Culture
Reliligon
Of all the religions in Denmark, the most prominent is Christianity in the form of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark (Dansk Folkekirke), the state religion. Hence, Denmark is a non-secular state as there is a clear link between the church and the state with a Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs. However, pockets of virtually all faiths can be found among the population. The second largest faith is Islam, due to immigration since 1980. In general, however, Danes feel themselves as secular, and church attendance is generally low.
Music
The main types of modern-day music Danes listen to is rock, pop, and jazz. They also had many famous classical performers in the 1600's to the 1800's.
Sport
Sport in Denmark is diverse. The national sport is football(soccer) with the most notable results being qualifying for the European Championships six times in a row (1984–2004) and winning the Championship in 1992. Other significant achievements include winning the Confederations Cup in 1995 and reaching the quarter final of the 1998 World Cup. Other popular sports include handball, cycling, sailing sports, badminton, ice hockey, swimming and recently also golf. A few youths also play Basketball.
Etiquette
Meeting Etiquette
Greetings are casual, with a firm handshake, direct eye contact, and a smile.
Shake hands and say good-bye individually when arriving or departing.
Shake hands with women first.
Danes tend to introduce themselves with their first names.
Gift Giving Etiquette
Danes give gifts to family and close friends for birthdays and Christmas.
If invited to a Danish home for dinner, bring flowers, good quality chocolates or good quality wine. A bouquet of mixed wildflowers makes an excellent gift.
Flowers should be wrapped.
If you are invited to dinner or a party, it is polite to send flowers in advance of the event.
Red wrapping paper is always a good choice.
Gifts are opened when received.
Dining Etiquette
If invited to a Danish home:
Arrive on time. Danes are punctual in both business and social situations.
Check to see if you should remove your shoes before entering the house.
Contact the hostess ahead of time to see if she would like you to bring a dish.
Offer to help the hostess with the preparation or clearing up after a meal is served.
Danes enjoy showing off their homes since they have usually done the decorating themselves and are proud of their accomplishments. Therefore, they are happy when you ask for a tour of their house.
Do not discuss business.
Watch your table manners!
Wait to be told where to sit. There may be a seating plan.
Table manners are Continental -- hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right while eating.
Always keep your hands visible when eating. Keep your wrists resting on the edge of the table.
Try everything.
Expect to be offered second helpings. You may refuse without offending your hosts.
Finish everything on your plate. Danes do not like wasting food.
When you have finished eating, place your knife and fork across your plate with the tines facing up and the handles turned to the right.
The man seated to the left of the hostess generally offers a toast of thanks during the dessert course.
Do not begin eating until the host toasts with 'Skol'.
When toasting, raise your glass about eye level and make eye contact with the people seated closest to you.
Greetings are casual, with a firm handshake, direct eye contact, and a smile.
Shake hands and say good-bye individually when arriving or departing.
Shake hands with women first.
Danes tend to introduce themselves with their first names.
Gift Giving Etiquette
Danes give gifts to family and close friends for birthdays and Christmas.
If invited to a Danish home for dinner, bring flowers, good quality chocolates or good quality wine. A bouquet of mixed wildflowers makes an excellent gift.
Flowers should be wrapped.
If you are invited to dinner or a party, it is polite to send flowers in advance of the event.
Red wrapping paper is always a good choice.
Gifts are opened when received.
Dining Etiquette
If invited to a Danish home:
Arrive on time. Danes are punctual in both business and social situations.
Check to see if you should remove your shoes before entering the house.
Contact the hostess ahead of time to see if she would like you to bring a dish.
Offer to help the hostess with the preparation or clearing up after a meal is served.
Danes enjoy showing off their homes since they have usually done the decorating themselves and are proud of their accomplishments. Therefore, they are happy when you ask for a tour of their house.
Do not discuss business.
Watch your table manners!
Wait to be told where to sit. There may be a seating plan.
Table manners are Continental -- hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right while eating.
Always keep your hands visible when eating. Keep your wrists resting on the edge of the table.
Try everything.
Expect to be offered second helpings. You may refuse without offending your hosts.
Finish everything on your plate. Danes do not like wasting food.
When you have finished eating, place your knife and fork across your plate with the tines facing up and the handles turned to the right.
The man seated to the left of the hostess generally offers a toast of thanks during the dessert course.
Do not begin eating until the host toasts with 'Skol'.
When toasting, raise your glass about eye level and make eye contact with the people seated closest to you.
Cuisine
Breakfast
Danish breakfast rolls
The basic Danish breakfast consists of coffee and rye bread, white bread, or rolls with cheese or jam. Bread at breakfast time most often comes in the form of a white loaf known as franskbrød (French bread), a baguette, or a variety of white or brown rolls (boller, birkes, rundstykker, håndværkere) or croissants. The bread is usually buttered and topped with soft or creamy cheese, sausage, pâté, cured cold meat or jam. On festive gatherings or when time permits, as on Sundays, for example, a variety of bread rolls can be included as well as wienerbrød, as Danish pastry is known in Denmark. Fruit juice, mostly orange or apple, and sometimes a bitter such as Gammel Dansk, may also be served, especially when breakfast is served to guests or on special occasions and celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries.[15] In Danish hotels, soft-boiled eggs and cold meats are usually served for breakfast, too.[16]
On weekdays, various cereals such as corn flakes, muesli or rolled oats are often served for breakfast with just cold milk and sugar. Soured milk products are popular, too, and are served either plain or with cereals or fruit. The typical local soured milk product of ymer is topped with ymerdrys, a mixture of dried grated rye bread and brown sugar. Porridges such as oatmeal and a traditional local porridge called Øllebrød are also popular on work days. Øllebrød, a thin porridge cooked with bits of rye bread, hvidtøl, water, and sugar, and served with milk or sometimes whipped cream, is gaining in popularity as reflected on the breakfast menus of many cafés.
Lunch
Slices to carry to work/school in a lunchbox are prepared in the morning.
In Denmark, lunch is usually a cold meal consisting of a few simply prepared pieces of smørrebrød (open rye-bread sandwiches) with slices of cold meat, sliced sausage or hard boiled egg. Leverpostej, a liver paste prepared from pig's liver and lard, is also frequently used as a spread.[18] Rather than eating at home, most Danes have a quick lunch at work or school either in the cafeteria, if there is one, or more often in the form of a packed lunch or madpakke prepared before they leave home. This typically consists of a few pieces of smørrebrød (see Open sandwiches below).
Dinner
For the average family, dinner is the one meal of the day where everyone can be gathered, due to the pressures of the modern life where both parents are likely to work, and the children are in school or pre-school institutions. Dinner usually consists of just one main course, often a meat dish with potatoes and a vegetable or salad. Starters are seldom served at home. If there is a dessert, it is likely to be ice cream or a fruit dish. Much more elaborate dinners are served on special occasions or when guests have been invited.
Confusingly, the evening meal is sometimes called middag (midday) because hot meals were traditionally served in the middle of the day. Over the past few decades, the meal has developed as a result of the increasing availability of foods from supermarkets as well as the growth of the local food industry. As a result of American influence, there is now considerable interest in barbecues, salad buffets and ready-to-serve dishes. Italian preparations including pizza and pasta have also become common options. Meat is increasingly popular, pork still remaining the most frequently served. Cuts are often prepared in the frying pan and accompanied by brown gravy and potatoes.
Danish breakfast rolls
The basic Danish breakfast consists of coffee and rye bread, white bread, or rolls with cheese or jam. Bread at breakfast time most often comes in the form of a white loaf known as franskbrød (French bread), a baguette, or a variety of white or brown rolls (boller, birkes, rundstykker, håndværkere) or croissants. The bread is usually buttered and topped with soft or creamy cheese, sausage, pâté, cured cold meat or jam. On festive gatherings or when time permits, as on Sundays, for example, a variety of bread rolls can be included as well as wienerbrød, as Danish pastry is known in Denmark. Fruit juice, mostly orange or apple, and sometimes a bitter such as Gammel Dansk, may also be served, especially when breakfast is served to guests or on special occasions and celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries.[15] In Danish hotels, soft-boiled eggs and cold meats are usually served for breakfast, too.[16]
On weekdays, various cereals such as corn flakes, muesli or rolled oats are often served for breakfast with just cold milk and sugar. Soured milk products are popular, too, and are served either plain or with cereals or fruit. The typical local soured milk product of ymer is topped with ymerdrys, a mixture of dried grated rye bread and brown sugar. Porridges such as oatmeal and a traditional local porridge called Øllebrød are also popular on work days. Øllebrød, a thin porridge cooked with bits of rye bread, hvidtøl, water, and sugar, and served with milk or sometimes whipped cream, is gaining in popularity as reflected on the breakfast menus of many cafés.
Lunch
Slices to carry to work/school in a lunchbox are prepared in the morning.
In Denmark, lunch is usually a cold meal consisting of a few simply prepared pieces of smørrebrød (open rye-bread sandwiches) with slices of cold meat, sliced sausage or hard boiled egg. Leverpostej, a liver paste prepared from pig's liver and lard, is also frequently used as a spread.[18] Rather than eating at home, most Danes have a quick lunch at work or school either in the cafeteria, if there is one, or more often in the form of a packed lunch or madpakke prepared before they leave home. This typically consists of a few pieces of smørrebrød (see Open sandwiches below).
Dinner
For the average family, dinner is the one meal of the day where everyone can be gathered, due to the pressures of the modern life where both parents are likely to work, and the children are in school or pre-school institutions. Dinner usually consists of just one main course, often a meat dish with potatoes and a vegetable or salad. Starters are seldom served at home. If there is a dessert, it is likely to be ice cream or a fruit dish. Much more elaborate dinners are served on special occasions or when guests have been invited.
Confusingly, the evening meal is sometimes called middag (midday) because hot meals were traditionally served in the middle of the day. Over the past few decades, the meal has developed as a result of the increasing availability of foods from supermarkets as well as the growth of the local food industry. As a result of American influence, there is now considerable interest in barbecues, salad buffets and ready-to-serve dishes. Italian preparations including pizza and pasta have also become common options. Meat is increasingly popular, pork still remaining the most frequently served. Cuts are often prepared in the frying pan and accompanied by brown gravy and potatoes.
Language
The language spoken in Denmark is Danish.
Arts
GREAT PAINTERS & SCULPTORS
Asger Jorn
Asger Jorn is co-founder of the Cobra group and one of the most important Danish artists of the post-war period.
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Thorvaldsen spent most of his active life in Rome. He became internationally known as the greatest sculptor of neo-classicism alongside Antonio Canova.
Bjørn Nørgaard
Bjørn Nørgaard is one of the most prominent Danish visual artists, with an extensive oeuvre, ranging from actions and happenings through film to sculpture and textile art.
Christen Købke
Inspired by national romantic tendencies of his time, Christen Købke painted the finest landscapes and portraits of the Danish Golden Age.
C. W. Eckersberg
C.W. Eckersberg became known as the "father of Danish painting" and was of crucial importance to the generation of Golden Age painters in Denmark.
Nicolai Abildgaard
Nicolai Abildgaard was a painter and architect and a leading figure in Danish neo-classicism and early Romanticism.
Olafur Eliasson
A true master of the weather, the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has achieved great success worldwide.
Per Kirkeby
Per Kirkeby is the contemporary Danish artist to have made the greatest impression abroad. He works in painting, graphic art and sculpture.R0
Robert Jacobsen
Robert Jacobsen was a self-taught sculptor and graphic artist. His non-figurative sculptures are a kind of spatial drawing, characterised by simplicity and rhythmical elegance.
Vilhelm Hammershøi
Light and air are of central importance in Hammershøi's paintings, which has its' very own expression.
Asger Jorn
Asger Jorn is co-founder of the Cobra group and one of the most important Danish artists of the post-war period.
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Thorvaldsen spent most of his active life in Rome. He became internationally known as the greatest sculptor of neo-classicism alongside Antonio Canova.
Bjørn Nørgaard
Bjørn Nørgaard is one of the most prominent Danish visual artists, with an extensive oeuvre, ranging from actions and happenings through film to sculpture and textile art.
Christen Købke
Inspired by national romantic tendencies of his time, Christen Købke painted the finest landscapes and portraits of the Danish Golden Age.
C. W. Eckersberg
C.W. Eckersberg became known as the "father of Danish painting" and was of crucial importance to the generation of Golden Age painters in Denmark.
Nicolai Abildgaard
Nicolai Abildgaard was a painter and architect and a leading figure in Danish neo-classicism and early Romanticism.
Olafur Eliasson
A true master of the weather, the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has achieved great success worldwide.
Per Kirkeby
Per Kirkeby is the contemporary Danish artist to have made the greatest impression abroad. He works in painting, graphic art and sculpture.R0
Robert Jacobsen
Robert Jacobsen was a self-taught sculptor and graphic artist. His non-figurative sculptures are a kind of spatial drawing, characterised by simplicity and rhythmical elegance.
Vilhelm Hammershøi
Light and air are of central importance in Hammershøi's paintings, which has its' very own expression.