Archive for 'Culture'
The Lure of a Danish Chair Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 17, 2013
Danish design is renowned all over the world. I met Jørn, who knows something about Danish chairs, tables and sofas… What made you interested in design? Well, I used to be the editor of a magazine for the Danish furniture industry. I did interviews with some of the young and upcoming designers and visited furniture…
Strange creatures by the Sea Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jun 29, 2013
Every second juni måned [YOONie MAWNeth] (month of June), a series of sculptures pops up along kysten (the coast) just south of Århus midtby (the city centre of Aarhus). Tilskuere (spectators, literally ”to-lookers”) of all ages walk through the strandsand (beach sand) in order to catch a glimpse of the latest state-of-the-art, mind-bogglingly original skulpturer…
Danish Dialects Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jan 31, 2013
Denmark is so small you can hide it from a standard-size globe with the tip of your finger. Railways and motorveje (motorways, freeways) crisscross the country, and besides Bornholm and a few other øer (islands), there are really no places where groups of people can live in isolation and become, let’s say, special! 🙂 (Sorry, Bornholmers, I couldn’t resist…)…
New Year’s Resolutions in Danish Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 31, 2012
As 2012 is slipping away, it’s time to set the record straight for 2013! 🙂 Many people are making nytårsforsætter (et nytårsforsæt in the singular), or New Year’s resolutions, about things to improve or achieve during the upcoming year. I asked some family members and friends about their nytårsforsætter: at leve sundt (to live healthy) at begynde at træne (to start…
Counting the days… Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 9, 2012
It’s Christmas time again! Danes of all ages are looking forward to juleaften (Christmas Eve, December 24th). Children glæder sig til at få julegaver (are looking forward to getting Christmas gifts), while a lot of adults can’t wait for the stress of the annual julehandel (Christmas shopping) to simmer down. Keeping a julekalender (Christmas calendar) is an excellent way to keep track of…
Naked Danes Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 30, 2012
If you want to know what makes a foreign culture different from your own, there’s nothing like a culture clash. This month, Danish and (corporate) American values clashed when Danish author Peter Øvig was banned from Apple’s online bookstore. Why? Because his recent books, Hippie 1 and Hippie 2, contain some photos of naked people. Sure, any forlag (publisher) has…
How to know when the baker’s born… Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 11, 2012
A Swede enters a Danish taxa (cab) and asks the driver to take him to a rolig place. To the Swede’s bewilderment, the driver drops him off at a graveyard! The fun part of this joke is that the word rolig means ”amusing” in Swedish, but ”relaxed” or ”quiet” in Danish… A lot of Danish humor [HOO-more] is based on ordspil (puns, literally ”word plays”)…