The Scandinavian region in the North of Europe consists of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. This part of the world is relatively undiscovered in comparison to other parts of the world. So, it is most mysterious and only has a reputation for having a large number of trees and lakes with very long, dark winter periods. However, you only need to visit Scandinavia once to fall in love with it. In this article I will uncover 7 Fun Facts About Scandinavia
The people are generally known to be happy and also live a healthy lifestyle. But there are many amazing things about Scandinavia that people do not know. Many of these are pretty fun and weird at the same time. Some of these are discussed in the fun fact by best paper writing services about Scandinavia.
Scandinavians drink 9 cups of coffee daily, and Denmark are the highest consumers of candle
If you are looking to define Hygge in Scandinavia, you cannot look past coffees and candles. In Scandinavia, the highest consumers of coffee are Norway. The average person consumes up to 9.9kg of coffee per year. Denmark consuming about 8.7kg and Sweden 7.6kg.
To put this into context, the average person takes up to 7 to 9 coffee cups per day. Weirdly, people drink just one cup of coffee in other parts of the world. This means that Norway consumes up to 10 times more coffee than anywhere in the world.
Similarly to coffee, Denmark burns the most significant amount of candles in the world. According to Prof. Gunnarsen, who carries out dissertation service at essay writing service. No country in the world burns more candles than Denmark and Danes have the shortest life expectancy in Europe. Hygge is a widespread practice in Denmark, and this is a popular practice for Danes. This is one of the reasons why they burn so many candles.
Another reason has to do with the weather in Denmark. Unlike other parts of the world, it gets dark very quickly in Denmark. Even during the summer, there are days when people put the lights on throughout. Hygge usually comes after September, and everyone has to sit indoors and light their candles to avoid the cold weather and wind.
You get a gift if you are not marrying before the age of 30 in Denmark
Several traditions in Denmark appear weird to outsiders, but it is their everyday practice. For instance, it is a common tradition in Denmark for people to put up the country’s flag at different occasions. If someone is celebrating a birthday, they put up the Danish flag at the entrance of their house or at the window as a sign that there is an occasion going on.
But one of the funnily-weird traditions in Denmark has to be the one towards 30 years olds that are yet to marry. A male in Denmark that is above 30 and is yet to marry is called a Peppervenn (pepper journeyman), while the female in Denmark that is yet to marry above 30 is called a peppermø (pepper woman). They sometimes give these people a giant pepper mill from decorated oil drums.
Biking is a form of public transport in Denmark
Biking is very common in Denmark, and it is something that they do every day. Unlike many other regions of the world, biking is not something that the Danes do as a hobby. As a matter of fact, it is one of the essential means of public transportation in Denmark. To understand how many people who bike in a day in Denmark, reports claim that Danes ride up to 1,270,000km per day. That is like moving 30 times around the world in one day. There are only a few things in the world that are more impressive than this to me.
The languages of Scandinavians are very similar, and they can understand each other
Although the languages spoken in Scandinavian countries are different, they are very closely related. The Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes are commonly called the children of ‘Old Norse.’ This explains the closeness of their languages. However, it can be complicated to understand the words depending on the strong accents of individuals and the dialects.
Even with the proximity of their languages, meetings between the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are often conducted in English. This is to ensure that there is a clear understanding between all parties with proofreading, as the accents and dialects are likely to complicate things in their natural language.
Scandinavian countries use the Nordic cross
There is one common thing with the flags of Scandinavian countries. They all have a cross design through the center of the flag. The colors of the flag are different as expected, but the models are basically the same.
Northern Norway and Northern Sweden experience darkness during the winter
During the winter period in Norway and Sweden, there are parts of the countries where they experience darkness during the day. This phenomenon is also called Polar Nights. When this happens, the sun does not come up on that day at all, and in some parts of the region where the sun shows up, it is only up for a maximum of 3 hours. Many in the country believe that this phenomenon slows pregnancies in their women. (In these regions the sun never goes sown during summer. Editor’s note) Meanwhile, a report from NRK shows that there are more births in April in Norway than other months of the year. The only exception to this is the town of Bodo, in where the deliveries are highest in October and November.
Swedes dance around a maypole
This is a common practice in Sweden during the midsummer. Both young and old gather around a maypole, singing and dancing around the pole. While they do this, they also act like or pretend to be horses, pigs, frogs, and different animals. This practice is fun and weird at the same time. As ridiculous as it sounds, it is an experience that you should look forward to if you are in Sweden during the summer. You will enjoy this experience and are most likely to hum the songs throughout your summer stay in Sweden.
7 Fun Facts About Scandinavia – Conclusion
Scandinavia is a fun place to be, even though it is not a common location for the summer holidays. They list them as the happiest people on earth. You are definitely going to enjoy some friendly reception and get the chance to see beautiful places and be a part of the numerous summer activities that is a practice for the Scandinavians. Prepare yourself to eat a lot of pasta if you are going to Denmark as they are known to eat more pasta than any other country.
7 Fun Facts About Scandinavia is written exclusively for Daily Scandinavian by Serena Dorf. Serena has been working as an editor and a copywriter at best UK essay writing service where they offer the best paper writing services in London for 3 years. She is also a professional content writer and journalist in such topics as inspiration, productivity, education, and technologies.
Feature image (on top): Northern lights Reine, Lofoten.
Photo credit: Visit Norway