What does “Scandinavia” refer to?
In this week’s post, we wanted to spend some time reflecting on a complicated question: what exactly does Scandinavian mean? We call ourselves “Skandibaking,” but which countries does this extend to? The answer is complex, but we will try to explore and explain the definition of Scandinavia in today’s blog post. If you have anything to add or any questions, feel free to leave a comment down below!
A Lesson in Geography
The easiest way to define Scandinavia is with simple geography. The narrowest definition refers to the countries within the Scandinavian peninsula: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. A broader definition includes all the Nordic countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands (constituent country of Denmark), and Åland (autonomous region of Finland). “Scandinavia” in English is often used to refer to the broader definition – the Nordic countries. However, in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, people are unlikely to include the other Nordic countries in their definition of “Scandinavia.” There are also many people from Finland and Iceland that would agree that they are not Scandinavian.
Languages
Linguistically and historically, Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes are the most similar. In fact, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish are all technically mutually intelligible languages. Many people who can speak and understand one of the three can also understand the other two. On the other hand, while Icelandic is a North Germanic language as well, it is not mutually intelligible with the other three. Finnish is in the Uralic family of languages and is more closely related to Estonian.
Common Values
What else do the Scandinavian and Nordic countries have in common? This blog post could go on for ages, but we will just highlight three important values: equality, environment, and community. It is obvious that there is a large focus on equality in Scandinavian society. The Nordic countries have some of the strongest democracies and welfare systems in the world. Therefore, the standard of living is very high for people living in these countries. However, no country is perfect, and there are still many social and political issues that exist in Scandinavia.
The environment is a huge aspect of life in Scandinavia. We grew up swimming in the bay and biking and running through the forest near our house in Denmark. In Scandinavia, children grow up valuing the natural world around them. Politically, Scandinavia has also been an essential part of implementing more sustainable global environmental policies. Sweden is usually ranked as the most sustainable country in the world while Denmark is the “greenest” country in the world. This brings so many benefits to the country and its people, and it is a mutual value between Scandinavian and even Nordic countries.
Finally, community is an essential part of Scandinavian culture. Of course, people are encouraged to be themselves, but what is more important is contributing to society. Politically, there are very high taxes in Scandinavia, but in turn, many necessary aspects of life are free, like education and healthcare. Culturally, a phenomenon called “Janteloven” or “Jante’s law” also exists, which is a law that discourages any behavior that is nonconforming to society. Nowadays, people use this most often to criticize anyone who gets a big head and brags excessively about an accomplishment. This unspoken cultural rule has its negative aspects, of course, but it does also contribute to the sense of community that Scandinavians feel.
Scandinavia and Skandibaking
So, the final question is: what countries does our blog “Skandibaking” include? So far, we have gravitated towards the narrower definition of Scandinavia – Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. We want to share recipes that we grew up enjoying as well, so our content is inevitably skewed toward Denmark. However, we know that there are also cultural similarities with the other Nordic countries, and we are definitely open to including recipes from Finland and Iceland! Our goal is simply to give you a taste of Scandinavian food and culture that you can reproduce and enjoy in your own home.
We hope you found this blog post interesting! If you have any recommendations for recipes, questions, or comments, please leave them down below.
My huge Norwegian family are all gone now, so I cannot ask any questions of them, but I would like to know if you have ever heard of a Norwegian cookie called Sunbuckles or Sandbakels. They are delicous, and made in molds. I would love to know the recipe for them. I have only eaten them once when I was a child at Christmas.
Hi, thanks for your comment! Yes, we have heard of this cookie and it’s on our list! We will hopefully post a recipe this year sometime in the fall. It should be with you in time to bake it for Christmas 🙂