Etymology and terminology

The term is derived from the French term Pays Nordiques as an equivalent of the local terms Norden (Scandinavian languages), Pohjola / Pohjoismaat (Finnish language) and Norðurlond (Icelandic and Faroese languages) with the meaning of "The North(ern lands)".

In English usage, the term Scandinavia is often incorrectly used as a synonym for the Nordic Countries. From the 1850's, Scandinavia came to include, politically and culturally, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Geographically the Scandinavian peninsula includes mainland Sweden and mainland Norway, and also a part of Finland, while the Jutland Peninsula includes mainland Denmark and a small part of Germany (Denmark proper has not included any territory on the Scandinavian Peninsula since the middle of the 17th century). The Faroe Islands and Iceland are "Scandinavian" in the sense that they were settled by Scandinavians and speak Scandinavian languages, but geographically they are not part of Scandinavia. Finland was once part of Sweden, and has been significantly influenced by Sweden, and Swedish is spoken there by a minority, but it is not geographically part of Scandinavia either. Greenland was settled by Danes, is currently part of the Danish realm, and Danish is spoken there by some, but geographically it is part of North America.

In Geology, term for the land area which lies above sea level on the Baltic shield (also known as the Fennoscandian shield) is Fennoscandia (from the Latin toponyms Fennia and Scania).

Before the 19th century, the term Nordic may have been used more as a synonym for Northern to mean Northern Europe, including European Russia, the Baltic countries (at that time Estonia, Livonia and Curonia) and occasionally the British Isles and other lands on the shores of the Baltic and North Seas.

History

The Nordic countries are characterised by similar structures of their societies and cultural traits. This results not only from similar environmental realities and thus traditional livelihoods but also from a shared history.

During the Middle Ages what is now Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland shared a similar cultural, linguistic (Old Norse) and religious (Norse mythology) environment. From ca. the 12th century onwards what is now Finland (linguistically Baltic-Finnic and broader Finno-Ugric) started sharing the common developments as it was increasingly integrated into the kingdom of Sweden. As another example of a deeply rooted unifying past could be taken the indigenous Sami lifestyle (linguistically Finno-Ugric) across what is now northern Norway, Sweden and Finland (and beyond). Indeed, all Nordic countries have minority groups deriving or claiming heritage of a population residing within an other Nordic state.

After being Christianised around the year 1000, the process of local unification established Denmark, Norway and Sweden as separate kingdoms. Finland became part of Sweden in the mid 1200s, whereas Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, Orkney and large parts of Scotland and Ireland belonged to Norway. All Nordic countries followed the Protestant Reformation of the Western church during the 16th century and adopted Lutheran state churches, which to today have a large membership count although state church status varies.

In the 14th century, Denmark, Norway (with Iceland) and Sweden (with Finland) were united under one regent, in the Kalmar Union. Denmark quickly gained the upper hand, but in the early 16th century Sweden re-established itself as a separate kingdom. Denmarks's sovereignty over Norway lasted until 1814 when the Danish king was forced to cede Norway to Sweden. Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands remained Danish.

After establishing itself as one of the Great powers in Europe during the 17th century Sweden ultimately lost its foreign Dominions one by one. This process culminated in the loss of Finland to Russia in 1809 which became an autonomous Grand Duchy under the Russian tsar.

The 19th century saw a personal union between Sweden and Norway which was dissolved in 1905 due to growing dissatisfaction from the Norwegian part. At the same time Scandinavism emerged in Sweden and Denmark. This movement strove to unite the three Scandinavian countries into one kingdom without much success.

During World War I and in the midst of the Russian revolution of 1917, Finland emerged for the first time as an independent nation and the perspective of a Nordic community replaced the idea of a united Scandinavia alone. During World War II in 1944, Iceland gained its independence from Denmark. The member states of the Nordic council (founded in 1952) had thus emerged.

The Nordic countries share similar traits in the policies implemented under the after-war period, especially in the social area. All Nordic countries have large tax funded public welfare sectors and extensive social legislation. In most cases, this is due to the political ambitions of the many Social Democrat governments that came to power during the interwar period in each of the Nordic countries.

Chronology of the Nordic Countries

Political dimension and divisions

The Nordic region has a mild political dimension in joint official bodies called the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

In the European Union, the Northern dimension refers to external and cross-border policies covering the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries, and Russia.

There exists a small split in Nordic participation in NATO and the European Union: The Western Nordic countries of Norway and Iceland are only members of NATO, while the Eastern Nordic countries of Finland and Sweden are only members of the European Union. Denmark alone participates in both organizations.

Flags and Symbols

Flags

All Nordic countries, including the autonomous territories of Faroe and Åland Islands, have a similar flag design, all based on the Dannebrog, the Danish flag. They display an off-center cross with the intersection closer to the hoist, the "Nordic cross".

Greenland and the Sami people have adopted flags without the Nordic cross, but they feature a circle which is placed off-center like the cross.

Symbol

The Nordic countries have recently adopted the bumblebee as the main feature of their common coat-of-arms.*"Hear the buzz as the Nordics bumble ahead", 'European Voice' (a subsidiary of The Economist), 16th March 2006 The Nordic countries have often been compared to the bumblebee. This is due to what their more southerly neighbours see as the 'heavy' yet successful nordic economic model, featuring high taxation and welfare spending and a restricted labour market; it is also often stated that, in theory, given its weight and wing size, the bumblebee should not be able to fly as well as it does. There may also be a social element to the choice of the bumblebee logo; the bumblebee is a highly social creature.

Areas with close relations to the Nordic countries

Shetland and Orkney

During World War II Shetland and Orkney were important bases for the Norwegian armed forces in exile. The Shetland Bus was based in Shetland and smuggled refugees, agents and supplies to and from Norway.

In later years financial relations, particularly in the maritime industries, have been important. Cultural and sporting exchanges are frequent. A genetic surveyshowed that 60% of the male population of Shetland and Orkney had Norwegian genes.

The traditional links to Scandinavia are reflected in the islands' flags, both of which are based around a Nordic cross:

Other regions of the British Isles have adopted symbols to allude to a similar Norse or Norse-Gaelic heritage ^*.

Estonia

In 1999, Estonian Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves gave a speech entitled "Estonia as a Nordic Country" to the Swedish Institute for International Affairs. In 2003, the foreign ministry also hosted an exhibit called "Estonia: Nordic with a Twist." In 2005, Estonia also joined the European Union's Nordic Battalion Group and shows interest in joining the Nordic Council.

Others

Finally, the northernmost part of Germany, Schleswig on the Jutland peninsula, had a Nordic identity up until its transfer to Germany in the mid 19th century and its subsequent Germanization. Today, the Nordic character of Schleswig's society and its inhabitants is not very pronounced.

See also

• Subdivisions of the Nordic countries
• Scandinavia
• Baltic countries
• Baltic region
• Northern Europe
• Nordic Cross
• Thule
• Northern Dimension

External links

• Nordic FAQ - For a full definition and many facts about the Nordic countries
• Nordic Council
• NordRegio Statistics - A collection of thematic maps of Nordic and Baltic countries
• Historical Atlas of Scandinavia
• Scandinavia Files - Introduction and facts on Nordic culture and life.

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