Going into an office in Denmark at 10 in the morning and saying “God morning” to everyone is awkward.
But why? Are the Danes impolite and don’t like the idea of being greeted like that? After all, “Good morning” is a positive wish, so why not?
Well, the Danes are a bit different in that. They have their own time and, certainly, their way of determining the time of the day.
Make sure to learn about that before going to Denmark.
Jokes apart, no Dane will get offended by an untimely greeting (like saying “Good night” at 7 p.m.) , but if you want to integrate, make sure you sync with the Danish time.
Here is the “proper” Danish way to determine what part of the day it is.
The Danish day
Unlike in many Southern European countries where people may say “Good morning” until maybe 11 or even noon, the Danes consider morning the time slot between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. That’s the proper time window to say “God morgen!” safely.
Between 9 a.m. and noon, it is called formiddag (something like pre-mid-of-the-day; sounds cool, huh?).
And, guess what, there is also an eftermiddag (something like post-mid-of-the-day), which is the time window between noon (12 p.m.) and 6 p.m.
They also have the equivalent greetings “God formiddag!” and “God eftermiddag!”. Seriously, these greetings are commonly used, and although they may sound strange in other languages, it is perfectly normal to use them in everyday Danish life.
Moving on later in the day, the Danes call the time window between 6 p.m. and midnight aften. So, basically, this is what they consider evening, while night is from midnight till 6 in the morning.
Bear in mind that most Danes will greet with a “God aften!” in the evening, even until late at night (but before midnight). They rarely use “God nat!” (Good night) to greet, but mostly to wish them a good night and sweet dreams.
Note here that another common way to kiss your kids or spouse and wish them sweet dreams is by using the phrase “Sov godt!” (Sleep well!). It’s cute and always (danish-ly) to the point.
Why do the Danes eat lunch that early?
Syncing time and meals is easy peasy for the Danes, although we have to note that eating habits tend to sync with the other Europeans more and more.
Let’s have a look at the more “standard” Danish eating habits in relation to time.
First of all, the Danes love their breakfast (morgenmad) and eat it very early, as they also go to work very early. 8 a.m. is a very common time of arrival. So far, so good.
However, when it comes to the other main meals of the day, the Danes are a bit different.
They usually eat lunch very early by European standards. 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. is the most common time for a quick lunch, which they call frokost. If you happen to speak German and also strive to learn Danish, that word is a common false friend. Frokost in Danish means lunch, while Germans call their breakfast frühstuck; a close call, right? Good luck with that!
Unlike other people, Danes usually eat a cold lunch (a sandwich or a smørrebrød, which is the equivalent of an open sandwich with toppings), and they do it early on.
This is very similar to the eating habits of their fellow Norwegians, who also eat lunch early in the day. Swedes and Finns are latecomers when it comes to lunch (also, they prefer a warm vs a cold quick lunch). But hey, Swedes have fika pauses mid-morning, so no wonder they can wait a bit longer for their lunch.
The day passes, and the Danes come home after work. This is a time when the family gets on top of the priorities list. They usually sit together to eat a warm dinner (aftensmad, i.e. evening food) between 5.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. (although the norm is closer to the early side of the range).
Syncing time & meals
A last aspect of this time-meal continuum is what the Danes mean when they refer to specific time ranges.
Although lunch takes place between 11.30 and 12.30, the Danes may use the term frokosttid (lunchtime) to refer to the time between noon and 1 p.m. So, pay attention to what your Danish colleague or partner proposes as a meeting time.
Similarly, although aften is between 6 p.m. and midnight, aftensmad time starts and finishes a bit earlier than that (5.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.).
By now, you must have become a master of Danish time and parts of the day, plus meal times. So, go for it!
If a Dane invites you to eat lunch or dinner together, make sure to make the calculations about time correctly and be there on time (no sooner, no later).
As the Danes would say, “Velbekomme!“, which means Bon appétit!
PS: if you wonder if you need to bring a gift to a dinner at a friend, check this out.
