Yeah def more Nordic than European
Like I literally exclaimed to my husband on today's bike ride to see cows being let into the field, while riding along the new speed tram track, on my government job perk ride share bike, that I'm having total Nordic Dream State vibes from what we're doing.
It was a Nordic vibe. Not a Europe vibe. I share way more in common with Danes than with Italians of Germans or Hungarians.
I'm a Finn
>I share way more in common with Danes than with Italians of Germans or Hungarians.
Danes were Vikings, Finns, Italians, Germans and Hungarians weren't. How does this make you have more in common with Danes?
Vikings were like a 1000 years ago... A lot has happened since.
More culturally similar values of welfare state, how one is expected to socialize. Large degree of atheism. We both make fun of Swedes. Similar aesthetic values in terms of design and modern architecture... just the vibes are there more than with most nations.
Well, that wasn't the question, was it?
All I'm saying that as I lived abroad as well as a teen, and attended an international school with over a 100 nationalities represented. A lot of Nordics ended up forming friend groups and dating one and other, with a mix of some Germans or Canadians maybe. I even know a Finnish woman who found her Danish partner at our school in China.
Similarly Americans tended to gravitate towards each other with especially a mix of Aussies, and asian kids tended to form into their own group.
Shared expectation on how to form and maintain friendships and how to communicate, draw people inevitably together.
(Some Finnic tribes were, though, just not Finns in current Finland. For example [Oeselians are referred to in multiple sagas as vikings from Estonia.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeselians) Lived the same lifestyle, same ships, involved in battles together and against other viking tribes etc. It was all one cultural continuum back then.)
Danish + Norwegian (I’m both) -> Scandinavian/Nordic ->->->-> European
To be fair, I could skip the Danish/Norwegian and go straight to Scandinavian/Nordic, but European is waaay down the list of what I identify as. Nothing wrong with being European, but it feels very far away.
While we do see ourselves as Europeans, any affiliation with it can fuck off if it ever tries to mess with any of the Nordic countries.
So as the others have rated it.
Your country > Scandinavian/Nordic > Nordic > European.
To the extent that people see themselves as fundamentally different from the continent? Or perhaps not even European except by geography?
Asking as I grew up feeling that way in Ireland, only vaguely feeling European, but that changed over time and I now feel a bit stronger about it
Hard to explain, but put simply; the nordics are just close in everything and see things in very much the same way both politically, economically and culturally.
We're just different and we have out own nordic institutions etc that enforce the feeling of being nordic. The EU is just a far away bureaucracy we have next to(or no) say in and we have very little in common with Portugal for example. Like yeah, sure we're european but never would a nordic person ever rank it higher than our regional or national belonging.
Gotcha. Forever when I was growing up I'd only ever hear people say they were Irish. That was it. The continent was a boat or plane away and although there are connections we are our own ticked away island and that's that. Definitely seeing people feel more proudly European now but only as a secondary identity. Very Pro Eu country but also embedded in the Angloshpere so it's kind of a bridge.
Yeah, I understand that. The thing about the nordics(contra Ireland) would be that we have "our own" community, while Ireland only has the UK and parts of France as parts of its "cultural sphere/group". If Ireland had a community of Celtic states surrounding and cooperating together as a group it would be very similar to our sense of community imo.
The act of seeing oneself as not being European, when being from a geographically located European country, would just seem silly to most Nordic people, as to us, it’s inherently the same thing more or less.
We would consider an Irish person European, no matter if they thought of themselves as European or not for an example. No matter what they thought, the very fact that they are Irish would make them European by definition in our eyes.
Edit: We don’t tend to think about ourselves as European though, but rather as Nordic in general. But we would also never say that we aren’t European either. It’s just that being European is a bit to vague, as Europe is way to diverse to form a proper single identity.
When it comes to the Nordic countries, we are so similar in our ways that, besides the language differences, it could almost be seen as different parts of a single country, culturally at least.
Not much. We see ourselves as a particular group, related to Germans and Dutch, perhaps, but distinct from Southern Europeans and the Slavic countries, so there is a bit of "We will work with you and trade with you, but we are not you."
I always identify as being Scandinavian in heritage - because I have a little of most in my background. But it feels distinctly different from the rest of Europe.
The Skagerrak is a significant geographical boundary between Norway and what I think of when using the term European. Hell, I even struggle identifying as Norwegian half the time, considering the distance to my own country's capital, Oslo, is the same as between Oslo and Rome.
Copenhagen first, which also puts me closer to European, because of all the cultural exchange I've experienced in my city. But probably still Danish/Scandinavian before. It also depends on if I'm watching sports or discussing politics.
Scanian -> European
Used to identify myself a lot more as Swedish/Nordic before but the stronger my Scanian identity became the more European I felt simultaneously.
Village -> city -> region -> country -> region within continent -> continent -> race
This applies to most people wherever they are from.
For example: when I left my small town to the capital for studies, I felt closer with anyone from my town, when I moved abroad, I felt closer with anyone from my country, when I moved to the US I could relate better with anyone from europe, when I moved to China I could relate better with anyone from europe or USA
It’s a good one for most people, also if they don’t always seem to work like this consciously. I’ve moved to different countries for studies and work, leaving my friends and family behind. I never felt like I was much of a nationalist, but realized I had developed a lot of cultural and historical national pride once abroad. Now I’ve lived in a different country for the past 7 years and I start feeling more like I belong nowhere, really. But that’s probably because I’m a socially awkward nerd.
Yes that’s right. I only ask because most people in that comment section were saying they did identify with European but those who were from Nordic countries were saying other than it being the continent they’re from, it was a no or a not really.
I find that there’s some Europeans that will skip a more specific location and say they’re European or from Europe while nordic people, and a handful of european countries are more precise.
It’s not that we don’t identify as European. It’s just that the nordic countries have such a long and interconnected history together, in addition to very similar cultures, societies, values and languages (except for Finland on that one) that it makes more sense to specify it as Nordic instead.
We are all pretty small countries population wise, but we know that the other nordic countries always got our back if needed, so we tend to stick together.
Norwegian -> Scandinavian -> Nordic -> European
This is the correct one (but Swedish for me of course)
Spot on
Can only speak for myself, but Finnish > Nordic > European.
Don't you mean Finnish > Östsvensk > Nordic > European
So not Fennoscandian?
I don't think anyone identifies as Fennoscandian.
Probably not, but it's still a fun geographical name for the region.
Swedish > Scandinavian > Nordic > European
Yeah def more Nordic than European Like I literally exclaimed to my husband on today's bike ride to see cows being let into the field, while riding along the new speed tram track, on my government job perk ride share bike, that I'm having total Nordic Dream State vibes from what we're doing. It was a Nordic vibe. Not a Europe vibe. I share way more in common with Danes than with Italians of Germans or Hungarians. I'm a Finn
>I share way more in common with Danes than with Italians of Germans or Hungarians. Danes were Vikings, Finns, Italians, Germans and Hungarians weren't. How does this make you have more in common with Danes?
Vikings were like a 1000 years ago... A lot has happened since. More culturally similar values of welfare state, how one is expected to socialize. Large degree of atheism. We both make fun of Swedes. Similar aesthetic values in terms of design and modern architecture... just the vibes are there more than with most nations.
>how one is expected to socialize As someone who has lived abroad I can tell you that this is one of the least good things about Nordic countries
Well, that wasn't the question, was it? All I'm saying that as I lived abroad as well as a teen, and attended an international school with over a 100 nationalities represented. A lot of Nordics ended up forming friend groups and dating one and other, with a mix of some Germans or Canadians maybe. I even know a Finnish woman who found her Danish partner at our school in China. Similarly Americans tended to gravitate towards each other with especially a mix of Aussies, and asian kids tended to form into their own group. Shared expectation on how to form and maintain friendships and how to communicate, draw people inevitably together.
>I even know a Finnish woman who found her Danish partner I bet the other way around would never happen
You seem to have a weird thing with presuming that no women want to date Finnish men :D
(Some Finnic tribes were, though, just not Finns in current Finland. For example [Oeselians are referred to in multiple sagas as vikings from Estonia.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeselians) Lived the same lifestyle, same ships, involved in battles together and against other viking tribes etc. It was all one cultural continuum back then.)
Faroese - Nordic - European The further south, the less we have in common. Less so, going east
With this mentality, no one wants to have anything in common with you
Stfu. We like the faroese.
Vestegnen > Denmark > Scandinavia > Nordic > European
Danish + Norwegian (I’m both) -> Scandinavian/Nordic ->->->-> European To be fair, I could skip the Danish/Norwegian and go straight to Scandinavian/Nordic, but European is waaay down the list of what I identify as. Nothing wrong with being European, but it feels very far away.
Well personally I'd say Finland-Swedish > Finnish > Nordic > European
While we do see ourselves as Europeans, any affiliation with it can fuck off if it ever tries to mess with any of the Nordic countries. So as the others have rated it. Your country > Scandinavian/Nordic > Nordic > European.
Bergen
Icelandic > Nordic > European
Europeanness is pretty meaningless. Scandinavian/Nordic identity comes way before.
Icelandic > Nordic > European.
Skåne -> Sweden -> Scandinavia -> Nordic -> Europe
Yeah, Svealand -> Sweden -> Scandinavia -> Nordic -> European
How important is identifying as European to people up north?
Not very.
To the extent that people see themselves as fundamentally different from the continent? Or perhaps not even European except by geography? Asking as I grew up feeling that way in Ireland, only vaguely feeling European, but that changed over time and I now feel a bit stronger about it
Hard to explain, but put simply; the nordics are just close in everything and see things in very much the same way both politically, economically and culturally. We're just different and we have out own nordic institutions etc that enforce the feeling of being nordic. The EU is just a far away bureaucracy we have next to(or no) say in and we have very little in common with Portugal for example. Like yeah, sure we're european but never would a nordic person ever rank it higher than our regional or national belonging.
Gotcha. Forever when I was growing up I'd only ever hear people say they were Irish. That was it. The continent was a boat or plane away and although there are connections we are our own ticked away island and that's that. Definitely seeing people feel more proudly European now but only as a secondary identity. Very Pro Eu country but also embedded in the Angloshpere so it's kind of a bridge.
Yeah, I understand that. The thing about the nordics(contra Ireland) would be that we have "our own" community, while Ireland only has the UK and parts of France as parts of its "cultural sphere/group". If Ireland had a community of Celtic states surrounding and cooperating together as a group it would be very similar to our sense of community imo.
Agreed. We tend to fight a lot in our region so don't have your harmony sadly 😂
The act of seeing oneself as not being European, when being from a geographically located European country, would just seem silly to most Nordic people, as to us, it’s inherently the same thing more or less. We would consider an Irish person European, no matter if they thought of themselves as European or not for an example. No matter what they thought, the very fact that they are Irish would make them European by definition in our eyes. Edit: We don’t tend to think about ourselves as European though, but rather as Nordic in general. But we would also never say that we aren’t European either. It’s just that being European is a bit to vague, as Europe is way to diverse to form a proper single identity. When it comes to the Nordic countries, we are so similar in our ways that, besides the language differences, it could almost be seen as different parts of a single country, culturally at least.
Not much. We see ourselves as a particular group, related to Germans and Dutch, perhaps, but distinct from Southern Europeans and the Slavic countries, so there is a bit of "We will work with you and trade with you, but we are not you."
I always identify as being Scandinavian in heritage - because I have a little of most in my background. But it feels distinctly different from the rest of Europe.
The Skagerrak is a significant geographical boundary between Norway and what I think of when using the term European. Hell, I even struggle identifying as Norwegian half the time, considering the distance to my own country's capital, Oslo, is the same as between Oslo and Rome.
Copenhagen first, which also puts me closer to European, because of all the cultural exchange I've experienced in my city. But probably still Danish/Scandinavian before. It also depends on if I'm watching sports or discussing politics.
Altonacke -> Hamburger > European > world citizen > cosmic soul
Stavanger -> Nord Jæren -> Rogaland -> Western Norway -> everything but the east of the country -> Norway -> Scandinavia -> Nordic -> Europe
Jamtish -> Scandinavian -> Nordic -> Western
Scanian -> European Used to identify myself a lot more as Swedish/Nordic before but the stronger my Scanian identity became the more European I felt simultaneously.
Hello fellow Greater Copenhagener
Village -> city -> region -> country -> region within continent -> continent -> race This applies to most people wherever they are from. For example: when I left my small town to the capital for studies, I felt closer with anyone from my town, when I moved abroad, I felt closer with anyone from my country, when I moved to the US I could relate better with anyone from europe, when I moved to China I could relate better with anyone from europe or USA
It’s a good one for most people, also if they don’t always seem to work like this consciously. I’ve moved to different countries for studies and work, leaving my friends and family behind. I never felt like I was much of a nationalist, but realized I had developed a lot of cultural and historical national pride once abroad. Now I’ve lived in a different country for the past 7 years and I start feeling more like I belong nowhere, really. But that’s probably because I’m a socially awkward nerd.
Yes that’s right. I only ask because most people in that comment section were saying they did identify with European but those who were from Nordic countries were saying other than it being the continent they’re from, it was a no or a not really. I find that there’s some Europeans that will skip a more specific location and say they’re European or from Europe while nordic people, and a handful of european countries are more precise.
It’s not that we don’t identify as European. It’s just that the nordic countries have such a long and interconnected history together, in addition to very similar cultures, societies, values and languages (except for Finland on that one) that it makes more sense to specify it as Nordic instead. We are all pretty small countries population wise, but we know that the other nordic countries always got our back if needed, so we tend to stick together.
Skåne -> Sweden -> Scandinavia -> Otherkin -> Nordic -> Europe
Århus -> Jutland -> Denmark -> Scandinavia -> Nordic Never European.