Step one of becoming a "real" Dane means one must watch, live, love all things handball. As you may or may not be aware, on Sunday January 28th, 2019 Denmark took home the gold for the first time ever in the 2019 International Handball Federation World Men's Handball Championship. Hip hip hooray Denmark! 🇩🇰 The team won against Norway and Danish pride was at an all time high.
To get a taste for Danish culture a couple of friends and I went to the celebration in downtown Copenhagen where the Handball team would make an appearance. Yet the thing that surprised me most about my first Danish celebration was how calm it was. As I stood there in the crowd the only thing I could think about was how respectful and polite everyone was. People kept making their way through the crowd to the front without having to push, shove, or elbow. I had never experienced a crowd that polite in America...ever. The most shocking event of the night was the single, and yes I do really mean only one, firework that was sent up in celebration of the team's victory. In America those fireworks would have lasted a solid 10 minutes. So why the lone firework? My friends and I were puzzled as we stood there waiting and waiting for more to go off but no more did...As I thought harder I realized that the seemingly tame crowd and the soft and unassuming music was a reflection and example of the Dane's modesty.
This deep-seated modesty may seem like a strange societal norm to us Americans but to the Danes it's their way of being. As we have discussed in my Danish Language and Culture class (see the syllabus here), this modesty perhaps stems from the welfare system that thrives within the country and can be tied to something called the Law of Jante.
Janteloven (aka Jante Law) is a code of behavior that promotes modesty. There are ten rules in the Law of Jante. The main points are that one should never assume they're anyone special or that one is better than anyone else in society.
The thought behind this is better expressed by my Danish teacher who so eloquently told us that every person in society has something unique about them that they can bring to the table so it makes no sense to be arrogant or assume that you are better than any one else in the room. Shout out to my Danish professor Christina Knudsen! She is such a delight and it has been a privilege to be in her class. I wouldn't want to learn (and struggle learning) Danish from anyone else. Cheers to her for making Danish my favorite class at DIS so far! My favorite example of Danish modesty from class was this ad my teacher put in our powerpoint:
In the US we value individualism and a very "every man for himself" kind of attitude. Here in Denmark the values are shifted from the individual to the society. Collectivism is key. This cultural difference can be felt in every day life here. I found it especially interesting that there is basically no straightforward equivalent to "please" in Danish. In fact, "thank you" is used much more frequently. This "thank you" is a sign of equality and it shows that people respect each other as equals. It may also be because of the welfare system that the Danes really do have a lot to be thankful for to all individuals in their society.
Whatever the true cultural roots behind these practices if there's one lesson I'm leaving here with it's how to be modest. I have always valued humility and it's really refreshing to be in a place where everyone feels the same way and subconsciously (or not) lives by it.
With all that being said I do miss a good firework show though. Guess I'll be waiting for the 4th of July when I'm back in America!
Happy rest of your day for now everyone!
Vi ses/See you!
