Finally, the last element that partially contributed to the Danish success with the coronavirus crisis relates to “hygge”. This Danish concept cannot be translated into one single word – it encompasses a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being through the enjoyment of the simple things in life; it is such an important part of being Danish that it is considered "a defining feature of our cultural identity and an integral part of the national DNA," according to Meik Wiking, the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen. In his book, Wiking states: “What freedom is to Americans….hygge is to Danes”. This last statement illustrates how much Danes enjoy staying at home with their family and benefitting from all the “hyggelige moments” – the simple moments that life has to offer. The downside of this attitude, critics would say, may be a reluctance of the Danes to relinquish this idea of Denmark as a “fairy tale country”, an idea that derives directly from the well-known fairy tales of the famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. This aspect may also contribute to a difficulty in entering the global world scene. Nevertheless, the strong sense of responsibility for their small country may have benefitted the Danes during the current coronavirus pandemic. The opposite is not necessarily true for southern European countries where life is spent outside home, mostly with friends, but not necessarily at home with the family. As a consequence, the lockdown for a Dane is a natural continuity of daily life, as opposed to a lockdown for a French or Italian, that may be perceived as a prison sentence!
Overall, it is probably not a single factor, but the sum of different factors, that together have contributed to the effective management of the coronavirus crisis, and also explains why Denmark is the first European country to slowly and gradually re-open its society, at a time when the surrounding countries are still under severe lockdown.