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The most important national symbol in Denmark is, of course, our flag. As in many other countries our flag has its own name. It is called, "Dannebrog".
It is one of the oldest flags in the world, maybe even the oldest. According to legend, the Danish flag fell from the sky during a battle in the year 1219 between the Danes and the Estonians, on the other side of the Baltic. As the flag descended a loud voice proclaimed that the Danes would be victorious if they rallied around the new flag. So, they did. The Danes won the battle, and we have kept the flag ever since.
The white in the flag symbolizes the Christian cross. The red colour was used even earlier on Viking flags. They flew red flags when they went into battle. However, instead of a cross they had sewn Odin's ravens onto the red backdrop.
Since then all the Nordic countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland have adopted a version of the Danish "design" on their national flags. They all use the horizontal cross.
All independent countries usually have a national anthem. But, in Denmark we have two. This has caused quite a lot of confusion. It frequently happens that the "wrong one" will be played when Danes participate in international sports events.
The "real" national anthem is called "Der er et yndigt land". It was written in 1844 and this is the one the Danes regard as their official anthem. This is the one that should be played at sporting events. The lyrics speak to the beauty of the Danish landscape and the mild disposition of the Danes.
You can listen to it here
The "other" national anthem is called "Kong Christian stod ved højen mast." It is used at more formal occasions, often involving the royal family. The lyrics honour the feats of old war heroes.
You can listen to it here
Denmark also has a national bird. In fact, the bird was democratically elected. Until 1984 the lark was considered the national bird. Some experts had decided this. However, the TV channel DR arranged a vote amongst its viewers. Thousands of viewers cast their votes and it turned out the swan won a resounding victory. The people had spoken.
Our national tree is the beech.
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