Great Danes, Happy Danes!

This evening I did something very out of character for me; I watched 60 Minutes. Of course, it's not the first time. I watch religiously when Anderson has a report airing. Tonight, however, I was at loose ends and decided to turn it on and see if he was on or not. Usually you hear ahead of time when Anderson is on, but I hadn't heard anything and wanted to make sure. So I turn it on and pay very little attention to the first story. It's about some drug that should have been taken off the market. Frankly, I don't know if they ever did take it off. It was just background noise as I checked my email and a couple of blogs.
The second report for some reason captured my attention. It was about Denmark having the happiest people of any other country. Apparently the Swedes on one side are healthier and the Norwegians are richer. However, the Danes are happier, or as the one young man put it, more contented. It seems they don't have high expectations so they aren't disappointed. They do pay more taxes than we do, but the average work week is 37 hours, college is free, and the young man was getting paid to not work. He was on paternity leave. Yes, the Danes are paid to stay home for 6 months and care for their newborn babies. I guess you could say they aren't driven, type A personalities, or workaholics; but they are content and find joy in family and friends and the simple things.
I don't remember the reporter (I know, if it was Anderson I wouldn't have forgotten),anyway, he seemed surprised at Denmark being a great place to live saying it certainly couldn't be because of the weather. I think his words were "the weather is only so-so". It didn't seem too bad to me. People were on the streets wrapped in warm coats with fur collars. It sort of reminded me of the Christmas song "Silver Bells", children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile. And above all the bustle ......, well, you get the idea. The shot of people ice skating, laughing and holding hands showed that you don't need warm temperatures and scorching sunshine to enjoy yourself.
In fact, sometimes it's more fun when it's cold. You have a good excuse to get close and stay warm! My reasoning is, when it's cold you can always put more on to get warm, but there is only so much you can take off!

To learn more about the study and the various hypotheses as to why Denmark finds itself on top of the happiness heap, read the full story on http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/14/60minutes/main3833797.shtml

screen cap courtesy of Sahira, merci beaucoup!