5 Things I Love About Danes and Why

Hygge

What is that you ask? It doesn’t have a word for word translation into English. However, it means warm, happy coziness, and togetherness. Other Scandinavian countries have a similar cultural practice, but Danes live this concept everyday. They use candles instead of electric lights if they want to feel extra hygge. They put on warm wool socks, build up the fire, make favorite drinks, wear an extra cozy blanket, etc. They grab a picnic blanket and their favorite people and food and go for a picnic. The Danes make sure that any gathering is warm and inviting whether in the summer or winter. It doesn’t have to be fancy! This isn’t the time to make everything perfect. It’s the time to enjoy being together and feeling relaxed and at peace with your world.

I now understand why my mother-in-law, who is a Dane, has SO many candles in her house! She actually uses them as well. I thought they were for decoration, but they’re not. Even though she immigrated to America when she was thirteen, she grew up in a house that practiced this cultural concept. Unfortunately, none of her children or grandchildren acquired the taste for using candles other than Christmas decorations. However, they do practice hygge in other ways such as having the comfiest clothes for a night in, pulling on the softest socks, snuggling in the warmest blanket in the winter, etc.

You can find books on the hygge lifestyle on Amazon or at your local library.

Danish Food

I didn’t even know what I was missing until I married into a Danish American family. I was suddenly exposed to Danish foods such as butter cookies, Danish meatballs, pickled cucumber salad, pickled red cabbage, pork meatballs, caramelized sugar baby potatoes, etc. I was in seventh heaven! I love trying new foods from other cultures as long as they’re not too weird. Yes, there are weird foods for Danish people just like any other country. However, I have not met any weird foods in this Danish family yet and I don’t think I’ll see any. I think this family is too American to bring out the weird Danish food. I’m very glad of this fact!

Danish Pride

I do admire how the Danes that live in America do have a certain pride about being a Dane. It can get a little annoying at times, but overall it shows their respect for their country. My mother-in-law has a Danish flag as a bumper sticker on her car to show her pride. Actually, I’m not quite sure if she uses that bumper sticker to find her car among the many silver Subaru Foresters out there or if she really is showing her country’s pride. She never tires of talking about Denmark with anyone who will listen. She is still a gracious host practicing the hygge way for anyone who walks through her door. She also will help anyone with their Danish genealogy including translating documents.

Danish History

I’m a history buff as many of you probably are because we love genealogy. So I find myself admiring how this little country of Denmark could be so powerful in its history. Yes, they had many wins and losses over the years. Yes, they weren’t perfect and have many dark periods of their history as well. However, it still amazes me that this tiny country has survived to be a country and not swallowed up by one of its bigger neighboring countries. No, it did a lot of the swallowing. For a time, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were all one country with Denmark leading that union. It’s still a fascinating country to research.

Danish People

Last but not least is the Danish people. If they are true Danes straight from Denmark, then they will live the cultural concept of hygge and try their best to help you feel included in their home. Danish Americans do this as well, but in my limited experience, I’ve found that the immigrant Danes do it slightly better. They will give you food when you visit, give you a tour of their house, let you sit in a comfy spot, and generally visit with you the best they can. Yes, they’re still imperfect people and not every Dane does this, but it is a very important thing in their culture.

Conclusion

So there you have it! The things I love about the Danes. This is not an all inclusive list, but I didn’t want to bore you with more. I just want to remind you that there’s more to these countries then just records. These are real people like you and me who are trying to live the best life that they can. It’s good to show the human side of genealogy once in a while as well so that we don’t lose ourselves in the records. Have a great week everybody!

Good luck and happy hunting!

Tiffany