Why are Scandinavians tall? Why are Scandinavians the happiest people on the planet? They wash in the baths with men
One of the main features of the Scandinavians is their love of nature, squared. And this is not just a matter of responsibility and frugality. In Scandinavia, the cult of ecology is instilled from childhood. That is why these northern countries are famous for their cleanest forests and reservoirs with potable water, environmentally friendly products, and clothing. Their cities have a lot of greenery and timid wild birds, somewhere in the center of Stockholm you can easily stumble upon a hare, and wood is often used in architecture and environmental design.
The short, cool summers in Scandinavia give way to long, dark winters that encourage thought and contemplation. Northern peoples are reasonable, unhurried and relaxed. Life flows calmly and peacefully and does not involve uncertainty or worry. Decent salaries, guaranteed pensions and benefits, carefree old age... Everything is certain and predictable.
Work is a wolf
What Scandinavians fear most is losing their job. Conscientious and responsible, not prone to tardiness and absenteeism, as well as overtime, they are dedicated to their work. On weekdays you will not meet drunks on the streets of Copenhagen or Oslo. But in - as much as you like! Scandinavians love to relax in bars and drink lightly and a lot. And just as easily, as if nothing had happened, they go to work on Monday without delay.
In the Nordic countries the influence of trade unions is strong. It is not so easy to fire an employee even for serious duties. And those who have proven themselves well get all sorts of bonuses. To the point that, for example, an employee can be paid for the purchase of a new pair of shoes - for proper appearance at the workplace.
A clear eye means a strong tooth
Scandinavians are friendly and cheerful. It is difficult to meet a gloomy person on the street. Often these are people with good skin and teeth, shiny blond hair, clear eyes and a satisfied look. A sports lifestyle is cultivated in Scandinavia with might and main. There is no shortage of swimming pools, sports complexes and stadiums in cities. And visiting these establishments costs pennies.
Despite their outward openness and friendliness, Scandinavians respect their personal space and treat others the same way. It is not customary here to gossip, take an interest in someone’s personal life, or look at each other on the street. Close, frank glances are avoided.
Scandinavians, despite their high height, are unpretentious in food and clothing. And having an expensive car or bicycle is considered almost indecent.
Children in Scandinavia are idolized. They are allowed everything. They are loved and wanted a lot. In Sweden, for example, dads often go on parental leave.
Scandinavians respect and love tourists. Traveling through small rural towns, you can accidentally taste northern hospitality by stopping overnight at one of the farms. You will be so welcome that they will provide you with free overnight accommodation and even give you fresh food for the journey. Always feel free to ask local residents for help - they will be happy to explain something or simply chat with foreigners.
When they talk about the racial and ethnic affiliation of a nation, many versions and hypotheses immediately emerge, some of which are simply incomparable with common sense. For example, the Germans. Some classify them as belonging to the Germanic race, while others believe that they are a mixture of several incomprehensible genera that have nothing to do with the European race. The mass Slavic man in the street does not even realize that the “Germanic” race in a certain sense belongs to the Slavic, and this is not just some kind of speculation, but an official scientific view. Few people know that all races without exception were considered “Germans” or “Germans”.
The Soviet translators clearly made a mistake in translating German words such as "Germans" and "Germanic race" as "Germans" and "German race". They seemed not to notice that for the Russian word “Germans” in the German language there is only one correct analogue: Deutschen. That is why many believe that the most prominent representative of the National Socialists in history, Adolf Hitler, proclaimed exclusively the “German nation” as the highest nation in the world, although he spoke about the “Germans,” i.e. about all Indo-European races, including the Slavs.
As we have already seen, there is a genetic unity between the Slavs and Germans, which has even been proven by science. Thus, it turns out that the Germans are partly Slavs. But let’s turn to history and remember another people who also underwent correction of facts by falsifiers of history. We are talking about representatives of the Germanic race, which was considered almost the elite of races - the Scandinavians.
We watched a lot of films and read books about the Scandinavian Vikings. Authors have always described them as ruthless conquerors, sea pirates, wild and immoral people dressed in helmets with horns and animal skins, living in the coldest lands.
Over the course of hundreds of years, many legends and all sorts of fables have been written about them. Someone even claimed that the Scandinavians were refugees from the sunken Atlantis, and this version is not one of the most incredible. Many consider the Vikings to be people from other worlds who, on a whim strange and incomprehensible to ordinary people, decided to come down to earth.
Let us turn to the facts of the history of the Scandinavian people. Why should they be considered a Slavic people? A Russian-speaking person who has visited the Scandinavian countries or even lived there for some time could not help but notice that their language, which is attributed to the “Germanic” linguistic family, is filled with many Slavic words; a Slav can understand them without the help of any or dictionaries or translators.
The Scandinavian language, even in our time, has in its language such suffixes as –sk, -ske, -ska in adjectives, which is characteristic of the Slavic language. In addition, the modern Scandinavian language has retained several words from the “mother” Slavic language. For example, Danska, Svinsk Hotel, Gadske Kriminelle or the phrase Vrede Skole. A Slav who speaks Belarusian will be able to understand these words without any help from a translator. Such an obvious thing raises the question: are the Slavs and Scandinavians really one people?
If we turn to historical research, we learn that the inhabitants of Scandinavia are not actually indigenous people. According to some sources, the Scandinavians used to live near the Don River valley, in the southeastern part of modern Ukraine, and even on the edge of southeastern Belarus. In ancient Scandinavian mythology, it is mentioned that the great god Odin ruled a city called Asgard, which was the city of the Aesir. It turns out that Slavic-Aryans lived in this city.
In the ancient legend there is a story where Odin intends to colonize the benthic state of Greater Sweden, which is known as “Vodzin”, as well as the northern part of modern Europe. The saga further tells that in order to carry out his plans, Odin had to cross a friendly country, which the Scandinavians called Gardarika - this country included the territories of modern Belarus, Ukraine, Novgorod, Pskov, part of Poland and several other small lands of the southern Baltic, to the border of France. A similar migration dates back approximately to the 13th century BC. Obviously, Gardarika is nothing more than the territory where the Slavic-Russians lived, who are also the original inhabitants of Europe.
As a result, Odin still managed to reach lands that had only recently been freed from ice. There the deity created the capital of his new state, which is called Odense (this city still exists). The name itself speaks about its founder.
To summarize, we can conclude that the inhabitants of Great Sweden came to modern Scandinavia from the Don expanses, and not vice versa, as the official version teaches us. One famous Norwegian explorer named Thor Heyerdahl is also an adherent of this version of the story about the origin of the Scandinavians and their connection with the Slavs. He walked throughout the Black Sea region, studied several thousand historical artifacts found, and came to the conclusion that the Swedes and Scandinavians came precisely from the lands of the Slavic-Russians, and nothing else! The Russian researcher Mikhailo Lomonosov adhered to the same theory. The most reliable source of the resettlement of the Scandinavians from the lands of the Slavic-Aryans to Greater Sweden and Scandinavia is the Saga of the Ynglings.
The fact that the Scandinavians come from Slavic peoples is evidenced not only by the unique properties of their language and the opinion of authoritative scientists, but also by ancient sagas and writings. To be completely convinced, it is enough to simply compare the appearance of the Scandinavians and Slavs. Northwestern Slavs and Scandinavians are tall (in fact, they are all on the same level, unless a person has a genetic predisposition to short stature), their body build is proportional, their skin is light in color, their eyes are usually blue or gray, completely absent or the smallest number of the presence of a round face and a “duck” nose, which are characteristic of their Scandinavian neighbors - the Finno-Ugric people.
Even at the genetic level, the Scandinavians and Slavs share the same composition of genetic Y-haplogroups, which are found in the inhabitants of Ukraine, northeastern Poland and Belarus. Residents of the former West Germany also have an analytical genetic composition. Thus, the peoples living in different countries are actually one single race, and their roots go back to one people. But, unfortunately, most studies and the results of genetic analyzes are altered in order to hide traces of the kinship of the Slavs and Scandinavians.
Who are the Russians, who are the Slavs
Scandinavians and Ancient Rus'
Tuesday, March 20th is International Day of Happiness. As is tradition, shortly before this the United Nations published its annual World Happiness Report. This time, 156 countries of the world appear in it.
Ukraine ranks 138th. And the people of Finland feel themselves to be the happiest in the world. Norway is in second place, followed by Denmark.
The top ten happiest countries also included Iceland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and Australia.
Noteworthy is the fact that the top three included exclusively Scandinavian countries. How are they so different from other states? Is the only secret hidden in a high standard of living?
Famous Danish scientist Mike Viking doesn't think so. He is the author of the book "Hygge: The Secret of Danish Happiness". In it, the director of the Happiness Research Institute (Copenhagen) talks in detail about the philosophy of life inherent in most Scandinavians.
Hygge is a celebration of absolute coziness, which should be strived for constantly, not just on weekends or during vacations, but in every moment of everyday life.
The center of the hygge concept is not things, but experiences and atmosphere, says Mike Viking. “It's about being close to those you love. Feeling at home. The feeling of being safe, cut off from the outside world, in a place where you don’t have to be vigilant.”- writes the Danish scientist.
The word “hygge” itself means “feeling good.” The Scandinavians achieve it in several interconnected ways.
Unlike many other regions, in Scandinavia social life takes place not so much in bars, restaurants, cafes or clubs, but at home. Seven out of ten Danes experience happiness within their own four walls, writes Viking.
The Danish home is the “HQ of Hygge”, the central location for achieving bliss. It is clear that the Danes furnish their home with special attention. “In Denmark they love design, so when you walk into a Dane’s apartment, you feel like you’ve stepped into the pages of an interior design magazine.”,” Viking emphasizes.
Warm candlelight - without it there is no hygge. 28 percent of Danes light candles every day. Each inhabitant of Denmark produces six kilograms of candle wax per year. According to the European Candle Association (ECA), Denmark is ahead of other European countries in this indicator. The Danes like the lighting fixtures in the house to also give off a warm light, so cold neon lamps are unacceptable for them. “The obsession with light can be explained by the fact that from October to March the Danes see little of it,” Mike Viking explains.
Community with others is not only an important part of hygge, but also a key element of happiness. “The most important indicator of happiness is our social relationships. The Scandinavians have learned this well, and work is not their first priority. The working day ends at five o'clock, and those who have children work until four o'clock. After work, it’s customary to immediately go home and start preparing dinner.”, says the scientist.
And this is where hygge comes into conflict with the concept of healthy eating. Scandinavians drink coffee with pies, buttercream cakes and all sorts of other unhealthy sweets. For example, Danes eat almost twice as much sweets as the average European - 8.2 kilograms per person per year! The European average is 4.2 kilograms.
If you want to experience hygge, give up healthy food. Scandinavians are big fans of hearty food, including meat dishes or various stews. “In fact, the consumption of meat, sweets and coffee is directly related to hygge. This is a kind of way of treating yourself well, an opportunity to pamper yourself and allow yourself and others a break from the demands of a healthy lifestyle. Sweets are hygge, as are cakes, coffee or hot chocolate. But carrots cut into sticks – no longer!”- writes Viking.
The feeling of hygge cannot be achieved if you experience a feeling of cold. This is why the Danes prefer to wear layers of clothing. “It holds the key to experiencing the four seasons in one day.”- the scientist assures. In addition, a cozy, voluminous scarf is a must-have attribute of hygge.
How easy it is to live according to the principles of hygge, everyone can decide for themselves, says Mike Viking. Putting on a cozy sweater, lighting candles and not looking at your mobile phone display for at least half an hour is just the beginning. Stopping being a workaholic and spending more time with loved ones will probably be more difficult. But it's worth striving for. After all, this is the key to happiness, and the UN rating proves that the Scandinavians are closest to the ideal.
Men from Nordic countries have long been distinguished by their tall stature and texture.
It is enough to remember the action hero Dolph Lundgren, the Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau or many American actors of Scandinavian origin to be convinced of the correctness of this opinion.
But why exactly do Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland have high heights among men?
Have Scandinavians always been tall?
A still from the series "Vikings" with actors from 193 to 178 cm tall
Tacitus writes about the tall and white-skinned Germans, who are much taller than the Romans and Gauls, and the “sharp” look of their blue eyes terrifies the latter.
In a later era, Viking raids shook Europe, and chroniclers in England, France and Spain write about the Normans as people from the north, very tall and powerfully built.
Rolf the Pedestrian, aka Rollo - the brother of Ragnar Lothbrok, is described as such a large man that not a single horse could carry him, which is why he moved everywhere on foot, with great speed
However, archaeological excavations have shown that the vast majority of Vikings of the 7th-10th centuries were about 170-175 centimeters tall!
For a modern person, this is not too much.
But if you consider that at that time the average height of most people rarely exceeded 165 cm, ordinary Vikings were half a head taller than average.
And since noble people usually had better food and married people of their own circle, their height was often much higher than that of a commoner.
So, Charlemagne and Richard the Lionheart grew to 193 centimeters, which is very impressive by modern standards, and the found remains of noble Vikings indicate a height of 180-185 cm.
For most of their history, the people of Scandinavia were and remain tall. And although they have now lost the palm to the Dutch, whose average height is 184 centimeters, versus 182 for the Norwegians and Swedes, the majority of Scandinavian men are still tall.
But why?
Reasons for the high growth of Scandinavians
Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, Icelanders, as well as some Northern Germans, Western Finns, a significant part of Estonians and Latvians are direct descendants Paleo-European population.
After the glacier retreats, extinct Neanderthals in the frozen expanses of Europe at that time, covered with tundra and marshy areas, were replaced Cro-Magnons.
They came from the south, from the much warmer places of North Africa, and originally had darker skin and eyes, as well as a “tropical build” - tall, long limbs and thin body proportions.
They had to adapt to the cold climate of Europe, where the sun was almost always hidden behind clouds from evaporating glacial lakes, and the climate was more reminiscent of Western Siberia than the mild modern Spain or Switzerland.
Over hundreds of generations, the skin of Cro-Magnons became thinner and lighter in order to better capture sunlight, saving children, who very often died from rickets.
The same thing happened with the iris of the eyes, which became more transparent: blue and green, the hair on the head became lighter.
Like their Neanderthal predecessors, Cro-Magnons in northern latitudes acquired a powerful build: their skeleton became more massive and wide, fat began to quickly accumulate on the body, and coarse meat food led to changes in the shape of the jaw - it became prominent, massive, with large teeth.
To this day, large teeth are a distinctive feature of the Scandinavians, while the Slavs, for example, usually have small teeth.
The direct descendants of the Stone Age Cro-Magnons formed the anthropological types of the Scandinavians:
Paleo-European(actually Cro-Magnon),
Western Baltid(Cro-Magnon of the eastern Baltic, less tall and more prone to obesity),
Borreby and Brunn(variants of Paleo-Europeans that retained the most archaic features),
and also joined them later Western Atlantic type, which came to an already warm Europe and retained the thin tropical proportions of the body, but still also lost its dark pigmentation.
The Paleo-European and West Atlantic types are widely represented in mixed form in Scandinavia and are called trender.
All these types are distinguished by tall stature, blond hair and differ only in the massiveness of the body: from the closet-shaped Baltids and Borrebis, to the rather graceful and thin Western Atlantic types.
Considering that the Scandinavians almost did not mix with other peoples, or rather peoples who had other anthropological types, they retained the above-mentioned characteristics to this day, including tallness.
The Sami, Finns and Karelians living nearby were not affected in the same way by the northern climate, since they are genetically descended from other types and therefore cannot boast of an equally impressive build.
But the mass migration of Scandinavians to Britain, northern France, northern Russia, and the Baltic states brought typically Scandinavian variations to these regions, now blurred or preserved to varying degrees.
They have too many opportunities, sometimes taking on male responsibilities, even in relationships with their lovers. At the same time, many of them allow their husbands to cheat or even cohabit with other women. What is so special about Scandinavian women?
During the Viking Age
In medieval Scandinavia, 12 years of age was considered optimal for a girl to marry. The groom's family usually paid considerable money for the bride, a kind of ransom. Having advantageously married his daughter to a representative of another village, the Viking thus enlisted the support of his neighbors in defending against the enemy. Sometimes the girl was given to a family with whom they were at enmity, as a hostage. The calculation was simple: one of the Vikings from another clan would begin to cohabit with her, and after the birth of a child in such a union, the former enemies would become relatives - and the military confrontation would end. However, a Scandinavian woman could file for divorce if: her husband dresses poorly and looks sloppy; does not satisfy her in bed; is homosexual. At the same time, he could well have cheated on her with other women. This was not a reason for divorce and division of property.
Mistress and wife in the same house
The Viking had the right not only to have mistresses, but could bring concubines directly into the family, and they lived in the same house with his wife. Some warriors brought girls from predatory raids on neighboring lands, others bought slaves at slave markets, and still others entered into relationships with women from the lower social strata of society. Often one Viking, in addition to his official wife, had two or three concubines. The wives did not object, because mistresses had no legal rights and did not threaten their status.
Swedish family
Of course, the term “Swedish family” is a stereotype that does not reflect the real Scandinavian view of marriage. However, there is no smoke without fire. Like their distant ancestors, women from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland are calm about the infidelity of their spouses. Therefore, there are many cases when one man cohabits with two ladies at once, and they are not considered something out of the ordinary. Sometimes two married couples enter into such relationships. Less often, two men share one woman. Scandinavians are far from conservative in the sphere of intimate relationships; a sexual revolution took place here back in the mid-twentieth century. Local hippies lived in communes where love was free not in words, but in deeds. Some Scandinavian women continue intimate relationships with their ex-husbands; divorce is not a hindrance for them. Moreover, the current spouses of ex-marriage partners also participate in such entertainment. It turns out to be such family orgies.
Girls are shown male genitals
In Scandinavian countries, sex education for children is an important part of the educational process. The European Bureau of the World Health Organization has developed a training program called “Standards for Sexuality Education.” Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland are fully guided by this document. Sex education for Scandinavian children begins as early as four (!) years of age. Adults are obliged to tell such little ones about the pleasure of physical intimacy and self-satisfaction. And five-year-old children learn that families are different and love is possible between representatives of the same sex. Between the ages of 6 and 9, children learn how to behave when confronted with a pedophile and what acceptable consensual sex is. Ten-year-olds are given recommendations on how to masturbate and have an orgasm. And only at twelve, very young Scandinavians learn from the school curriculum that relationships between men and women are not only sex, but also romance. Girls are taught in elementary school what prostitution, pornography and sexual addiction are. They are shown films where the male reproductive organ is shown, including in an excited state. The schoolgirls then examine donor sperm under a microscope and also learn how to use birth control. Invited bisexuals and transvestites come to lessons and share their life experiences with the children. Such educational programs are shown on television so that parents can watch them with their children and answer their questions.
Sex on the first date
For Scandinavian girls, sex on the first date is almost mandatory. Romantic stories here start the same way: I went to a bar, behaved frankly, picked up a boyfriend for one night. The morning after a storm of drinking and sex, young people usually get acquainted. If they like each other, they start going on dates and get to know each other better. But no, no. It's an everyday matter. Moreover, the initiative in relationships often belongs to the woman. It is she who should call him and write SMS after the first date if she wants to continue pleasant communication. Many young Scandinavians do not marry, but simply cohabit. For example, in Sweden it is called samboskap. They are registered only after the birth of children. And fathers often go on maternity leave to care for children.
They wash in the baths with men
In Finnish saunas, men and women steam together. Both in public baths, where families usually go, and at home. This is a tradition. Shy people may wrap themselves in a towel, but most Finns and Swedes are not ashamed of nudity, and it is customary for them not to pay any attention to members of the opposite sex who come to wash themselves. Some public baths have designated days when men and women bathe separately.
They live in the same barracks
Since 2015, Norway has introduced compulsory military conscription for women. The reason for this decision was the recognition of gender equality of citizens of this country. In 2017, Sweden followed the example of its neighbors. The girls don’t mind, because there are fewer places in the armies of the Scandinavian countries than there are people willing to serve. The military leadership selects conscripts and conscripts on a competitive basis. For example, in Norway every year, out of approximately 60 thousand young men and women who want to take the oath, only 8-10 thousand recruits put on an army uniform. Residents of Scandinavian countries could previously become military personnel if they wished. Thus, Finnish women gained the right to serve in the army in 1995. Moreover, blonde beauties not only live in the same barracks with their male colleagues, but also wash with them, of course.
