How to Live in Denmark

Books on Denmark and the “How to Live in Denmark podcast” 🇩🇰 Danish working culture and perspectives on living in Denmark as an international.

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

Happy Grundlovsdag! Danes will argue that "Constitution Day!" isn't a national holiday, exactly, but it's the closest we get to it. Unlike Swedes and Norwegians, Danes don't walk around in traditional folk outfits on their big day. A few speeches and a trip to the summer house.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Friday June 5 is 𝘎𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘨, or Constitution Day, the closest Denmark gets to a national day.

But there are none of the colorful parades, fireworks, or military fly-bys that characterize national days in some countries.

And unlike Swedes and Norwegians, Danes don't dress up in traditional folk costumes on their big day. In fact, I'd never seen one of these outfits until I came across photos from Solvang, California, where Danish heritage traditions are celebrated more visibly than they are in Denmark itself!

Most Danes will just enjoy the day off, and perhaps take a trip to their summer house, where they will raise a very large Danish flag.

If you'd like to do something special to mark the day, visit Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen and see the actual pen King Frederik VII used to sign Denmark's first democratic constitution on June 5, 1849.
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I write more about Constitution Day and many other Danish traditions in my new book, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬, 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤.

If you enjoy learning about Danish culture and customs, or if you like my free How to Live in Denmark podcast, I think you'll enjoy the book too. 📷

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

OK, this is Danish transparency: The local cops announce exactly which streets will be the focus of traffic enforcement operations in the week ahead.

If you're dumb enough to *still* speed on those particular streets, you deserve to get caught.

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

New series AND vintage favorites on DR TV — paid for by Danish taxpayers, available to everyone: 👉 https://t.co/IoDRme0vU4

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

Want to understand Danes? Watch what they watch. 🇩🇰📺

Danish film & TV reveals more about Danish culture than any guidebook — from classic noir to beloved comedies like The Olsen Gang and the landmark series Matador.

And a lot of it is FREE. 🧵

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

3/ Historical & archival footage on the Danish Film Institute's Denmark on Film — with an interactive map so you can find footage from your specific town or region: 👉 https://t.co/VyQ9MkIhyy

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

@jjeespr @OWesterlin

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Do holidays like Grundlovsdag just seem to creep up on you? When I first moved to Denmark, I remember being constantly surprised by unexpected holidays and traditions, including some (like Blue Monday and the motorcycle procession opening Bakke each year) that aren’t on any calendar.

That’s why I wrote “The Danish Year: Twelve Months of Customs, Quirks, and Rhythms of Everyday Life in Denmark, only Dk 35 on Amazon Kindle. That’s less than the cost of a flat white! ☕️

You can read it on any smartphone or tablet with the Amazon Kindle app.

You’ll read about:

⛷️ January, and why ski holidays are a good indication of income inequality

😻February, and how the “cat in the barrel” shows the decline of traditional religious faith

💌March, and how the decline of “gækkebrev” is a loss for romance in Denmark

🪏 April, and why Danes care more about gardening than many foreigners

🕯️May, and what it means to put a candle in the window on May 4

⚔️ June, and the “defense day” military screening that is required for all Danish boys – and, as of 2026, of Danish girls as well

🌼July, and why “the Daisy Route” is a great way to discover parts of Denmark you ordinarily would not see

📚August, the first day of school, and why early education is an important part of making kids ‘Danish’

🤾‍♀️ September, the opening of handball season, and why elite sports are exempt from The Jante Law

🗳️October, often election season, and why you’ll often see Danish candidates putting up posters with their own face on them

☔️November rain, and why Denmark is tearing up its streets to prepare for the flooding caused by climate change

🧑🏼‍🎄December, and why Christmas nisser. are a clue to the way Denmark sees itself

Check it out, and if you like it, please leave a review on Amazon or on Goodreads! 😀

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

@jjeespr @OWesterlin Easy to move to Sweden, Denmark, or Iceland - similar cultures, no language difficulties, no immigration headaches.

[Oskar Westerlin @OWesterlin]

Sebastian på 18 år flytter nå til Sverige for å bygge selskapet sitt.

Jeg møtte han i desember og la ut om hvor bra det er at unge tør å satse her i Norge. Siden da har selskapet hans blitt verdsatt til 100M.

Men nå stikker han til Stockholm.

I Oslo ble han sett rart på for å bygge selskap i så ung alder, mens der er det helt normalt. Han sier rett ut at Norge ikke er bygget for unge gründere, og at Sverige har høyere talenttetthet, bedre tilgang på tidlig kapital og høyere ambisjoner.

Da jeg postet om ham på TikTok i fjor fikk han også mye hat. Han er en 17-åring som følger drømmen om å bygge selskap, og kommentarfeltet kom etter ham. Det er ikke sånn det skal være.

Denne fyren kommer til å bygge enorme verdier fremover. De er allerede 30 ansatte og verdsatt til 100 millioner. Disse arbeidsplassene, selskapene og skattepengene går nå til Sverige istedenfor.

Vi snakker mye om at Norge trenger flere gründere som tør å tenke stort. Men da må vi også gjøre det attraktivt å satse herfra.

Norge burde egentlig ha et sjukt bra utgangspunkt: vi har høy tillit, gode ordninger og et sikkerhetsnett som gjør det mindre brutalt å feile. Det burde vært en fordel for unge som vil ta risiko tidlig.

Men trygghet alene bygger ikke vekstselskaper. Det må kombineres med kapital, talentmiljøer og insentiver som gjør det naturlig å skalere fra Norge. Har vi ikke det, vil vi fortsette å miste folk som Sebastian.

Heier på deg Seb, håper du får det til stort!🇸🇪

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

The Museum of Industry in Horsens, Denmark is always lots of fun.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Looks like a price of DK35 is the sweet 🍭 spot for eBook downloads - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 is selling well - so I've dropped the prices on all my other eBook downloads to just DK35, exclusively on Amazon Kindle.

That's just $5, EUR 5, or GBP 4. 💰

That means you can download all these books for just Dk35 apiece:

📕 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝘈 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴
📙 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝘛𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴
📘 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬: 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴-𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰-𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
📕 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬: 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴-𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰-𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
📘 𝐓𝐨𝐩 35 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝘈 𝘍𝘶𝘯 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘌𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴

And, of course, my newest book

📙 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦

All for less than the price of a flat white! ☕️

You can read your eBook on any phone or tablet using the Amazon Kindle app.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Denmark has plenty of holidays that aren't on any calendar, and one of them takes place tomorrow, or on any other Monday in April and May. It’s “Blue Monday”, where teenagers who have been confirmed the week before skip school and take the money they receive from their parents, relatives, and family friends out on a daylong shopping binge.

Retailers love this, of course, in particular those that sell electronics, gaming equipment, makeup, or trendy clothes.

But so do criminals, unfortunately.

The Danish police have issued guidelines suggesting that the young shoppers (Danes get confirmed at age 13 or 14) hold their cash in a secure place, watch out for pickpockets, and not withdraw cash from ATMs for anyone else.
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The Danish holidays that aren’t on any calendar is the topic of my short new book, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬, 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤, only Dk 35 on Amazon Kindle.

You’ll read about:

⛷️ January, and why ski holidays are a good indication of income inequality

😻 February, and how the “cat in the barrel” shows the decline of traditional religious faith

💌 March, and how the decline of “gækkebrev” is a loss for romance in Denmark

🪏 April, and why Danes care more about gardening than many foreigners do

🕯️ May, and what it means to put a candle in the window on May 4

⚔️ June, and the “defense day” military screening that is required for all Danish boys – and, as of 2026, of Danish girls as well

🌼 July, and why “the Daisy Route” is a great way to discover parts of Denmark you ordinarily would not see

📚 August, the first day of school, and why early education is an important part of making kids ‘Danish’

🤾‍♀️ September, the opening of handball season, and why elite sports are exempt from the Jante Laws

🗳️ October, often election season, and why you’ll often see Danish candidates putting up posters with their own faces on them

☔️ November rain, and why Denmark is tearing up its streets to prepare for the flooding caused by climate change

🧑🏼‍🎄 December, and why Christmas nisser are a clue to the way Denmark sees itself

Check it out, and if you like it, please leave a review on Amazon or on Goodreads! 😀

You can read it on any smartphone or tablet with the Amazon Kindle app.

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

This is very Danish. Danes are uncomfortable with someone sitting alone. Anyway, glad this guy found some friends.

[contechristino @contechristino]

Appena visto questo video del tizio del Regno Unito lasciato da BBC e dalla sua delegazione solo soletto nel divano e "adottato" dalla Danimarca accanto e ora non voglio più che arrivi ultimo #Eurovision #escita #Eurovision2026

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Just a reminder that I'm available as a Copenhagen-based keynote speaker for international business groups, conferences, incentive travel, and MICE events visiting Denmark.

I deliver humorous, insightful presentations on Danish culture, working life, and what makes Danes so happy. Educational and entertaining.

[Curt Liliegreen @CurtLiliegreen]

32 kommuner oplevede fald i befolkningen fra 1. april 2025 til 1. april 2026. Den gradvise ændring i bosættelsesmønstret i retning mod urbanisering fortsætter og fortsætter. Den udfordrer boligmarkedet og skaber på mange måder et Danmark med store geografiske forskelle #dkpol

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

A good video for a rainy spring day in Copenhagen.

[Jochen 🇩🇰 @jochen_abi]

Vor genau drei Jahren sind wir nach Dänemark 🇩🇰 ausgewandert.

Vieles ist seitdem passiert.

Wir haben 2 x die Woche für je 2,5 Std. Dänischunterricht gehabt. Über 2 Jahre lang.
Das hat die Kommune für uns bezahlt. Toll.

Viele Freunde haben uns hier besucht und besuchen uns auch weiterhin.

Wir haben neue dänische Freunde gefunden, die ich nicht missen möchte.

Wir haben 10 Minuten bis zum Fjord und 25 Minuten bis zum Meer. Und wir sind mindestens 1 x die Woche dort, wenn es passt.

Wir lieben es hier und haben uns sofort heimisch gefühlt. Wir wurden mit offenen Armen empfangen.

Durch die Digitalisierung ist vieles im Alltag leichter und schneller. Die Behörden schicken mir Briefe direkt in mein digitales Postfach.

Hat man Fragen, wird einem geholfen. Immer sehr gerne und freundlich. Nie von oben herab, immer auf Augenhöhe.

Eine Firma anmelden? Eine Sache von Minuten. Sofort hat man seine Steuernummer.

Die ärztliche Versorgung funktioniert hier besser. Und man sitzt nicht nutzlos den halben Tag im Wartezimmer. Man hat einen Termin und keinen Beginn der Wartezeit.

Es sind viele Kleinigkeiten, die das Leben hier angenehmer machen. Die Dänen schimpfen oft über die Bürokratie. Da lache ich immer. Die haben keine Vorstellung.

Viele habe ich bei den ersten Schritten bei der Überlegung auszuwandern mit meinen Erfahrungen beraten. Das mache ich sehr gerne. Dabei sind auch viele tolle Kontakte und auch Freundschaften entstanden.

Ist der Winter nicht dunkel hier? Er ist nicht wirklich großartig anders für einen Norddeutschen.

Aber das Licht ist anders, wenn es da ist. 🤩 Und der Sommer ist großartig.

War es leicht? Nein. Auswandern ist ein großer Schritt. Würden wir es wieder tun? Auf jeden Fall.

Kommen wir zurück?
Niemals.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

"Danes, in their unassuming, self-confident way, show that a society does not need to organise itself around inherited guilt in order to be decent, fair or humane.

"Self-possession is not arrogance. It isn’t denial or the elevation of oneself over ones’ neighbours.

"It is simply the necessary condition of being able to live among others, to do so standing as yourself – and for your group to do so standing as itself – without apology."

Interesting comparison of the DK and UK mindset according to @spikedonline . Writer is James Dixon, based in Glasgow.

https://t.co/54m4uS6Gkr