Dannebrog
A quite interesting issue that appears when one finds himself in a country for longer than a one week sightseeing tour, is the nuance that lays hidden in a population’s nationalist feelings and the use of its nationalist symbols (of which the Danish flag, or Dannebrog in Danish, is the quintessential example). The Use-it Copenhagen guide, for example, gives a to the point description of what I experienced in many situations over the last six months: “In our Christmas tree, we put the normal stars and balls, but also Danish flags. On a birthday cake, we put a Danish flag. On a holiday, we raise Danish flags on our houses. But when you ask [the Danes], we will say that this has nothing to do with nationalism.” Also with expats, the use of the Dannebrog is omnipresent. A walk along my new corridor (where no-one is a Danish national) on a random and unsuspicious moment brought me along quite many flags (pictures below). Nothing much to worry about, so it seems. The flag just has a nice and distinct pattern, suitable to cheer up any party and clear enough to remind people that they’re having holidays. Or is it? The roots of the Danish flag are clearly covered in a nationalist narrative. According to wikipedia, “the legend says that during the Battle of Lyndanisse (…) in Estonia, on June 15, 1219, the flag fell from the sky during a critical stage, resulting in Danish victory. Another legend says that Valdemar and his army saw the sky being blood red except for a white cross just before the battle.” When looking deeper, the Dannebrog is a symbol that is to be treated with the highest degree of respect. During the seminar in Gilleleje, for example, the raising and taking down of the flag (the one on the picture headlining this post, exactly) was a big thing. One evening around sunset, the organizer ran out of a meeting to take down the flag, explaining afterwards that a raised flag during nighttime is a serious exposure of disrespect. And there lays, so it appears to me, one of the main contradictions in Danish culture. On the one hand there is an obvious fear to be called conservative and nationalist. But when it comes to practice, many Danes seem to defend their country to a quite high degree, bringing up that the social model is in fact one of the best in the world. Which is true. If you are born in the right place, at least.
by Jens Verlinde, Belgium
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