Yes, we all know that Hobbits are a short, merry folk who make their living as simple farmers, and who live in a hole in the ground. We also know that Danes are tall people, emotionally reserved, less than three-percent of whom still farm, and all of whom live very much above the ground. Nevertheless, there is something about Danes that reminds me irresistibly of the Hobbits. Maybe it’s their love of ale or of breaking into song. Maybe it is their excessive smoking habits. Either way, there are some interesting parallels to be drawn between the land of The Shire and the Kingdom of Denmark. Some of these comparisons are, of course, rather superficial, but still a lot of fun to ponder.
Hobbits are known for enjoying the comfort of their homes. The home represents all that is wholesome and good. It is a place for family and friends to come together, shut themselves off from the perils of the outside world, and enjoy a candle-lit meal and lengthy conversation. The same is true of the Danish home. They have even have a word for it, hygge, meaning coziness and comfort. Danish hygge involves many of the same elements, especially the candlelight.
Food in Denmark is also a lot like what I would imagine Hobbits eat. Traditional Danish cuisine consists of barley, potatoes, rye, roots, greens, berries, and mushrooms, the last of which we are told Hobbits are particularly fond of. A large portion of Danish foods are also grown organically, much like they would have been in a pre-industrial Shire. Like Hobbits, Danes are also great lovers of beer. Denmark is the seventh highest consumer of beer per capita in the world, at over 23 gallons per person per year.
Another intriguing similarity between The Shire and Denmark is how they perceive outsiders. Hobbits are notoriously distrustful of outsiders, and to an extent so are Danes. I have written before about the issues Denmark is currently having now that there are a large number of immigrants living in Denmark, the same would probably be true in the Shire. At the same time, there is a lot of well-meaning animosity between the different farthings of the Shire. We hear a lot about how Hobbits of Hobbiton think Bucklanders are a queer-folk, much in the way that Zealanders in Copenhagen love making fun of the residents of Western Jutland.
In a little known chapter of the Lord of The Rings, The Scouring of the Shire, Frodo and the Hobbits return to their homeland to find it under the control of a puppet leader, Lotho Sackville-Baggins, who everyone knows is under the control of the evil wizard Saruman. Much like the Danes during WWII, most of the Hobbits are quietly complacent, preferring the peacefully accept the circumstances. However, a small resistance faction eventually contributed to the downfall of Saruman/Nazi Germany.
Finally, in the ultimate marriage of Danish environmental consciousness and Hobbit aesthetics, I give you the Low-Impact Woodland Home. It looks like a Hobbit-hole, but it is really an ecologically sound home, built from scratch, with special consideration taken to how it would impact the environment.
