Denmark - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

Mention Denmark and some people will think of marauding Vikings with horned helmets or one of Denmark’s more famous exports—Carlsberg beer—or the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. But of the Danes themselves they may know very little. The Danes tend to be more relaxed and less formal than their fellow Scandinavians—and more independently minded. In fact, Denmark used to be referred to by its puritanical northern neighbors as “the loose woman to the south.” This book gives an insider’s perspective on Danish home, work, and social life, and on the Jantelov—the principles underpinning the traditional Scandinavian virtues of modesty, equality, and social cohesion, but which also warn against the dangers of individualism. This book offers many practical tips on travelers should conduct themselves in Denmark and what to expect in social situations. Readers will discover that, beneath their quiet northern reserve, the Danish people are friendly, fair-minded, civilized, and warm.

Mark Salmon grew up in Ireland and is a jurist and educator. A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, he practiced company and commercial law for 10 years before resuming his studies at the National University of Ireland and gaining an M.A. in English Literature. He immigrated to Denmark in 1998, where he worked as a teacher specializing in Business English and as a translator and cultural consultant. He is now Senior Legal Counsel for the Danish international business conglomerate Maersk.