Among the many cultural questions I ask audiences during my How to Live in Denmark Game Show is "Which animal represents Denmark best?"?

There never seems to be an obvious or generally agreed-upon answer. Sure, the bear represents Russia, the elephant Thailand, and the bald eagle the United States. But what about Denmark?

Denmark does have a national animal – the mute swan (Cygnus olor) – but an image of a swan doesn't provoke the kind of immediate association with Denmark that, say, a koala bear does with Australia.

That said, mute swans are easy to find in Denmark. You can see them sailing down the quiet streams of the country's historical parks, such as the vold in Fredericia or Utterslev Mose in suburban Copenhagen.

But these strong, individualist, and often angry animals are a strange fit for a country that prides itself on co-operation and peacefulness. They're also not really mute – in fact, they have a noisy hiss that can signal an attack if they feel their nest is threatened.

Given that these muscular birds are about a meter tall and their wingspan can be twice that, you may feel threatened too.

Alcohol has a long history in Denmark. The Vikings brewed four types of beverages: ale, mead, fruit wine, and syra, a fermented milk – and for many centuries Danish babies have eaten øllebrød, which is a mix of old bread scraps and beer.

Fast forward a few centuries, and alcohol is still part of almost every Danish gathering.

Early in 2020, the EU Commission reported that Denmark placed an unhappy first in Europe in binge drinking and that it was one of the reasons Danes have the shortest expected lifespan in Western Europe.

According to the report, 37% of adult Danes said they had "regular major alcohol usage," which was nearly double the EU average of 20%.

January, February, and March are some of the dreariest months in Denmark – it's dark, with no Christmas lights to pep it up – and many people are dealing with a heavy load of year-end debt from traveling, parties, dining out, and gifts.

Along with religion, personal finance is a topic that is rarely discussed in Denmark. But the country has one of the highest rates of household debt in the world.

And once you get into debt in Denmark, it can be very difficult to get out.

If you're newly arrived in Denmark, making Danish friends is not easy – in fact, surveys show that one of the main reasons internationals end up leaving is the difficulty of building a network.

The irony is that Danes are actually very good at friendship. Their friendships are strong, reliable, and deep-rooted. Friends can count on each other.

But because Danes take friendships so seriously, they like to keep their number of friendships under control. They don't want to take on more friends than they can keep their deep commitment to.

The statement "I just don't have room for any more friends" sounds perfectly sensible to Danes, and utterly stunning to foreigners.

When internationals ask me how they can make Danish friends, I have one primary piece of advice.

It is: find a Dane who did not grow up in the part of Denmark where you live now.

The relaxed approach to nudity in Denmark can be a surprise for many newcomers.

It's something they're often confronted with at the local swimming hall, where a very large and strong attendant insists that they take off their entire swimsuit and shower thoroughly before going into the pool.

Stripping off in front of strangers is new for a lot of internationals, and some try to place it a larger context of Danish morality.

It hasn't been entirely forgotten that Denmark was the first country in the world to legalize pornography in 1967. Some people still think of Denmark as a place where there is easy sex available and a generous display of naked boobs and butts.

Whether it is the mandatory nude shower before swimming, topless sunbathing, or the sight of naked statues in Copenhagen, the Danish attitude to the human body is often very different from what visitors expect.

In this episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, you'll discover why nudity in Denmark is generally seen as natural rather than sexual, why older Danes are often more comfortable being naked than younger generations, and how changing attitudes toward privacy, social media, and body image are influencing Danish culture today.

You'll also learn why public nudity is legal in many situations, why winter swimmers happily strip off before plunging into icy water, and why Denmark's reputation as a sexually liberated country only tells part of the story.

If your company, conference, or organization would like an entertaining and insightful introduction to Danish culture or Danish working culture, Kay Xander Mellish is available for keynote speeches, workshops, and presentations. Learn more at KXMGroup, and explore more episodes of the How to Live in Denmark podcast.

"Is there politeness in Denmark?"

That was the question I was recently invited on a national TV show to discuss.

The implication was that I was supposed to say that Danes were not at all polite, because effusive praise and cheerful agreement make for a rather dull TV show.

But Danes are not impolite. They have their own version of courteous behaviour, which is based on reinforcing aspects of their culture that they care about.

One of my favorite types of speaking engagement is introducing Denmark to some of the smart, motivated young people arriving from around the world to study at Danish universities.

Since the publication of my first book, How to Live in Denmark, I've been speaking regularly to audiences of new arrivals, and I probably learn as much from them as they learn from me.

Among the things I've learned is that the aspects of Danish culture that the Danes are most proud of can be troublesome for newcomers.

Planning your summer vacation in Denmark is like playing the lottery. You could hit it lucky, with golden days and long, warm evenings, when you can sit with friends in the soft light and drink hyldeblomst cocktails.

Or you could get grey day after grey day, interspersed with a little rain whenever it is least convenient. The weather could be chilly, leaving your cute new summer clothes to sit disappointed in your closet while you wear your boring long trousers again and again.

I find that locals tend to base their decision about whether to stay in Denmark for the summer on the previous year's weather. Last year's summer was great for anyone who is not a farmer: it was unusually hot and dry.

This year, so far, the weather has been very good for farmers with crops that need a lot of rain, and not so great for anybody else.

April 1st is April Fool's Day – Aprilsnar in Danish – and each Danish newspaper will feature a clever but false story for the unwary to be fooled by.

To some extent every day is April Fool's Day in Denmark, because Danish humor is a rough humor. Danes show affection by making fun of each other. And, as an international, they might make fun of you too.

This is a good thing: that means they have accepted you into the circle of Danishness.

But it doesn't mean that the intersection of non-Danes and Danish humor is entirely painless. If you come from a culture where you are easily offended – and that, unfortunately, includes the American culture these days – you may spend a lot of time with your feelings hurt.

If you come from a culture where honor or face is prized, the Danish insistence on taking nothing seriously and taking everyone down a peg can be shocking.

Motivating Danish employees is very different than motivating other groups of people because there are two big factors missing – hierarchy and fear.

We don't like to talk about the fear part in our various countries of origin, but the fact is true that in the US, UK, China, India, and in parts of Europe, someone who loses their job can be in a lot of trouble. They may have trouble paying their bills, might lose their house, might not have access to health care, might not be able to send their kids to university.

That's not the case in Denmark. Everybody pays for those services through their taxes, so losing your job doesn't mean you lose access to these things the way it might mean elsewhere in the world.

And that means that employees aren't slightly afraid of their boss the way they might be elsewhere in the world - and they're much more willing to speak up.

They're not going to do what you say just because you're the boss. Hierarchy exists in Denmark, despite what the Danes sometimes want to believe, but you don't always get a lot of respect from being at the top of the hierarchy.

In this society where egalitarianism is a deep and cherished value, the person standing on a pedestal is kind of assumed to be a buffoon. You've heard of the famous "Janteloven" that informally governs Danish culture – and one of its rules is "don't think you're better than us".

In a Danish environment, you're going to have to convince your employees that what you suggest is the right course of action. They're not just going to do it because you're the boss.