Scandinavian Welfare States & Nordic culture
Denmark often calls Sweden and Norway for their "brother country" (Broderland - Nordic term) - as the Danes have much in common with the Swedes and Norwegians - such as the language - customs - religion - culture - mentality - gender equality - combined with millenary history and inheritance - which has been formed and cultivated during multiple generations. And most of all - the very close Nordic relations and cultural interactions between three other Scandinavian Countries - Finland - Iceland and Faroes - who are also considered as a respected part of the Scandinavian Nations - and form together with Denmark - Sweden and Norway the entire Nordic Countries - that all are admirable and exemplary Welfare States with the maximum priority of offering all citizens social security and economic well-being - plus the highest quality of life - supported by a second to none healthcare system with full medical coverage - living standards - housing conditions - great educational possibilities - effective infrastructure - paradisal environments - as well as numerous other public and financial benefits based on the core values and ideals of all the well-functioning and well-organised Scandinavian Democracies - which is deeply rooted in thousands years of Nordic Viking inheritance - Nordic history and Nordic culture.

Queen Margrethe 1 of Denmark
Queen Margrethe 1 (1353–1412) was the first female monarch of Denmark actually the first sovereign that united the Nordic Kingdoms Denmark - Norway and Sweden from around 1363 to 1380 - and was the founder of the Kalmar Union from 1397 to 1523 - which was the foundation of Scandinavia - that later included Finland and other Northern Isles including Iceland - Faroe Islands and Greenland. Queen Margrethe 1 - was the daughter of Danish King Valdemar IV (Kong Valdemar Atterdag) and married King Haakon VI of Norway and Sweden - who was the son of King Magnus IV of Sweden - Norway and Scania. (Skåne - Southern Sweden) The Kalmar Union was suspended - when Sweden rebelled and became independent on 6 June 1523. (Kalmar is a city in the southeastern part of Sweden - situated by the Baltic Sea - and founded in the 11th century) Queen Margrethe 1 is buried in Roskilde Cathedral - behind the High Altar - as the first Danish Royalty entombed in Roskilde Cathedral.

See: History - Denmark

Denmark - Sweden & Norway
The southern Swedish province - "Skåne" - belonged to Denmark until 1659 - when the peace treaty was signed at Roskilde. The transition to Sweden was later confirmed by the Treaty of Copenhagen 1660. Norway was a part of Denmark until 1814 - when Denmark went bankrupt and had to cede Norway to Sweden. Norway took this opportunity to declare independence - and a peaceful separation in 1905 - between Norway and Sweden was confirmed. The Norwegians selected Danish Prince Carl of Denmark as their new King. He took the royal name King Haakon VII.

Historical and Cultural region in Northern Europe
Scandinavia - or the Nordic Countries is a Nordic Union formed in the late 19th century - and is an alliance between Norway - Sweden - Finland - Iceland - Faroes and Denmark - allowing free movement across borders without passports for the Nordic countries' citizens - and are regular and comprehensive trading partners with substantial cross-border export activities between the lucrative Scandinavian markets - as well as being a strong Historical and Cultural region in Northern Europe. All the Nordic Nations has a well-established and praiseworthy welfare system - created through numerous generations - and covers the core essences of deep-rooted Cultural Heritage - Civilisation - Christianity - Mutual Confidence - Democracy - Stability - Capitalism - Trustworthy Culture and High Standard of Living - which mainly are these fundamental Values and Nordic Ideals all the Nordic Welfare States are solidly based and built on.

Springtime

Summertime

Autumn fall

Wintertime

The Four Captivating Seasons and Holydays
The Scandinavians just adore their four captivating seasons - which all charmingly and contrastingly variate from country to country - and each with their own special winter - spring - summer and autumn season with different weather and climate conditions. The traditional Christian Holydays that are celebrated blissfully and gracefully as public holidays all around in Scandinavia are Christmas - Easter - Ascension Day - Whitsun - and a special Great Prayer Day in Denmark. And all Scandinavian Countries celebrate their own All Saints' Day - National Day and Constitutional Day - which are holydays and holidays in some Scandinavian countries. Especially - the Scandinavians look forward to the warm summer season - where mainly the midsummer traditions and summer solstice festivities are held all over Scandinavia - and is a "must" to celebrate in different ways and with various cultural traditions and activities all over Scandinavia. The Scandinavians simply love their warm summer season that melts them up after the very cold winter months - which allows the Scandinavians to soak up a lot of sweltering sunshine before they prepare themselves comfortably by storing their resources and energy for the upcoming cold and fresh winter months with plenty of winter bathing and sauna wellness plus other winter fun activities and amusing seasonal adventures in this northern and attractive part of the world called Scandinavia.

Nordic Food & Drinking Culture
As all Scandinavian countries are surrounded by massive waters - as well as picturesque waterways with an enormous stream of fishing vessels - maritime activities and cruise traffic - and beside expressive green - flourishing and grassy pastures for raising and holding healthy livestock plus considerable areas with well cultivated and fertile bending cornfields - the Scandinavians prepare - serve and eat tremendous loads of seafood - pork - beef and other type of meat products together with loads of baked or steamed bread varieties - and the typically “open faced sandwiches” made in numerous variations. The Nordic food culture is like a grandiose meal feast and spectacular delicious treat with a huge variety of exciting and rural dishes - flavoured the Nordic way with the Scandinavians special taste preference - which is quite similar around Scandinavian regions - and mostly consumed with numerous types of alcoholic beverages - foamy brews and especially the national drink “Snaps” (Brændevin) or “Burning Wine” or Akvavit “fire water” - which also is a part of the Scandinavians Drinking Culture - and has been it since the first Viking settlers brew their first strong and thick beer (ale) and mead “mjød” with high alcohol content.

The Scandinavian Population & Popular Surnames
The entire Scandinavian Countries have a population of almost 30 million inhabitants with the most popular and common surnames like Andersson - Johansson - Karlsson - Nilsson - Eriksson - Larsson - Olsson - Persson - Svensson and Gustafsson in Sweden. And Korhonen - Virtanen - Nieminen - Mäkinen - Mäkelä - Hämäläinen - Laine - Koskinen - Heikkinen and Järvinen in Finland. And Hansen - Olsen - Johansen - Andersen - Larsen - Nilsen - Pedersen - Kristiansen - Jensen and Karlsen in Norway. And in Denmark Jensen - Nielsen - Hansen - Pedersen - Andersen - Christensen - Larsen - Sørensen - Rasmussen and Jørgensen.

Surnames in Iceland
The surnames for a girl in Iceland are either related to the mother’s first name and ends with “dóttir” (which means daughter of) - and for a boy related to the father’s first name that ends with “son” (which means son of). So there are no ranking of popular surnames in Iceland.