Alternative Ambassadors

Pro tip for America: if you want a bit of political sway or just want to strengthen relations to Denmark, send your “alternative” ambassadors. For some reason Denmark is extremely receptive to that and always get overly excited.

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The odd man out

We were thiiiis close to having a classic 90's five-people girl band.

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Test Run

Delayed Valentine's picture.

Our ancestors can really surprise us sometimes.

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Let Italian men live

I learned about the Italian movement where men fight for their right to take care of themselves without being ridiculed many years ago, and it left quite an impression on me.

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Germany didn't agree to this foolery!

It's an ancient tradition in Denmark to light huge bonfires on midsummer's eve to ward off evil, but in the 1920's people started placing a witch made of cloth and straw on the bonfire. It's believed that the bonfire will give her an extra magical push that'll help her fly all the way to the Brocken mountain in the Harz region of Germany where she can party with all her witch friends.

Nobody knows for sure, but it's speculated that the idea to place a witch on the bonfire was a suggested by German workers in Denmark, and that's why they fly to Germany.

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Language Barrier

I've seen several Americans say they wouldn't want to visit another country without leaning the language because they feel it would be rude otherwise.

It very much depends on the country. It's of course a huge advantage in countries where they don't speak English like Japan, and the Japanese generally like it when tourists at least try.

The French aren't huge fans of English, and I've met several people who would say stuff in French at me first despite me making it clear I didn't understand a word, then begrudgingly speak English.

Most Danes understand English and see no point in tourists leaning Danish. A simple "Tak" (thank you) is appreciated because it shows an interest, but Danes will generally get annoyed if you try something longer than that, start finishing your sentences and speak English to you. It can be super rude, but it's really just them telling you "It's okay, I understand English. Don't waste your time trying to learn Danish". So if you want to learn Danish it's best to practice with your friends rather than a random store clerk who'd much prefer you speak English.

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Sleepy Head

On National Sleepy Head Day the last person sleeping in the house could be woken up by being thrown into a lake.

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Thanks to Julia for the suggestion.
Written by Dayvi.
Illustrated by Jenny.

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Run your hats off

Back in the day a tradition of women stealing men's hats and then demanding money to return it could be found all over Denmark.

It started when a woman had given birth and people came to see the newborn. Men had to hand over their hats when entertaining a house, and women started demanding money to give it back. Eventually men couldn't walk past a field where a lot of women were working without being chased down and having their hats stolen.

The whole things was seen a pretty harmless though because the women didn't demand a lot of money and didn't harm the men, and sure, being seen without a hat was embarrassing for a man, but not like "Oh no my head is naked! My honor has been destroyed!" embarrassing, so no one pressed charges and it was allowed to continue for generations.
(And people probably thought the sight of a man running at full speed with a group of women at his heels grabbing at his hat was pretty amusing)

In some areas men started saying "No! I will not pay! Keep the hat!" and as a result women in those areas started wearing men's hats as part of their casual clothes.

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Dress the Part

It's a common misconception that because Denmark doesn't have an official national costume, Denmark doesn't have festive folk-dresses at all. Nothing could be further from the truth. Different areas have wildly different clothes though, so in one area men wore huge baggy pants, in another women wore men's top-hats, in another people wore masks that covered their whole face when outside, and the list goes on.

One of the reasons why Denmark doesn't have one official national dress is because the Faroe Islands and Greenland were part of Denmark for so long, and having one standard dress would be like erasing theirs.

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Women Around the World

I say we start celebrating it like Deadpool. ;)

International Women's Day

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