Denmark: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture (Culture Smart!)

Culture Smart! Denmark introduces you to the Danish people andthe values they hold dear. Mention Denmark and some people willthink of marauding Vikings with horned helmets, looting andpillaging their way across Europe. Others may think of one ofDenmark’s more famous exports – Carlsberg beer, or the fairy talesof Hans Christian Andersen. But of the Danes themselves they mayknow very little.The Danes tend to be more relaxed and less formal than theirfellow Scandinavians, and more independently minded. In fact,Denmark used to be referred to by its puritanical northernneighbours as “the loose woman to the south.” This book gives aninsider’s perspective on Danish home, work, and social life, and onthe Jantelov – the principles underpinning the traditionalScandinavian virtues of modesty, equality, and social cohesion, butwhich also warn against the dangers of individualism. There aremany practical tips on how to conduct yourself in Denmark and whatto expect in social situations.The effort you put into getting to know the Danes will be amplyrewarded. Armed with this guide, you will be able to avoid some ofthe social and cultural pitfalls that foreign visitors are bound toencounter. And you will discover that, beneath their quiet northernreserve, the Danish people are friendly, fair-minded, civilized,and warm.