture. The word is difficult to translate, but those seeking to grasp its meaning will quickly realise that it is closely associated with having a good time together with friends or family and with eating and drinking.

Humour is another essential element. To many Danes, humour and irony are slosely linked. Understanding this irony is an important part of grasping the Danish humour and mentality.

The Danes emphasise equality, individuality and democracy. The tone between Danes is relatively informal. In the educational system, for example, students address their teachers by their first name. Open discussions form a central element of a Danish upbringing, inside as well as outside of the home.

For further information, have look at www.workindenmark.dk

Food and traditions

The Danes celebrate many holidays during the year. Some of them are religious holidays and some have ther cultural or historic roots. Specific traditions with regards to food, decoration and celebration of the day are connected to most of the holidays, which are usually celebrated with friends and family.

Breakfast and dinner are typically eaten at home, whereas lunch is eaten at school, work, etc and often consists of a packed lunch. At lunch the speciality,  Smørrebrød (open sandwiches) is normally eaten. It consists of rye bread buttered and covered with sliced meat, cheese etc.

The summer dessert Rødgrød med fløde – its name being a test in pronunciation for all non-Danes – is a desert usually made of redcurrants, raspberries and blackcurrants. The berries are boiled until they are soft, sweetened and thickened and finally served with cream or milk.

Sport, music and leisure

Danes love sport. About three out of four children and young people and half of the adult population are engaged in sport activities in their spare time. Denmark has the highest number of sport facilities per capita amongst the European countries.

A lot of Danes join a sports club. The most popular activities are gymnastics, football, badminton, swimming and handball. Fitness, aerobic, roller-skating and jogging are other popular activities.

Being a country surrounded by water – all places in Denmark are less than 50 kilometres from the sea – sports such as sailing, windsurfing, fishing and rowing are also popular.

Considering the size of the country, Denmark has achieved outstanding results in sports internationally. Denmark won for example the European Championship in Football in 1992 and in handball the women's national team won the European Championship in 1996, the World Championship in 1997 and the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2004 and the men's national team won the European Championship in 2008.

Denmark is densely populated and the land is cultivated, so the natural resorts consists of small reservations – woods, plantations, beaches etc. It is quite common for Danes to go for a walk or ride their bikes on Sundays, perhaps bringing a madpakke (packed lunch) with them. Almost all Danes have a bike, many use it daily and there are special paths for cyclists in many towns.

Denmark is known for its many music festivals. During the summer there is a comprehensive and international programme of rock, folk and jazz music to choose from. The most famous festivals are the Roskilde Festival, the Folk Festival in Tønder and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. The Roskilde festival is one of the largest and most trend-setting events on the European rock scene.

Danish films

The Danish film industry is one of the oldest in the world and several Danish films have been acclaimed internationally. In the 1980s, both Gabriel Axel's Babettes Feast and Bille August's Pelle the Conqueror won Oscars.

In recent years Danish directors have received some of the most prestigious prizes in the film world. Lars von Trier was awarded the Palm d'Or for his film Dancer in the Dark and Lone Scherfig won several European and international prizes for Italian for Beginners. The Dogma95 concept developed by a group of Danish directors placed Denmark firmly on the international film and media map.

Read more about Danish films at www.dfi.dk (the Danish Film Institute).   

Design and architecture

Industrial design, furniture and artfully crafted objects have always been one of Denmark's biggest exports. Danish design became world famous in the 1940s and 1950s. The works of Børge Mogensen, Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen and Verner Panton are known throughout the world.

Danish architects are also highly renowned. Jørn Utzon, who designed the opera house in Sydney, and J.O. von Spreckelsen, who designed La Grande Arche in Paris, are probably some of the best known.

Today, Danish designers and architects are still creating and producing products which are both practica and beautiful. 

For further information about Danish Design and Architecture:

www.denmark.dk under About Denmark, Design and Architecture

www.ddc.dk (The Danish Design Centre)
 

Events and attractions

The Little Mermaid is one of the most famous Danish tourist attractions. The Little Mermaid symbolises the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale of a mermaid who falls in love with a prince and often comes up to the edge of the water to look for her love. The sculpture was put up in 1913 and since then it has been the symbol of Denmark.

Denmark has a lot of other attractions. On the World Heritage list you can find three Danish attractions. One of them is the Royal castle of Kronborg at Helsingør (Elsinore). This castle played a key role in the history of northern Europe in the 16th-18th centuries and it is world-renowned as the setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The two other attractions on the list are Jelling Mounds (Runic Stones and Church) and Roskilde Cathedral.

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art with its exquisite collection of modern art by international artists such as Francis Bacon, Henry Moore, Giacometti, Picasso and Warhol is another popular attraction. The museum is located on the North coast of Zealand in a spacious, old park and has a fine view across the sound of Sweden.

There are many different cultural events in Denmark throughout the year. The Roskilde Festival, the Film festivals in Odense and Copenhagen, Carnival celebrations in Copenhagen and Aalborg, the Aarhus Festival and the Medieval Festival in Horsens are just some of them. You can check out when the major events take place through the link to the Danish tourism organisation below.

For further information about Danish attractions and events on www.visitdenmark.com .

Equality

The Danish constitution assures religious freedom for all citizens, but, also, emphasises that the Evangelical Lutheran Church is the Danish state church and is supported by the state. Denmark has a law on ethnic equality, which bans ethnic discrimination and one that stating that it is illegal to treat people differently on the grounds of gender, race and religion. There are additional laws to ensure gender equality and the country also has a minister for gender equality.

Famous Danes

Despite the country's limited size, several Danes have made a name for themselves world-wide including writers, physicists, philosophers, athletes, designers, architects and movie directors. Here are five of them:

Hans Christian Andersen: His fairytales are known and loved by children and adults all over the world. The story about the ugly duckling that became a beautiful swan is just one of them.

Niels Bohr: The studies of the Danish physicist led to an explanation of the periodic system of elements, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1922.

Søren Kierkegaard: Within the world of philosophy, this Dane has become known as the father of existentialism.

Lars von Trier: The Danish film director won the Golden Palms in Cannes in 2000 for his film Dancer in the Dark. He also played a leading role in developing the Dogme 95 manifesto, which reacted against the big budget films and the dominance of technology and demanded a return to basics and simplicity.

Michael Laudrup: The Danish footballer has played for Juventus, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, etc and has represented Denmark at three European Championship finals and two World Championship finals.