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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. […]

The Danish House in Palestine

Craig Hewitt

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 […]

HuskMitNavn in Palestine

Craig Hewitt

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. […]

Danish Artist Spotlight: HuskMitNavn

Craig Hewitt

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. […]

How to make your own Gaekkebrev

Craig Hewitt

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 […]

Happy Påske!

Craig Hewitt

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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Straight From the Heart: The Hjertebog

Craig Hewitt

“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. […]

Danish Folklore: Beware Ye the Lindworm

Craig Hewitt

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. […]

The Ugly Duckling: A Secret Biography

Craig Hewitt

The Ugly Duckling is one of Hans Chrisitian Andersen’s most celebrated tales, and is always imparted to children all over the world. However, just what were the circumstances that led to its writing? […]

Those, Crazy, Kooky Danish Schoolyard Rhymes

Craig Hewitt

Do you still remember those schoolyard rhymes you sung as a kid? We often get our first understanding of the adult world through jokes and rhymes we picked up from our classmates during recess or on the way home. Sometimes absurd, sometimes whimsical, sometimes even raunchy or scary, we giggled and squealed and scampered off with these schoolyard chants being made up on the fly.
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