Inspirational Stories

Gerda Wegener: The Other Danish Girl

In one of our previous posts, we focused on Lili Elbe, one of Denmark’s most celebrated trans women, as well as the first one to undergo sex reassignment surgery. Let’s now focus on The first person who helped Einar Wegener discover Lili, and who put Lili on the path to growth: Gerda Gottlieb Wegener, wife, artist, companion. […]

Inspirational Stories

The Danish Girl: Lili Elbe

The Danish Girl, the world-renowned book by author David Ebershoff, is about to be made into a movie. It will star Nicole Kidman and Rachel Weiss as the two leads of this story. The book itself is gradually coming to the forefront of discussions in the LGBT community and academic circles. However, just what is the story behind this story?
This is the story of Lili Elbe, a lady from Denmark, the first person to undergo a sex reassignment surgery. She is also slowly becoming an icon for trans women, and the interest in her story has begun to grow. […]

Self Improvement

The Danish House in Palestine

  Denmark has long established and fostered diplomatic ties with different countries around the world. Through political and social turmoil, Denmark has always provided safe havens for cultural exchange and dialogue between their host country […]

Travel

HuskMitNavn in Palestine

If you found yourself in Palestinian territory in April last year and saw a group of youngsters enthusiastically painting and making grafitti on the walls, we hope you weren’t be alarmed – class was just in session.
In April 2012, the elusive street artist HuskMitNavn visited Palestine to take in the culture, see the sights, and teach a class of vibrant students to try their hands at street art. He also came face to face with the infamous West Bank Wall, and just like any brave and self-respecting street artist would, he left his mark and his thoughts on it. […]

Daily Life

Danish Artist Spotlight: HuskMitNavn

All at once amiable, subversive, and tongue-in-cheek, the art of HuskMitNavn is unmistakeable as it is unforgettable. If yopu’ve been around Copenhagen, Brussels, and Århus, there’s a good chance you may have seen his work. They’ve either graced streetside walls in all their pastel and eye-popping colors and cartoonish roundness and gloss, or you may even have sat beside one of his installations on a bench in a park, or perhaps on a sofa in a coffee shop. […]

Education

How to make your own Gaekkebrev

In our last post, we put the spotlight on Danish Easter season celebrations. On its more charming traditions is making gaekkebrev to give to family members and loved ones. Gaekkebrev are paper-cut notes with elaborate […]

Religion&Society

Happy Påske!

 
Happy Påske! The merry Easter holiday is almost upon us, as the fifth week in March is about to turn a corner. Easter is one of the biggest and most important religious holidays in Denmark, and it is easy to see just how important it is to Danish merrymakers. Shops and homes are decorated with brightly-colored eggs and vibrant daffodills, and there kitchens are abuzz with preparations for each family’s Easter feast.
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Education

Straight From the Heart: The Hjertebog

“If music be the food of love, play on,” so said Duke Orsino in the first act of the Shakesperean play Twelfth Night. Love has always been one of the most celebrate themes in literature, music, dance, and more. It has been trilled over, moped over, cried over, fought over, and even killed over. Millions of love songs are written and played over the airwaves. Every crop of new films will always have the romantic story in there somewhere, whether it be a straight-up romantic comedy, a tear-jerker drama, or even the current favorite genre, the fantasy romance. […]

Daily Life

Danish Folklore: Beware Ye the Lindworm

 
Dragons. Either love them or hate them, dragons have long inspired flights of imagination, a thirst of understanding the unkown, and at times, sheer unadulterated terror. Dragons do tend to do that to unsuspecting people.
If jolly old England has its fair share of the winged beasts, and Scadinavia has Jormungandr, the World Serpent writing in the great depths of an ocean encircling Midgard, Denmark has its own special flavor of dragon. […]