Nordic

Nordic countries
- history re terminology

• the first congress of nordic historians in lund, sweden, was held in 1905 with mainly swedish and danish participants.  The norwegian historians stayed at home.  A few swedish-speaking historians from finland participated, but the majority of finnish speakers stayed at home. This can be interpreted as a general anti-swedish protest, because its targets were both swedish speaking academic minority in finland and the swedes of sweden (rikssvenskar). 
• nordic orientation made its final breakthrough in finland in 1935 when the weakness of the league of nations had become all too obvious and the threat of soviet occupation was increasing

- view on scottish independence

• Scotland debate stirs mix of fears and hopes in Nordic region 
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/3c242618-3758-11e4-8472-00144feabdc0.html

- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/65438762-6fef-11e4-a0c4-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3JfYXFcWJ Cracks are beginning to appear in the vaunted Nordic model. The four main Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – still grace the top of most global rankings for happiness, competitiveness, the best place to be a woman and even the best place to be born. That has won them a legion of admirers, from Bill Gates to Scottish nationalists and The Economist, the news magazine, who marvel at the Nordic region’s ability to sustain big welfare systems and competitive economies. That feat looks all the more remarkable following a global financial crisis that has left western policy makers grappling with strained public finances, economic malaise and austerity. But among Nordic political and business leaders concerns are increasingly emerging about the model’s sustainability. In a series of interviews with the Financial Times, they pointed to mounting challenges from immigration, stagnating productivity, rising inequality and sluggish economic growth in Finland and Denmark as many called for urgent fixes.
- old idea of nordic federation (forbundsstaten norden) has been reinvented to increase nordic influence 

Association
- nordic council

• established in 1952 as an interparlimentary body, with the task of advising and making recommendations to the nordic governments
• nordic passport union in 1952
• joint labor market in 1954
• harmonisation of laws, such as the nordic convention on social security in 1955
• establishment of nordic council of ministers in 1971 to provide a forum for intergovernmental cooperation

- nordic association

• in the spring of 1899, the nordic association (nordisk forening) was established in copenhagen, with Poul La Cour as its first president. Association name implied a vague intention of including finland as an independent country, unlike the "finland dream" (based on swedish imageries of reunification with sweden). The association had a liberal danish profile

- Nordic Confederations of Industries

• letter to FT 27apr15 

- Nordic Jewellery Federation

• http://www.cibjo.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=745:scandinavian-national-jewellery-associations-unite-to-form-nordic-jewellery-federation-in-cibjo&catid=7:news&Itemid=251 National jewellery associations from Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden have come to together as united bloc within CIBJO, with the goal of raising the profile of the jewellery industry and trade in the Scandinavian region and collectively increasing their level of involvement in the World Jewellery Confederation. Called the Nordic Jewellery Federation, the new body gathers under its umbrella the National Board of the Jewellery and Watch Trade from Denmark, the Norwegian Goldsmith and Jewellers Association, the Finnish Goldsmith Association, and the Swedish Jewellery and Watch Industry Association. While the Danish and Norwegian organisations were already active in CIBJO, the new body brings the Finnish and Swedish Associations into the confederation.

- food

• http://nordicfoodlab.org

Company
- Stora Enso, swedish finnish paper and packaging group

Industry
- battery

• https://www.ft.com/content/29e1e89e-0273-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9 Two former Tesla executives are aiming to set up Europe’s first big battery factory in an attempt to rival Asian manufacturers that dominate the industry as the fight to power electric cars heats up.

people
- Erik Thorvaldsson (Old Norse: Eiríkr Þorvaldsson; 950 – c. 1003), known as Erik the Red (Old Norse: Eiríkr hinn rauði)^[1] was a Norwegian Viking, remembered in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland. The Icelandic tradition indicates that he was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Þorvald Ásvaldsson, he therefore also appears, patronymically, as Erik Thorvaldsson (Eiríkr Þorvaldsson). The appellation "the Red" most likely refers to his hair color^[2] and the color of his beard.^[3] Leif Erikson, the famous Icelandic explorer, was Erik's son.Erik the Red's father (Thorvald Asvaldsson) was banished from Norway for the crime of manslaughter^[4] when Erik was about 10 years old.^[5] He sailed West from Norway with his family and settled in Hornstrandir in northwestern Iceland.^[6] The Icelanders later sentenced Erik to exile for three years for killing Eyiolf the Foul around the year 982.^[7]

• The dispute was resolved at an assembly, the

- Sweyn Forkbeard (/sweɪn/; Old Norse: Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg;^[1] Danish: Svend Tveskæg; 960 – 3 February 1014) was king of Denmark from 986 to 1014. He was the father of King Harald II of Denmark, King Cnut the Great and Queen Estrid Svendsdatter. In the mid-980s, Sweyn revolted against his father, Harald Bluetooth, and seized the throne. Harald was driven into exile and died shortly afterwards in November 986 or 987.^[2] In 1000, with the allegiance of Trondejarl, Eric of Lade, Sweyn ruled most of Norway. In 1013, shortly before his death, he became the first Danish king of England after a long effort.

• according to bbc's horrible histories, swansea was named after him

welfare state model
- in mid-1930s, when the relatively swift recovery of scandinavian economies after the great depression achieved without abandonement of parliamentary democracy and market economy, gained foreign attention. In international media, travel reports and scholarly publications, sweden in particular was elevated to the status of a model for others to follow.
- publications to promote the model

• american journalist marquis child's sweden, the middle way (1936) to convince the american public of the new deal type of state interventionism. 
• in europe, british journalists as well s german and austrian political exiles, such as willy brandt, herbert wehner and bruno kreisky

- sweden model concept established by 1960s, sweden as "world's conscience". Attitude adopted by other nordic countries, resulting in a self image of benevolent helpers and outsiders in relation to colonialism. 

- nordic model concept only became widely known in 1980s

• danish sociologist gosta esping-andersen's the three worlds of welfare capitalism (1990) - three distinctive types of welfare regime: (1) the liberal (anglo-saxon) (2) conservative-corporatist (continental european) (3) social democratic (scandinavian)

- in crisis after 1989 due to the nordic welfare states' inability to pay for their extensive welfare progeams

Property
- http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3fbb0eee-268c-11e5-9c4e-a775d2b173ca.html

Fears of housing bubbles in the three Scandinavian capitals are rising, fuelled by unprecedented negative and record low interest rates in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Stories of frenzied bidding rounds and record-high prices are causing concern among policymakers and economists, as central banks in all three Scandinavian countries appear set to keep interest rates at historically low levels for several more years.

literature
- http://runeberg.org/  Project Runeberg (runeberg.org) is a volunteer effort to create free electronic editions of classic Nordic (Scandinavian) literature and make them openly available over the Internet.

language
- https://www.quora.com/How-did-Swedish-Norwegian-and-Danish-become-separated-languages
- v, w

• https://www.quora.com/When-did-V-replace-W-in-the-Swedish-and-Finnish-languages-and-what-was-the-reason-that-half-of-the-original-letter-was-cut-out

cuisine
- gravalex


www.nordicnames.de

• brandr is a nordic name

norse mythology
- Odin, also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan, one of the principal gods in Norse mythology. His exact nature and role, however, are difficult to determine because of the complex picture of him given by the wealth of archaeological and literary sources. The Roman historian Tacitusstated that the Teutons worshiped Mercury; and because dies Mercurii (“Mercury’s day”) was identified with Wednesday (“Woden’s day”), there is little doubt that the god Woden (the earlier form of Odin) was meant. Though Woden was worshiped preeminently, there is not sufficient evidence of his cult to show whether it was practiced by all the Teutonic tribes or to enable conclusions to be drawn about the nature of the god. Later literary sources, however, indicate that at the end of the pre-Christian period Odin was the principal god in Scandinavia.From earliest times Odin was a war god, and he appeared in heroic literature as the protector of heroes; fallen warriors joined him in Valhalla. The wolf and the raven were dedicated to him. His magical horse, Sleipnir, had eight legs, teeth inscribed with runes, and the ability to gallop through the air and over the sea. Odin was the great magician among the gods and was associated with runes. He was also the god of poets. In outward appearance he was a tall, old man, with flowing beard and only one eye (the other he gave in exchange for wisdom). He was usually depicted wearing a cloak and a wide-brimmed hat and carrying a spear.https://www.britannica.com/topic/Odin-Norse-deity
- Yggdrasil (from Old Norse Yggdrasill) is an immense mythical tree that plays a central role in Norse cosmology, where it connects the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that is center to the cosmos and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their things, traditional governing assemblies. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations; one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the dragon Níðhöggr, an unnamed eagle, and the stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. Conflicting scholarly theories have been proposed about the etymology of the name Yggdrasill, the possibility that the tree is of another species than ash, its connection to the many sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, and the fate of Yggdrasil during the events of Ragnarök.世界之树（古諾斯語：Yggdrasill），又稱為「宇宙樹」或「乾坤樹」，在北歐神話中，這個巨木的枝幹構成了整個世界。其音譯名為「尤克特拉希爾」。所謂「尤克」表示令人害怕之意，也是主神奧丁的另一個名字。而「特拉希爾」是指馬，因此組合起來就是「奧丁的馬」。其由來是因為奧丁曾經把自己吊在樹上，並用長槍—昆古尼爾刺傷自己，因而發現了盧恩字母。奧丁將此舉說是「騎馬」，世界之樹因此有了尤克特拉希爾之名。

此樹的樹種是白蠟樹（Fraxinus），高達天際。於此樹上衍生有九個王國：

• 米德加爾特或中庭（古諾斯語：Miðgarðr，英語：Midgard或Mannheim）：人類居住的世界。
• 阿斯加特（古諾斯語：Ásgarðr，英語：Asgard或Godheim，或Walhalla）：阿薩神族的國度，位在天上太陽與月亮中間，與人類世界可經由彩虹桥（Bifröst）相通，位於世界之樹最上層。
• 海姆冥界（Nibelheim或Helheim）：死之國，位於世界之樹最下層。
• 尼福爾海姆（Niflheim）：霧之國，冰天雪地的國度，病死及老死者的歸宿，位於北方。
• 穆斯貝爾海姆（Muspellheim）：火之國，位於南方。
• 約頓海姆（Jötunheim）：巨人之國，位於東方。
• 亞爾夫海姆（Álfheim）：白精靈（光之精靈）的國度，位於人類世界跟阿斯加特之間。
• 斯瓦塔爾法海姆或尼德威阿爾：黑暗精靈（svartálfar）或侏儒(dwarf)的國度，位於人類世界跟冥界之間。
• 華納海姆（Vanaheim）：華納神族（Vanir）的居所，位於西方。

其下有三根粗大的根：

• 第一根樹根深入阿斯嘉特（Asgard），根下有兀兒德之泉（Well of Urd），每日諸神會聚在泉水旁邊開會討論。此外還住著的諾倫三女神，亦即掌管命運的女神。
• 第二根樹根深入約頓海姆（Jothuheim）─巨人的居所，其根下有密米爾之泉（Mimir），是智慧與知識之泉，由密米爾所有。
• 第三根樹根深入尼福爾海姆（Niflheim）─霧之國，其樹根下有泉赫瓦格密爾（Hvergelmir）和一條不斷啃食樹根的邪龍「尼德霍格」（Nidhogg）。牠不停地咬著樹根，直到有一天當牠終能咬斷這株樹，諸神的黃昏（Ragnarok）就會來臨。

• any relation?

• yggdrasil inc (business consulting firm) www.yggdrasil.asia

• kevin huang managing director (kevin.huang@yggdrasil.asia), room d, 12/f man lok commercial building 89-93 bonham street east st sheung wan 

- [time travel]conception of world tree possibly goes back to bronze age
- in late 18th century, a wide reaching north atlantic realm incorporating norway, iceland, greenland and faroes developed a fervent ossianic interest in icelandic sagas and a mythical old norse identity
- Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle, foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures (including the godsOdin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. Afterward, the world will resurface anew and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet, and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors. Ragnarök is an important event in Norse mythology, and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory throughout the history of Germanic studies. The event is attested primarily in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In the Prose Edda, and in a single poem in the Poetic Edda, the event is referred to as Ragnarök or Ragnarøkkr (Old Norse "Fate of the Gods" and "Twilight of the Gods" respectively), a usage popularised by 19th-century composer Richard Wagner with the title of the last of his Der Ring des Nibelungen operas, Götterdämmerung (1876).
- In Norse mythology, Mjölnir (Old Norse: Mjǫllnir, IPA: [ˈmjɔlːnir]) is the hammer of Thor, a major Norse god associated with thunder. Mjölnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of leveling mountains.^[2][3][4] In his account of Norse mythology, Snorri Sturluson relates how the hammer was made by the dwarven brothers Sindri and Brokkr, and how its characteristically short handle was due to a mishap during its manufacture. Similar hammers (Ukonvasara) were a common symbol of the god of thunder in other North European mythologies.
- A troll is a class of being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. Later, in Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianized, and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them. Trolls are sometimes associated with particular landmarks, which at times may be explained as formed from a troll exposed to sunlight.

• https://www.quora.com/How-did-trolls-become-associated-with-bridges

- Rígsþula or Rígsmál ("Lay of Ríg") is an Eddic poem, preserved in the manuscript (AM 242 fol, the Codex Wormianus), in which a Norse god named Ríg or Rígr, described as "old and wise, mighty and strong", fathers the classes of mankind. The prose introduction states that Rígr is another name for Heimdall, who is also called the father of mankind in Völuspá. However, there seems to be some confusion of Heimdall and Odinn, see below. In Rígsþula, Rig wanders through the world and fathers the progenitors of the three classes of human beings as conceived by the poet. The youngest of these sons inherits the name or title "Ríg" and so in turn does his youngest son, Kon the Young or Kon ungr (Old Norse: konungr, king). This third Ríg was the first true king and the ultimate founder of the state of royalty as appears in the Rígsþula and in two other associated works. In all three sources he is connected with two primordial Danish rulers named Dan and Danþír. The poem Rígsþula is preserved incomplete on the last surviving sheet in the 14th-century Codex Wormianus, following Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda.^[1] A short prose introduction explains that the god in question was Heimdall, who wandered along the seashore until he came to a farm where he called himself Ríg. The name Rígr appears to be the oblique case of Old Irish rí, ríg "king", cognate to Latin rex, Sanskrit rajan.^[2] and Gothic reiks.
- Ríg-Jarl or Jarl was a son of the god Ríg. His wife Erna bore him eleven sons, the ancestors of the race of warriors in Norse society.

http://live-norish.com/

Historical Ingria (Finnish: Inkeri or Inkerinmaa; Russian: Ингрия, Ingriya, Ижорская земля, Izhorskaya zemlya, or Ингерманландия, Ingermanlandiya; Swedish: Ingermanland; Estonian: Ingeri or Ingerimaa) is the geographical area located along the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian Isthmus in the north and by the River Narva on the border with Estonia in the west. The Orthodox Izhorians, along with the Votes, are the indigenous people of historical Ingria. With the consolidation of the Kievan Rus and the expansion of the Republic of Novgorod north, the indigenous Ingrians became Greek Orthodox. Ingria became a province of Sweden in the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617 that ended the Ingrian War, fought between Sweden and Russia. After the Swedish conquest of the area in 1617 the Ingrian Finns, descendants of 17th-century Lutheran emigrants from present-day Finland, became the majority in Ingria. In 1710, following a Russian conquest, Ingria was designated as the Province of St. Petersburg. In the Treaty of Nystad (1721), Sweden formally ceded Ingria to Russia. In 1927 the Soviet authorities designated the area as Leningrad Province. Deportations of the Ingrian Finnsstarted in late 1920s, and Russification was nearly complete by the 1940s. As of 2015, Ingria forms the northwestern anchor of Russia—its "window" on the Baltic Sea—with Saint Petersburg as its centre. Ingria as a whole never formed a separate state (compare however North Ingria); the Ingrians, understood as the inhabitants of Ingria regardless of ethnicity, can hardly be said^{[by whom?]} to have been a nation, although the Soviet Union recognized their "nationality"; as an ethnic group, the Ingrians proper, Izhorians, are close to extinction together with their language. This notwithstanding, many people still recognize their Ingrian heritage. Historic Ingria covers approximately the same area as the Gatchinsky, Kingiseppsky, Kirovsky, Lomonosovsky, Tosnensky, Volosovsky and Vsevolozhsky districts of modern Leningrad Oblast as well as the city of Saint Petersburg. In the Viking era (late Iron Age), from the 750s onwards, Ladoga served as a bridgehead on the Varangian trade route to Eastern Europe. A Varangian aristocracydeveloped that would ultimately rule over Novgorod and Kievan Rus'. In the 860s, the warring Finnic and Slavic tribes rebelled under Vadim the Bold, but later asked the Varangians under Rurik to return and to put an end to the recurring conflicts between them.^{[citation needed]} The Swedes referred to the ancient Novgorodian land of Vod as "Ingermanland", Latinized to "Ingria". Folk etymology traces its name to Ingegerd Olofsdotter, the daughter of the Swedish king Olof Skötkonung (995–1022). Upon her marriage to Yaroslav I the Wise, Grand Prince of Novgorod and Kiev, in 1019, she received the lands around Ladoga as a marriage gift. They were administered by Swedish jarls, such as Ragnvald Ulfsson, under the sovereignty of the Novgorod Republic. In the 12th century, Western Ingria was absorbed by the Republic. There followed centuries of frequent wars, chiefly between Novgorod and Sweden, and occasionally involving Denmarkand Teutonic Knights as well. The Teutonic Knights established a stronghold in the town of Narva, followed by the Russian castle Ivangorod on the opposite side of the Narva River in 1492.

The Kalmar Union or Union of Kalmaris (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish: Kalmarunionen; Latin: Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union that from 1397 to 1523 joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then including Finland), and Norway, together with Norway's overseas dependencies (then including Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the Northern Isles). The Union was not quite continuous; there were several short interruptions. Legally the countries remained separate sovereign states, but with their domestic and foreign policies being directed by a common monarch. One main impetus for its formation was to block German expansion northward into the Baltic region. The main reason for its failure to survive was the perpetual struggle between the monarch, who wanted a strong unified state, and the Swedish and Danish nobility which did not. Diverging interests (especially the Swedish nobility's dissatisfaction with the dominant role played by Denmark and Holstein) gave rise to a conflict that would hamper the union in several intervals from the 1430s until its definitive breakup in 1523 when Gustav Vasa became king of Sweden. Norway continued to remain a part of the realm of Denmark–Norway under the Oldenburg dynasty for nearly three centuries until its dissolution in 1814. Then Union between Sweden and Norway lasted until 1905, when a grandson of the incumbent king of Denmark was elected its king, whose direct descendants still reign in Norway.

- uk

• In 1400 or 1401, King Henry suggested to Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden that an alliance be formed between England and the Kalmar Unionthrough a double wedding between Henry's daughter Philippa to the heir to the Nordic thrones, Eric of Pomerania, and Henry's son Henry to Eric's sister Catherine.^[3] Queen Margaret could not agree to the terms and the marriage between Henry and Catherine never occurred. In 1405, however, a Scandinavian embassy composed of two envoys from each of the three Nordic kingdoms arrived in England, and the marriage between Philippa and Eric was proclaimed. The 26 November 1405, Philippa was married to Eric by proxy in Westminster, with the Swedish nobleman Ture Bengtsson Bielke as the stand-in for the groom, and on 8 December, she was formally proclaimed Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the presence of the Nordic ambassadors. 

• Philippa was the first documented princess in history to wear a white wedding dress during a royal wedding ceremony: she wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine.^[5] The wedding ceremony was followed by her coronation. The festivities lasted until November, during which several men were knighted and Philippa's dowry was officially received by the court chamberlain and clerics from the three kingdoms.

Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway (Swedish: Svensk-norska unionen; Norwegian: Den svensk-norske union), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, or as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under a common monarch and common foreign policy that lasted from 1814 until its dissolution in 1905,^[3] before Sweden accepted Norway's leaving the union. The two states kept separate constitutions, laws, legislatures, administrations, state churches, armed forces, and currencies; the kings mostly resided in Stockholm, where foreign diplomatic representations were located. The Norwegian government was presided over by viceroys: Swedes until 1829, Norwegians until 1856. That office was later vacant and then abolished in 1873. Foreign policy was conducted through the Swedish foreign ministry until the dissolution of the union in 1905. Norway had been in a closer union with Denmark, but Denmark-Norway's alliance with Napoleonic France caused the United Kingdom and Russia to consent to Sweden's annexation of the realm as compensation for the loss of Finland in 1809 and as a reward for joining the alliance against Napoleon. By the 1814 Treaty of Kiel, the King of Denmark-Norway was forced to cede Norway to the King of Sweden. But Norway refused to submit to the treaty provisions, declared independence, and convoked a constituent assembly at Eidsvoll in early 1814. After the adoption of the new Constitution of Norway on 17 May 1814, Prince Christian Frederick was elected king. The ensuing Swedish-Norwegian War (1814) and the Convention of Moss compelled Christian Frederick to abdicate after calling an extraordinary session of the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, to revise the Constitution in order to allow for a personal union with Sweden. On 4 November the Storting elected Charles XIII as the King of Norway, thereby confirming the union. Continuing differences between the two realms led to a failed attempt to create a separate Norwegian consular service and then, on 7 June 1905, to a unilateral declaration of independence by the Storting. Sweden accepted the union's dissolution on 26 October. After a plebisciteconfirming the election of Danish Prince Carl as the new king of Norway, he accepted the Storting's offer of the throne on 18 November and took the regnal name of Haakon VII. On 7 January, about to be overrun by Swedish, Russian, and German troops under the command of the elected crown prince of Sweden, King Frederick VI of Denmark (and of Norway) agreed to cede Norway to the King of Sweden in order to avoid an occupation of Jutland. These terms were formalized and signed on 14 January at the Treaty of Kiel, in which Denmark negotiated to maintain sovereignty over the Norwegian possessions of the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. Article IV of the treaty stated that Norway was ceded to "the King of Sweden", and not to the Kingdom of Sweden – a provision favourable to his former Norwegian subjects as well as to their future king, whose position as a former revolutionary turned heir to the Swedish throne was far from secure. Secret correspondence from the British government in the preceding days had put pressure on the negotiating parties to reach an agreement in order to avoid a full-scale invasion of Denmark. Bernadotte sent a letter to the governments of Prussia, Austria, and the United Kingdom, thanking them for their support, acknowledging the role of Russia in negotiating the peace, and envisaging greater stability in the Nordic region. On 18 January, the Danish king issued a letter to the Norwegian people, releasing them from their fealty to him.
- hkej 9may17 shum article

肉桂卷日Kanelbullens dag infaller den 4 oktober.^[1] Den är en i Sverige och i Finland årlig temadag, instiftad 1999 av Kaeth Gardestedt.^[2] Hon var vid tidpunkten projektansvarig för Hembakningsrådet, historiskt en sammanslutning av jästtillverkare, mjöltillverkare, sockertillverkare och margarintillverkare som numera drivs av Dansukker.

Saint Lucy's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast daycelebrated on 13 December in Advent, commemorating Saint Lucy, a 3rd-centurymartyr under the Diocletianic Persecution, who according to legend brought "food and aid to Christians hiding in thecatacombs" using a candle-lit wreath to "light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible". Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feast day has become a festival of light.^[4][5] Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucy's Day is viewed as an event signaling the arrival of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the kalendar, onChristmas Day. Saint Lucy’s Day is celebrated most commonly in Scandinavia, with their long dark winters, where it is a major feast day, and inItaly, with each emphasising a different aspect of the story. In Scandinavia, where Saint Lucy is called Santa Lucia in Norwegian and Sankta Lucia in Swedish, she is represented as a lady in a white dress and red sash with a crown or wreath of candles on her head. In Norway, Sweden and Swedish-speaking regions of Finland, girls dressed as Lucy carry rolls and cookies in procession as songs are sung.^[8] Boys participate in the procession as well, playing different roles associated with Christmas. It is said that to vividly celebrate Saint Lucy's Day will help one live the long winter days with enough light. A special devotion to Saint Lucy is practiced in the Italian regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige, in the north of the country, and Sicily, in the south, as well as in Croatian coastal region of Dalmatia. In Hungary and Croatia, a popular tradition on Saint Lucy's Day involves planting wheat grains that will eventually be several centimetres high on Christmas, representing the Nativity.

HKEJ 30aug14 feature on nordic economic model and one country two systems a18-a20


indigenous people
- The Mari (Mari: мари, Russian: марийцы) are a Finno-Ugric ethnic group, who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama rivers in Russia. Almost half of Maris today live in the Mari El republic, with significant populations in the Bashkortostan and Tatarstan republics. In the past, the Mari have also been known as the Cheremis in Russian and the Çirmeş in Tatar. The Mari people consists of three different groups: the Meadow Mari, who live along the left bank of the Volga, the Mountain Mari, who live along the right bank of the Volga, and Eastern Mari, who live in the Bashkortostan republic.

Maris have traditionally practiced a pagan faith that closely connected the individual with nature. According to their beliefs, nature exerts a magical influence over people. They relate to it as a sacred, powerful, and living being outside of which man cannot exist. Nature serves as a source of absolute good who always helps man as long as he does not harm or oppose it.^[8]

• The Mari native religion also possesses a pantheon of gods who reside in the heavens, the most important of whom is known as the Great White God (Ош Кугу Юмо, Osh Kugu Yumo). Other lesser gods include the god of fire (Тул Юмо, Tul Yumo) and the god of wind (Мардеж Юмо, Mardezh Yumo). The Mari also believe in a number of half-men, half-gods (керемет, keremet) who live on earth. The most revered of these is Chumbulat (Чумбулат), or Chumbylat (Чумбылат), a renowned leader and warrior. Christianity was adopted by the Mari in the 16th century after their territory was incorporated into the Russian Empire during the reign of Ivan IV "the Terrible". Adoption of Christianity was not universal, however, and many Mari today still practice Paganism in syncretic forms, or purer forms adhering to organized Neopagan Mari Traditional Religion organizations. Pagans constitute a significant minority of 25 to 40% of the Mari. Most Mari are members of the Russian Orthodox Church.
• During the Soviet Era, the Mari Section was set up under the auspices of Narkomnats, the Peoples Commissariat for nationalities. Its task was to facilitate the close union of the Mari people with other people, to abolish anti-Russian mistrust and to raise the "class consciousness" of Mari workers. In practice this involved facilitating grain requisitions by the Soviet state, the recruitment of soldiers for the Red Army and the implementation of Bolshevik control of the society. During the Soviet Era, large numbers of ethnically Russian people were moved into traditionally Mari lands, significantly changing the demographics of the region, and making the Mari a minority in many parts of their homeland. Mari people were generally dis-empowered by these changes. What's more, Communist policies – officially aimed at combating undue influence of nationalism in a multi-nation union – in practice meant the murder of leading Mari figures, such as Sergei Čavajn and Olyk Ipai and other teachers, scientists and artists as well as religious and community leaders.
• The Evseev National Museum of the Republic Mari El is the oldest museum of the republic, the leader methodological and information centre for municipal and departmental museums of the republic that stores unique museum items and museum collections.  The museum actively cooperates with high-school and academic science, conducts archaeological and ethnographic researches on the territory of the republic and outside it. The international and regional theoretical and practical conferences, seminars and cultural actions as well as cooperation in the field of joint exhibition and research projects with the Castren Cultural Fund of Finland, the Museum department of Finland, the national museums of the Republic Mordovia and the Udmurt Republic are organized on the basis of the museum. 

Russia
- http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21701803-russian-aggression-pushing-finland-and-sweden-towards-nato-just-visiting
- Nordic nations restore Russia contacts. Sign of thawing relations as ministers meet for first time since Crimea seized. ft 1dec16

baltic
- The Kalmar War (1611–1613) was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark soon gained the upper hand, it was unable to defeat Sweden entirely. The Kalmar War was the last time Denmark successfully defended its dominium maris baltici against Sweden, and it also marked the increasing influence of the two countries on Baltic politics. 

china
- leaders visit

• President Xi Jinping vowed to push forward China's cooperation with northern Europe while meeting leaders of two countries from the region on Monday.Xi made the remark in meetings with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila. The two prime ministers are in China to attend the Summer Davos Forum, scheduled in Dalian, Liaoning province, through Wednesday.http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2017-06/27/content_29904428.htm

- parliament

•  Xi made the remark while meeting with a delegation of speakers from seven Nordic and Baltic countries, who are visiting China from Sunday to Saturday at the invitation of China's top legislator, Zhang Dejiang. It is the first time for the speakers from Nordic and Baltic countries to jointly visit China.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201801/11/WS5a5696ffa3102e5b173740a0.html

-  http://www.enca.com/technology/chinas-sinopec-taps-scandinavia-for-geothermal-technology At Sinopec, Duan Qiaohong, who is responsible for the Communist Party committee involved with the Sino-Icelandic joint venture, discussed the problem in veiled terms.
- health

• https://issuu.com/scandasia/docs/scnmag171000/1?e=1390318/54156270 China Nordic Countries International Healthcare Summit 

hk
- World Cultures Festival (WCF) will be held from October 18 to November 17 to showcase the artistic gems of five Nordic countries: Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland. An early bird discount of 30 per cent off all full-price tickets on stage programmes will be offered from today (August 5) to September 4.      Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the WCF programme encompasses music, dance, drama, literature, circus arts and more to engage audiences on the past, the present and the future through inclusive, people-oriented themes and a focus on key social issues.  https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201908/05/P2019080500704.htm

• festival partners: cg of finland, sweden in hk; university partners: school of translation of hang seng u, department of music of baptist u; jockey club museum of climate change; cedars of hku; wong bing lai music and performing arts unit of lingnan u