Today is National Pastry Day. I decided to post a photo on Instagram of the first page of my book, Little Piggies Embrace Hygge. It says "this little piggy went to the market," and shows a pig with it's family at the market buying ingredients for comfort food and baking. There is a shelf behind them containing bread and Danish pastries. I figured it was the most appropriate thing to post for this holiday and wanted to include an interesting fact about Danish pastries. Turns out, they're not actually from Denmark (see below). Then, I thought, "why not find out some more interesting facts about Denmark and post them on Hive?" Check them out below ⬇️ Which one is the most interesting to you?
1. Danish pastries originated in Austria. In 1850, Danish bakery workers went on strike, so the employers hired pastry workers from Vienna, Austria. The new Austrian workers weren't familiar with baking Danish recipes, so they started baking their own traditional recipes. This includes the recipe for what is now called the Danish pastry. After the strike ended, the pastry had become very popular and the returning Danish pastry workers learned to bake the pastry recipe, too.
2. Danes go cold-water swimming as a mood-booster. There are clubs with saunas and hot tubs right by the ice-cold sea. It is said that alternating between the freezing water and heat is an endorphin rush. While there’s no scientific evidence, supporters affirm that it boosts happiness and creates a good sense of community among the swimmers.
3. Copenhagen, Denmark's capital, is the greenest city in the world and plans to be carbon-neutral by 2025.
4. You can go on a scavenger hunt for trolls and giants in the outlying parts of Denmark. An artist, Thomas Dambo, scattered large wooden-scrap trolls and giants in various parts of Denmark (and some other countries, too). It makes for a good off-the-beaten-path adventure.
5. In the past, Denmark has been consecutively the #1 happiest country in the world. For the last four years, Finland has been the first. However, Denmark always makes the top 10 list.
