Archive for 'Traditions'
Danish Summer Weddings Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jun 23, 2017
Mange danskere gifter sig om sommeren. (Many Danes marry in the summer.) Having recently been a guest at a Danish bryllup (wedding), I feel a bit more qualified to tell you about this tradition in Danmark. Of course, it often starts with the classical question: Vil du gifte dig med mig? (Wanna marry me?) Take…
Your name is what? Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Apr 21, 2017
Hvad hedder du? (What’s your name?) Jeg hedder… Talking about navn/e (name/s) is important when making new friends. Let’s look at Danish naming traditions! H.C. Andersen is probably the most famous dansker (Dane) of all time… Like all danskere, he’s got a • fornavn [fore-naoon] – in this case: Hans Christian – and an •…
8 Danish Proverbs Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jan 27, 2017
Before the Internet, proverbs were like offline memes that anybody could throw into a conversation to make a point! 🙂 Even though our communication has changed, ordsprog (proverbs, literally ”word-languages”) still exist in many communities, including the Danish-speaking world. I think proverbs are a great window into the original ”mood” or setting of any language…
Happy New Year from the Queen Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 31, 2016
Unlike julen (Christmas), the Danish nytårsfejring (New Year Celebration) hasn’t got a lot of traditioner. People get together, eat, drink (remember to say skååål!) and watch fyrværkeri. (Each year a small number of people get hurt by raketter – rockets.) One fixed tradition, however, is the televised nytårstale (New Year’s speech) by Queen Margrethe. Here…
Christmas Vocabulary Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 24, 2016
Nu er det jul igen! (Now it’s Christmas again! – a line from a Danish Christmas song…) Few people are so crazy about jul (Christmas) as the Danes – maybe because it’s nice to have something to glæde sig til (look forward to/happily anticipate) in the dull Danish winter, where you never know if the…
Danish in a Glass of Beer Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Mar 26, 2016
Jeg stormed ud og købte øl / ja vintrens gamle stive føl / fór ud på grønne enge… Once you get it, you’ll see that only in Denmark would anyone sing about springtime kærlighed (love) with the words: I rushed out to buy beer / yeah, the old, stiff winter foals / darted out to…
Trolls of Denmark Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Feb 25, 2016
Did you know Danmark is full of trolde [trolleh] (trolls)? Ads often want to tell turister (tourists) a ”modern” story about Danish design and H.C. Andersen, so if you haven’t seen en trold in the streets of Copenhagen, it’s probably not your fault! 🙂 Trolls, however, have been around since vikingetiden (the Viking age) –…