seela
Quark Thief
- Joined
- May 14, 2010
- Posts
- 10,108
This got long, sorry...
Okay, first things first. Finland is not a part of Scandinavia, except for a little slice in the northern part, but Finland is a Nordic country. *mind blown* Scandinavia is Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and like I mentioned a slice of Finland geographically belongs to the Scandinavian peninsula too, but for the most part it's not a Scandinavian country. Another definition would be the three monarchies that are tied together by a very similar language, too. The Nordic countries include Scandinavia, Finland and Iceland, as well as the autonomous regions belonging to those countries. This is one of the most Finnish things about me... Finns always point out that they're not a part of Scandinavia.
Now, let's deal with Kalmar Union on a very superficial level, because I don't remember that much about it. Sorry Whiskeyjack, you'll probably have to google anyway.
It was a Union of three kingdoms - Sweden (that a large chunk of modern day Finland was a part of), Norway (that Iceland was a part of) and Denmark. It was in operation, so to say, in the 1400s and a bit of the 1500s and the union was tied to gain more power in the international setting. Commerce, war, whatnot. Without googling I don't even remember how it ended, but it did, sorry. I do remember the union wasn't super tight most of the era, because the monarchies were not very evenly balanced and their interests didn't always align perfectly.
Fun fact: some people have suggested that something like this should be formed again, because it would give the countries more influence than they now have.
And now to the actual matter in hand...
Disclaimer: When I say people from X country are like Y, I don't mean *alllllll* of them are. And this is just my opinion and based on the contacts I've had with people from those countries and what little I've seen and experienced traveling there, and also, in no small part, based on stereotypes. I had a Swedish roommate for a year when I lived in another country and she had many friends from Norway and Denmark, so I spent quite a bit of time with them as well. I think Sweden is the only country or people that I have a little better understanding and knowledge of which is why my answer seems to be mostly about Sweden...
Compared to Finland, one big difference I find dealing with people from Sweden is that they're very, very conflict avoidant. It's very important that everyone feels comfortable and that everyone is heard, things are discussed to death and it's better to leave negative things unsaid. I've encountered this especially in work settings, and sometimes it's frustrating to try to figure out what they really think, because if it's bad, they don't want to say it but rather try to amp up even the smallest positive aspect they might find. Finns are more frank and don't beat around the bush so much and I've found the same to be true for Danes as well. I'm not sure about Norwegians or Icelanders, insufficient data.
In Sweden and Norway people are more open to trying new things. Especially Swedes always seem to be interested in what's new and are early adopters of almost everything. I think in a way Iceland takes the crown in this regard. Every single Icelander I've known has been very open to trying new things to the point that they all have a thousand careers each and can do a million things. A heart surgeon come dog trimmer come glacier guide? No biggie, very Icelandic. Finns tend to be more of realists, I think. We approach things more cautiously, prepare for the worst rather than enjoy the ride and maybe that's why don't necessarily get very innovative. Sweden and Iceland especially are very forward-looking in comparison and willing to try things.
I find Finland, Sweden and Norway a bit more sticklers about rules (but I think Finland is the stickleriest of them all), whereas Denmark is a lot more chill and in Iceland everyone is like let's see how we can make this work.
Finland has a major little brother syndrome when it comes to Sweden and it shows everywhere here. If we beat Sweden in anything at all, it's almost a national holiday here. I find it embarrassing and annoying, but what can you do...
Then there are lots of smaller differences like in Finland almost all kitchens come with a drying cupboard that's above the sink so when you do your dishes you can put them there to dry without having to dry them or have a separate rack for them. That means in Finland the sink is rarely by a window. This isn't the norm in other Scandinavian countries.
Denmark is the only Nordic country where the state doesn't have a monopoly on booze. In Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland the state has a monopoly on selling booze stronger than a certain level. Roughly, beer is in regular grocery stores, wines and stronger in the booze stores, although there are mighty strong beers too which you need to buy in the specialty booze store. I went to Denmark on a school trip when I was 15 or 16, and was shocked that the kids were allowed to smoke inside the actual school building. There's also no age limit to drinking booze in Denmark (there is to buying though, 16 to beer strenght 18 to stronger stuff). In other Nordic countries the legal age of alcohol consumption is 18 and at least here you have to be 20 to be able to buy spirits. Beer, wine etc. you can buy at 18.
Sweden is obsessed with almonds and coconut in a way that other Nordic countries aren't. 90% of their baked goods involve almond paste. Well not really, but they use it a lot!
Those are a few things that popped into my head. It all varies person to person, though. Nations aren't monoliths.
I'd be super interested in hearing what Iris thinks about the question!
I hope Angela Lansbury is satisfied by this answer.
Your mislabeled map of Europe made me think of this question... From a semi-ignorant American perspective, there doesn't seem to be much difference between all the Scandinavian countries. They tend to get clustered together (at least they do in my head) as sort of all having very similar cultures, languages (I know Finnish is something of an outlier there), philosophies, political systems, etc.
What would you say are some of the biggest differences between those countries that a complete foreigner to the area might not pick up on?
Okay, first things first. Finland is not a part of Scandinavia, except for a little slice in the northern part, but Finland is a Nordic country. *mind blown* Scandinavia is Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and like I mentioned a slice of Finland geographically belongs to the Scandinavian peninsula too, but for the most part it's not a Scandinavian country. Another definition would be the three monarchies that are tied together by a very similar language, too. The Nordic countries include Scandinavia, Finland and Iceland, as well as the autonomous regions belonging to those countries. This is one of the most Finnish things about me... Finns always point out that they're not a part of Scandinavia.
Now, let's deal with Kalmar Union on a very superficial level, because I don't remember that much about it. Sorry Whiskeyjack, you'll probably have to google anyway.
It was a Union of three kingdoms - Sweden (that a large chunk of modern day Finland was a part of), Norway (that Iceland was a part of) and Denmark. It was in operation, so to say, in the 1400s and a bit of the 1500s and the union was tied to gain more power in the international setting. Commerce, war, whatnot. Without googling I don't even remember how it ended, but it did, sorry. I do remember the union wasn't super tight most of the era, because the monarchies were not very evenly balanced and their interests didn't always align perfectly.
Fun fact: some people have suggested that something like this should be formed again, because it would give the countries more influence than they now have.
And now to the actual matter in hand...
Disclaimer: When I say people from X country are like Y, I don't mean *alllllll* of them are. And this is just my opinion and based on the contacts I've had with people from those countries and what little I've seen and experienced traveling there, and also, in no small part, based on stereotypes. I had a Swedish roommate for a year when I lived in another country and she had many friends from Norway and Denmark, so I spent quite a bit of time with them as well. I think Sweden is the only country or people that I have a little better understanding and knowledge of which is why my answer seems to be mostly about Sweden...
Compared to Finland, one big difference I find dealing with people from Sweden is that they're very, very conflict avoidant. It's very important that everyone feels comfortable and that everyone is heard, things are discussed to death and it's better to leave negative things unsaid. I've encountered this especially in work settings, and sometimes it's frustrating to try to figure out what they really think, because if it's bad, they don't want to say it but rather try to amp up even the smallest positive aspect they might find. Finns are more frank and don't beat around the bush so much and I've found the same to be true for Danes as well. I'm not sure about Norwegians or Icelanders, insufficient data.
In Sweden and Norway people are more open to trying new things. Especially Swedes always seem to be interested in what's new and are early adopters of almost everything. I think in a way Iceland takes the crown in this regard. Every single Icelander I've known has been very open to trying new things to the point that they all have a thousand careers each and can do a million things. A heart surgeon come dog trimmer come glacier guide? No biggie, very Icelandic. Finns tend to be more of realists, I think. We approach things more cautiously, prepare for the worst rather than enjoy the ride and maybe that's why don't necessarily get very innovative. Sweden and Iceland especially are very forward-looking in comparison and willing to try things.
I find Finland, Sweden and Norway a bit more sticklers about rules (but I think Finland is the stickleriest of them all), whereas Denmark is a lot more chill and in Iceland everyone is like let's see how we can make this work.
Finland has a major little brother syndrome when it comes to Sweden and it shows everywhere here. If we beat Sweden in anything at all, it's almost a national holiday here. I find it embarrassing and annoying, but what can you do...
Then there are lots of smaller differences like in Finland almost all kitchens come with a drying cupboard that's above the sink so when you do your dishes you can put them there to dry without having to dry them or have a separate rack for them. That means in Finland the sink is rarely by a window. This isn't the norm in other Scandinavian countries.
Denmark is the only Nordic country where the state doesn't have a monopoly on booze. In Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland the state has a monopoly on selling booze stronger than a certain level. Roughly, beer is in regular grocery stores, wines and stronger in the booze stores, although there are mighty strong beers too which you need to buy in the specialty booze store. I went to Denmark on a school trip when I was 15 or 16, and was shocked that the kids were allowed to smoke inside the actual school building. There's also no age limit to drinking booze in Denmark (there is to buying though, 16 to beer strenght 18 to stronger stuff). In other Nordic countries the legal age of alcohol consumption is 18 and at least here you have to be 20 to be able to buy spirits. Beer, wine etc. you can buy at 18.
Sweden is obsessed with almonds and coconut in a way that other Nordic countries aren't. 90% of their baked goods involve almond paste. Well not really, but they use it a lot!
Those are a few things that popped into my head. It all varies person to person, though. Nations aren't monoliths.
I'd be super interested in hearing what Iris thinks about the question!
I hope Angela Lansbury is satisfied by this answer.
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