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I came up with the idea while thinking about how melancholy and serious for instance Russians act. Rarely smiles and is reserved. But I have to start with my own ethnicity. Now, while there are different individuals and personalities in every population, the culture does shape the people in varying degrees.
It is no secret that Norwegians are known to be reserved people before alcohol is consumed Both among Norwegians themselves and of course people who come from abroad or meet them abroad on holiday or business.
Norway has always had a small population that has lived scattered apart, well helped by mountains and valleys. Unlike other countries where people have lived more closely and thus developed more outgoing social antennae. Whereas the Norwegians didn't have to develop that many social norms besides living secluded, yet still being very curious about what neighbors are up to.
There has never been a real nobility in much of Our history, and whatever nobility who lived here were of foreign origin. Most people lived rather off few resources, limited social contact besides trade and there You go. This in turn has laid the groundwork for a culture of envy and hostility towards people who do not follow the norm. Whether it is about the way You dress, behavior or prosperity. There is a reason why a Danish author named Aksel Sandemose wrote a book called " A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks" after his stay here. Where he describes how the main character is kept down by the local community in his village an increasingly gets broken by what is called "Bygdedyret"/The village beast, the suffocating mentality of the people.
And lists the mentality in a rather infamous name called "Janteloven" / Law of Jante.
The ten rules state:
1.You're not going to think you are anything special.
2. You're not to think you are as good as we are.
3. You're not to think you are smarter than we are.
4. You're not to imagine yourself better than we are.
5. You're not to think you know more than we do.
6. You're not to think you are more important than we are.
7. You're not to think you are good at anything.
8. You're not to laugh at us.
9. You're not to think anyone cares about you.
10. You're not to think you can teach us anything.
All these points are well recognizable and reflect the mentality among many Norwegians. This in turn has led to many people having very low self-esteem and inferiority complexes in addition to being socially reserved. It is rare to meet Norwegians who dare to say outright that they are good at something. This has been the subject of debate in recent years, and in one municipality they went so far as to arrange a public funeral for the law of jante. With the words carved into a stone that was buried. A symbolic act that sparked debate but did not do great changes. Even the time of prosperity due to oil has not been able to change this. This backfires because it has a limited amount of innovation spirit and enterprise among the people. As not only did many lack the belief in themselves, there has always been many ready to chip in to keep it that way. Studies done decades ago proved that Norwegians were among, if not the most prone to going with the herd even if they knew the answer was wrong.
Now on to hospitality:
Though the mead was flowing and it was different days during the viking era when we had the guts to pillage and plunder, after Christianity was adopted Norway entered an era of obscurity and lack of development. And became a province that changed ownership between Sweden and Denmark for almost 400 years. There were few resources, to the extent that when children with defects were born, they were put out in the woods for animals to devour or thrown into the river. It was this combined with an already anti-social mentality that means that Norwegians can be far less hospitable and generous with guests than in other cultures.
It is not unheard of, and I have experienced it myself, that when people eat, children are sent home instead of being offered to take part in dinner. At home we did it differently, my mother always asked my friends to join, and said if we do not get full we will only eat a few slices of bread later. But by and large, it is not common to host a dinner party unless there are special occasions. With a widespread belief that each individual manages with his or her own. Personally, I feel uncomfortable eating without offering people around me, but for many others here it is not a problem. While in other countries they like to go overboard and offer everything they have to guests, even if they do not have much. When invited, it is often expected that everyone contributes, even if the host, especially these days, can afford it.
While there are some positive influences, I can certainly see how it hampers us in ways I've described above.
It is interesting how history influences culture even far into other eras with better conditions than before. How would you describe the mentality and culture of your ethnicity, your perception of why it has become like this and often your own thoughts about what is good / bad about it.
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