Scandinavia Countries FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
This FAQ about Nordic countries was compiled and written by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson with numerous contributions by others.
1.1 An ASCII map of Scandinavia- Well, if you can't recognise your own country/province/suburb/house ...
- 1.2 So what's this FAQ thing anyway?
- This is the so called Frequently Answered Questions (FAQ) file for ...
- 1.2.1 A notice to spaghetti publishers
- A spaghetti publisher [n.] is one whose philosophy at publishing is ...
- 1.2.2 What are FAQs?
- FAQ is an acronym for Frequently Answered Questions. (...
- 1.2.3 Who are the net-gods and goddesses of s.c.n?
- These are some of the people who have helped and provided material ...
- 1.2.4 Why are all the names and stuff garbled?
- The Nordic alphabets contain letters that aren't in the ...
- 1.2.5 What should I know about copyright laws and the Usenet?
- Don't worry, you don't have to wade through law books, but there are ...
- 1.3.1 What sort of a group is it?
- If you're interested in the Nordic countries, and don't like ...
- 1.3.2 What's all this flaming about?
- Sometimes the group may seem like a battle-ground, but don't be ...
- 1.3.3 Well, are there any positive things about this group?
- Absolutely. After the possible initial shock :-), I think you ...
- 1.3.4 Whatever you say. So, what sort of postings are o.k. in here?
- Despite all our helpfulness, please keep in mind that we're ...
- 1.3.5 What about cross-postings?
- If only possible, avoid them. They generate threads that ...
- 1.3.6 What languages are welcome in soc.culture.nordic?
- English, naturally, is the most common choice, but threads in Swedish,...
- 1.3.7 What should I do when someone posts a flamebait?
- If you come across a posting that is an outrageous attack on truth,...
- 1.3.8 I have this bridge in Stavanger that I'd like to sell.
- Can I post an ad here?...
- 1.4 Looking for a Nordic girl-friend?
- A frequent FAQ is How do I say 'I love you' in your language? It'...
- 1.4.1 Contacts through the Net
- About once a week, some cretin mistakes soc.culture.nordic for ...
- 1.5 Complaining to a person's postmaster;- how, when and why?
- Even though ignoring is often the best approach to bad net-behaviour,...
- 1.6 The same procedure as last year...
- [ I'm including this already classic article by Lee Choquette in ...
- 1.7.1 Which are the related newsgroups in the international hierarchies?
- There aren't that many. Soc.culture.nordic, as I said, is so far ...
- 1.7.2 Which are the related newsgroups in the Nordic hierarchies?
- In the national hierarchies all discussion is in the Nordic languages,...
- 1.7.3 What about mailing-lists?
- Honestly, keeping track on mailing-lists isn't really ...
- 1.8 What are Nordic graphemes?
- (by Tor Slettnes)...
- 1.8.1 How are these represented in Usenet postings and E-mail?
- The mother of all modern character sets for computers is ...
- 1.8.2 Pros and cons of the different representations
- If you have been a reader of this group for a while, you may ...
- 1.8.3 How do I set up support for 7-bit ISO-646 representation? ({|}, [\])
- The ISO-646 sets are still supported via varoius fonts and ...
- 1.8.4 How do I set up support for 8-bit ISO-8859-1 representation? (æøåäö, ÆØÅÄÖ)
- The ISO-8859-1 (Latin 1) set is currently the most common ...
- 1.8.5 References
- For an index to other literature on internationalization, try:...
- 1.9.1 Why is it advisable to use the metric system in s.c.n?
- Because you'll get flamed if you don't, that's why. :-> The ...
- 1.9.2 How long is a Nordic mile?
- John Mortison writes:...
- 1.9.3 A warning about decimal commas and delimiters
- Although most writers in s.c.n. ought to know the English usage ...
- 1.9.4 All XXXs are YYY, ain't that so?
- Probably not. Never trust the net for drawing conclusions about ...
- 2.1 How does one define "Scandinavia" and "Nordic Countries"?
- It may seem a bit silly, but this is actually a topic that every ...
- 2.1.1 Background
- The Roman historian Pliny the Elder mentions in 67 CE an island ...
- 2.1.2 What is "Nordic"?
- Another term used of the countries covered by this FAQ is, of course,...
- 2.1.3 What is "Scandinavia"?
- The word Scandinavia presents a bit more difficulty. In ...
- 2.1.4 What is "Baltic"?
- Baltic as a single word is in itself a bit vague, because it ...
- 2.2 What makes Nordic countries a unity?
- From the Viking age onwards, the Nordics have fought each other,...
- 2.2.1 Culture
- Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland shared a more or less ...
- 2.2.2 Religion
- The Germanic pagan religion has left its mark on customs ...
- 2.2.3 Geography
- Norway, Sweden and northern Finland form the Scandinavian ...
- 2.2.4 Language
- Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese are ...
- 2.3 The Sami people (not Lapps!)
- This section by Kari Yli-...
- 2.3.1 Who they are
- The Sami people are one of the aboriginal peoples of the ...
- 2.3.2 Sami history
- The origins of Sami people have been researched for long but ...
- 2.3.3 Sami cultures
- Sami people have always settled thinly in a large area, making ...
- 2.3.4 Sami mythology
- Living of the nature has formed the original conceptions of the ...
- 2.3.5 Sami languages
- As there are several Sami cultures there are also several ...
- 2.3.6 The Sami as citizens
- Before the 1600s the Sami lived their own life more or ...
- 2.3.7 The Sami Today
- For centuries the majority population has had a patronizing ...
- 2.3.8 SANA - The Sami Association of North America
- (from: Ruth M. Sylte)...
- 2.3.9 The Sami in Internet
- (I'd hate to say this, but... this chapter is still very much ...
- 2.4 What do we know about Scandinavian mythology?
- Not very much, I'm afraid, and we're lucky to know even as much as ...
- 2.4.1 Short introduction to the sources
- Although the Vikings were, in theory, a literate people, the ...
- 2.4.2 The World Tree Yggdrasill
- This world had for its centre a great tree, a mighty ash ...
- 2.4.3 The Creation of the world
- The tree formed a link between the different worlds. We are never ...
- 2.4.4 Asgard, the realm of the Gods
- Once heaven and earth were formed, it was time to set about ...
- 2.4.5 The Gods
- As to the gods who dwelt in Asgard, Snorri twice gives their number ...
- 2.4.6 The Goddesses
- There were also certain mighty goddesses. Frigg was the wife of Odin,...
- 2.4.7 Trolls and other beings
- Except for the Gods, who haven't belonged to the Nordic reallity ...
- 2.5 Introduction to the History of Norden...etcetera, etcetera...
- Once upon a time, a very long time ago, as the ice-cap already ...
- 2.5.1 Norden in prehistoric times
- Ice has covered almost all of Norden most of the last 500,000 years....
- 2.5.2 Iron Age
- Around year 100 B.C. Lombards are believed to have migrated ...
- 2.5.3 Where did the Vikings go?
- There came to develop clearcut borders between the zones of ...
- 2.5.3b Place names in Old Norse
- The Vikings had Norse names on a lot of towns and markets, of which ...
- 2.5.4 What about those horned Viking helmets?
- Surprising though it may sound, the Vikings have never worn even ...
- 2.5.5 Common Nordic History; Medieval times
- Western Scandinavia 1066-...
- 2.5.6 Christian and pre-Christian laws
- The Christianization of Scandinavia came in particular to ...
- 2.5.7 Modern Nordic history
- Western Scandinavia 1536-...
- 2.5.8 Political history & cooperation
- The forming of what we today know as the Nordic countries is a ...
- 2.6 The essence of Nordishness
- The Nordic states, cultures or languages are of course very ...
- 2.6.1 What is Janteloven?
- The word Janteloven occasionally pops up in s.c.n, often with ...
- 2.6.2 A Nordic national character?
- Since nordishness can be depicted only in contrast to other ...
- 2.7 Sex, drugs and censorship
- Usenet being what it is, dominated by Americans, makes some ...
- 2.7.1 Sex in the Nordic cultures
- Section 2.7.1 is unwritten....
- 2.7.2 Domestic partnership (Same-sex "marriages")
- In all Scandinavian countries (i.e. Denmark, Norway, Sweden and ...
- 2.7.3 Pornography
- [ Lennart Regebro writes: ]...
- 2.7.4 Censorship in the Nordic countries
- [ Gunnar Medin writes: ]...
- 2.7.5 Drugs in the Nordic countries
- This is a controversial theme, which maybe can be illustrated by ...
- 2.8 Nordic Socialism and welfare
- The Nordic societies can be characterized as countries with ...
- 2.8.1 Wouldn't the Nordic economies gain from abolishing Socialism?
- Let's make a few things straight!...
- 2.8.2 Don't the Nordic states have huge welfare expenditures?
- Welfare in this context has nothing to do with welfare as the ...
- 2.8.3 But you do pay terrible taxes, don't you?
- Also people who are Conservative, by Nordic standards, support ...
- 2.8.4 Now, when the Soviet Union has fallen, you are free to liberate your economies!
- What often seems to be forgotten is that the Nordic countries have ...
- 2.8.5 What are the differences of the economies of the respective Nordic countries?
- Norway - the oil incomes, the fish industry....
- 2.9.1 Valborg
- Val Davies
- 2.9.2 Midsummer
- Midsummer's eve is The Greatest Festival during the year. This ...
- 2.10 Nordic alcohol customs
- There are a few facts which often tend to be forgotten when ...
- 3.1 Denmark Fact Sheet
- Name: Kongeriget ...
- 3.2.1 Denmark Geography, Climate, Vegetation
- Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries. Located ...
- 3.2.2 Denmark Economy
- Denmark is one of the smaller states of Europe, only slightly ...
- 3.2.3 Denmark Government
- According to the constitution Denmark is a constitutional ...
- 3.2.4 Denmark Population & Culture
- Denmark was settled already 10,000 years ago, when the ice ...
- 3.2.5 Denmark: The Danish language
- This is a brief description of some of the characteristics of ...
- 3.2.6 The Danish alphabet
- Danish has three additional letters compared to the English alphabet:...
- 3.3.2 The list of Danish monarchs
- Denmark is probably the only country in the world that can produce ...
- 3.3.3 Denmark during world war II
- This section will probably get more material. Actually, this is one ...
- 3.3.4 Denmark: Southern Jutland through the times
- The medieval history of Southern Jutland (Danish: Sønder Jylland) ...
- 3.4.2 Denmark: Copenhagen
- Copenhagen's metropolitan area is the home of more than 25% ...
- 3.4.5 Denmark: Fyn and surrounding islands
- * Odense, the largest town of Fyn, has Hans Christian Andersen'...
- 3.4.6 Denmark: Jutland
- Compared to Sealand and Copenhagen, Jutland has not many castles etc....
- 3.5 Danish literature
- Skaldic poetry in the Danish language no doubt existed already ...
- 3.6.3 The Faroe Islands History
- ca.600 ?...
- 3.6.4 The Faroe Islands Main tourist attractions
- You can get to the Faroes by air from Copenhagen daily (Maersk Air ...
- 3.6.5 Faroese literature and language
- The Faroese language resembles both Icelandic and Western ...
- 3.7 Books for learning Danish
- Dictionaries:...
- 4.1 Finland Fact Sheet
- Name: Suomen Tasavalta / Republiken Finland [ Fi / Sw ]...
- 4.2.1 Finland Geography, Climate, Vegetation
- Finland (Finnish: Suomi) is the fifth largest country in Europe,...
- 4.2.2 Finland Economy
- Forests are Finland's most important natural resource, and paper,...
- 4.2.3 Finland Population
- Finland is a bilingual country (with a Swedish-speaking ...
- 4.2.4 Finland: Who is a Finn?
- Believe it or not, but this question does raise heated discussions ...
- 4.2.5 The Finnish language
- Whatever the roots of Finns are, a fact is that they speak a ...
- 4.2.6 Finland: Culture
- Finnish culture could be characterized as a mixture of Swedish ...
- 4.2.7 Finland: Government
- The Finnish constitution was adopted in 1919. Finland is a republic,...
- 4.2.8 Finland: The School system
- Parents choose between placing their children in the Finnish-...
- 4.3.1 Finland: A chronology of important dates 1100-1600
- (A brief chronicle is to find in the section 4.3.3.)...
- 4.3.2 Grand Dukes and presidents of Finland
- For a list of kings and queens of Sweden-Finland, see Part 7 ...
- 4.3.3 Finland: Viking Times And Before That
- Finland as an entity did hardly exist before the 14th century....
- 4.3.4 Finland in the Swedish realm
- [ see also the sections 7.3.3 - 7.3.5 in the Swedish part ...
- 4.3.5 Finland as a Russian Grand Duchy
- The time as a Grand-Duchy under the Russian Emperor ...
- 4.3.6 The independence of Finland
- As the political situation in Russia gets increasingly ...
- 4.4.1 Finland: The political parties
- The Centre (Keskusta, abbr. Kesk) was called Agrarian ...
- 4.4.2 Finland: The 1995 general elections
- The Finnish parliament is unicameral, elected by citizens ...
- 4.4.3 Finland: The rainbow cabinet
- The new cabinet appointed by president Ahtisaari is ...
- 4.5.1 Finland: Helsinki
- Helsinki (Swedish: Helsingfors) is the capital and largest ...
- 4.5.2 Finland: Turku, the old capital
- Turku (Swedish: Åbo) is a port city in southwestern Finland ...
- 4.5.5 Finland: Porvoo
- Porvoo (Swedish: Borgå) on the coast of the Gulf of ...
- 4.5.6 Other places of interest in Finland
- Åland islands (Ahvenanmaa in Finnish) are a ...
- 4.6 Finnish Sauna Q1 Why is sauna something special in Finland?
- Mostly because of ancient traditions. Wherever there ...
- 4.6 Finnish Sauna Q2 What is a Finnish sauna like?
- The basic parts are the stove (kiuas), filled ...
- 4.6 Finnish Sauna Q3 How are you supposed to bathe?
- There are no rules, only guidelines. Finns like ...
- 4.6 Finnish Sauna Q4 How hot is it in there?
- This varies according to the bathers' wishes. Usually ...
- 4.6 Finnish Sauna Q5 What is a smoke sauna? How does it differ from the usual one?
- A smoke sauna (savusauna) is perhaps the most ...
- 4.6 Finnish Sauna Q6 Do Finns really jump out naked into the snow in the middle of sauna bathing and roll around in winter time? Or go swimming in a frozen lake?
- Some do, most don't. This is a habit that requires ...
- 4.6 Finnish Sauna Q7 What about sauna and sex?
- Even though people are naked in sauna, Finns do not ...
- 4.7 Finnish Literature
- Most of the text below is reproduced on the Project ...
- 4.7 Finnish literature: Early writers in Finnish
- The first great prose writer in Finnish - considered by some ...
- 4.7 Finnish literature: Modern writers in Swedish
- Finland-Swedish modernism was introduced by Edith Sö...
- 4.7 Finnish literature: Modern writers in Finnish
- Joel Lehtonen, Volter Kilpi, and especially Frans ...
- 4.8.1 Finnish Grammars, primers, phrase books: p2
- Artem Davdijants Inge Davidjants, Eugene Holman, Riitta Koivisto-Arhinmäki:...
- 4.8.1 Finnish Grammars, primers, phrase books: p3
- Fred Karlsson: Finnish Grammar (tr Andrew Chesterman, WSOY,...
- 4.8.1 Finnish Grammars, primers, phrase books: p4
- John B. Olli: Fundamentals of Finnish Grammar (Northland Press, ...
- 5.1 Iceland Fact Sheet
- Name: Lýðveldið Í...
- 5.2.2 Iceland Economy
- Fishing produces Iceland's main exports, although it employs only ca. 12% ...
- 5.2.3 Iceland Government
- Iceland is a constitutional republic governed by a general assembly, ...
- 5.2.4 Iceland Population and language
- Iceland's population is a homogeneous mixture of Scandinavian and ...
- 5.3.2 Iceland: Greenland
- Greenland is said to have been discovered by a man called Gunnbjörn ...
- 5.3.3 Iceland: Vinland; L'Anse aux Meadows
- According to the sagas, Vinland was discovered when ships went off ...
- 5.4.1 Iceland: Reykjavík
- Reykjavík is the most northerly capital in the world and the largest city ...
- 5.4.2 Iceland: Einar Indriðason's travel tips
- [ From: Einar Indriðason
- 5.4.3 Iceland: More tips from various articles
- The following part is from Dirk Grutzmacher
- 5.4.4 Accommodation in Iceland
- Summer hotels:...
- 5.5 The sagas, Eddas, and subsequent Icelandic literature.
- The first Icelandic literature was written down some two centuries after ...
- 5.5.1 Iceland: The Sagas
- The sagas are without doubt Iceland's most important contribution to ...
- 5.5.2 Iceland: The Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda
- The Eddas are two collections of Old Icelandic writings, and together ...
- 5.5.3 Later Icelandic literature
- The epic Icelandic tradition climaxed in the 13th century. Pre-...
- 6.1 Norway: Fact Sheet
- Name: Kongeriket Norge (Bokmål)...
- 6.2.1 Norway: Geography, climate, vegetation
- Norway is located on the Scandinavian peninsula; its long, ...
- 6.2.2 Norway: Economy
- Only about 3% of Norway is arable land; for this reason Norway's ...
- 6.2.3 Norway: Population, language, culture
- Norway's population is primarily Germanic. The largest ethnic ...
- 6.2.4 Norway: Government
- Norway is a hereditary constitutional monarchy, with a ...
- 6.3 Norway: History
- Norway's history is divided in two parts: Before 1387, and after 1814....
- 6.4.1 Norway: Bergen
- Bergen located about 300 km west of Oslo, on a sheltered inlet of ...
- 6.4.2 Norway: Oslo
- Oslo lies at the head of Oslo Fjord, about 97 km from the open sea....
- 6.4.3 Norway: Trondheim
- Trondheim, a city on the west central coast of Norway, is ...
- 6.4.4 Norway: Hurtigruta
- Anne Lise Falck
- 6.5 Norwegian Literature
- The earliest Norwegian literature, the Poetic Edda, was composed ...
- 6.7 Norway: Dictionaries and study-material
- Nynorskorboka (Det Norske Samlaget) and Bokmå...
- 7.1 Sweden Fact Sheet
- Name: Konungariket ...
- 7.2.1 Sweden Geography, Climate, Vegetation
- [ By: Ahrvid Engholm and Antti Lahelma ]...
- 7.2.2 Sweden Economy
- Sweden's most valuable assets are forests, mines (especially iron, ...
- 7.2.3 Sweden Government
- Sweden is a constitutional Monarchy, but the monarch only acts as ...
- 7.2.4 Sweden Population
- The nation has its roots in the different kingdoms of the Viking Age, and ...
- 7.2.5 The Swedish language
- Swedish is a Germanic language, very closely related to Danish and ...
- 7.2.6 Sweden Culture
- Swedes work hard, pay high taxes, try to be open minded to other ...
- 7.2.7 Sweden Local Democratic Traditions
- If Swedes aren't proud of the violent past with vikings, wars and ...
- 7.3.1 Sweden History: A Chronology Of Important Dates
- 829 The German bishop Ansgar introduces Christianity to Sweden....
- 7.3.2 A list of Swedish monarchs
- the late viking age:...
- 7.4.1 Sweden: Stockholm Area
- Stockholm was originally established (c. 1250) by Birger Jarl as a ...
- 7.4.2 Sweden: Uppsala
- The city of Uppsala, a major Swedish cultural center, lies about 70 km ...
- 7.4.3 Sweden: Malma
- Located in Skåne, the southern tip of Sweden, 26 km across the sea (Öresund)...
- 7.4.4 Sweden: Gothenburg
- Göteborg (Gothenburg), founded in 1621 by Gustav II Afolf on the site of ...
- 7.4.5 Sweden: Gotland
- Gotland is the the largest island (3,023 km²) in the Baltic Sea and has ...
- 7.4.6 The rest of Sweden
- In the north, people appreciate the beauty of the mountain ...
- 7.5 Swedish literature
- Swedish writing dates back to 11th-century runic inscriptions, but ...
- 7.6.2 Sweden: Miscellaneous facts
- The populations of the four provinces are today:...
- 7.6.3 A Few Marks In History of Scania
- An event that was in people's minds for a long while was that in 1612,...
- 7.6.4 Scania International status
- Scania is a member of the national minority organization ...
- 7.6.5 The Scanian Flag
- The Scanian flag is red with yellow ribbons and is more square than both ...
- 7.6.6 Scanian Culture
- Scania is associated (mostly nationally) with certain hallmarks like ...
- 7.6.7 Scanian Language
- Many people today think that the language spoken today is a dialect ...
- 7.6.8 Scania Membership in the European Union
- In October 1995, Sweden voted a slight yes to become a member of ...
- 7.6.9 Scania Cooperation with Sjælland and the bridge over Öresund
- There is since a few years a lot of talk in all kinds of sectors in Skå...
- 7.6.10 Scania A politically united region
- In Skåne, there is a certain amount of dissatisfaction with ...
- 7.7 Books for learning Swedish
- * Holmes, Philip and Serin, Gunilla: Colloquial Swedish, New York:...
My Books
