What are we Danes know for?
Well, the most obvious things are probably the numerous well-known brands, such as B&O, Carlsberg, Lego, the Little Mermaid, HC Andersen, Tivoli, furniture, pastry (which Obama Barrack loves) and tall blond girls – the last one is also associated with Sweden, so I think that’s more a Scandinavian thing.
There’s also dog breed that’s named after us, The Great Dane, which is a huge monster of a dog. It’s slow, sociable and eats a lot of food = yep, that sounds like us Danes.
We are one of the last standing monarchies in Europe and our royals are related to the late Zsar of Russia.
Most Danes, no matter age, are extremely proud of the royal family. But, for some reason, you have people in the community that want the royal traditions eliminated.
Why? I have no idea! Living abroad and having a great royal family (and history) makes me extremely proud of being Danish.
Danes are actually very traditional. One of the things we really enjoy is spending time with family and friends. My mother always said, show me your friends and I’ll know what you are like. It might be a silly saying, but it’s actually true – just think about yourself. Deep, right!
We are brought up in safe environments, where families and friends are core to most neighborhoods. My family is still meeting up with our neighbors from our childhood street, celebrating the day before Christmas and other fantastic events where we can eat and drink.
If you haven’t noticed, Danes have a very different idea in regards to e.g. putting the baby to sleep outside. It is very common that babies sleep in their pram, but we Danes believe that fresh air is good for you, especially babies. So, most babies sleep outside during the day, no matter the time of year. You will therefore often see buggies parked outside houses, restaurants, etc., even in the wintertime. This freaks out many people, especially in the US, where a Danish woman was arrested for leaving her baby in the pram outside a restaurant while she lunch.
During the early years, kids attend mainly public schools for 10 years. Then they move into colleges and thereafter universities. The norm is that you go to school to get a job to secure your future. It is not normal to travel around the world for months or years, but instead, settle down after college or university.
Get a good job, married, kids and house. We invited the nuclear family!
Throughout childhood, and moving into the teens, we meet a lot of people who in turn become our friends. Hence many Danes have a lot of friends, which they stick with for life. An example, my dad still meets his old primary school buddies for guys nights. Friends are a very important aspect of our lives and we would share a lot of personal items with each other.
Unfortunately, Denmark has also changed in the past decade, for the worse, which means that Copenhagen is becoming a lot less child-friendly. A change that I do not appreciate.