#Srsly if anyone writes a fanfic where Denmark gets cinnamon please I need to read it

[someone-you-do-not-know]

Denmark and cinnamon (and also pepper)

I know people say us northern countries don't use spices. But. Like. You guys need to know about Denmark and cinnamon. Because I checked on AO3, and Denmark has no fanfics about any of the following.

Denmark should be obsessed and a little addicted to cinnamon. For like. Reasons.

You all know cinnamon rolls, right? Not the character type, the actual pastry. Well, there's a Danish version of it.

Back in 2013, Danish bakeries were in some real danger, because the EU were starting to regulate coumarin, which in large doses (like really big) causes liver damage, and is found in cinnamon – especially the Chinese cinnamon type, which is the one found everywhere in Denmark. Including in our cinnamon rolls. In fact, the amounts in bakerybought cinnamon rolls exceeded the amount allowed by EU regulations – do note that regulations are different for seasonal food (classified as traditional), which is probably the only reason most of Danish Christmas cookies and risengrød stayed safe. Swedish cinnamon rolls were safe because they were classified as traditional in the beginning, because damn those Swedes. But. Instead of reducing the amount of cinnamon in the cinnamon rolls, the relevant organisations in Denmark went together to find a way to keep the cinnamon rolls full of cinnamon the way we like it. And in 2014, they managed to get the traditional classification, and our cinnamon rolls were safe to poison us! :D (honestly, don't worry, just like, don't eat 5 Danish cinnamon rolls every day and don't give kids a bunch of cinnamon to eat.)

But if you thought that's the only weird thing Denmark has with cinnamon, think again! We are VERY weird about cinnamon in DK!

So, in English, we refer to unmarried women (typically older) as spinsters if we're rude, and the male equivalent is bachelor, but that doesn't have the same negative implication. In Danish, we can be rude to men and women for being older and unmarried, we call them "pebermø" (pepper maiden) and "pebersvend" (pepper guy). The latter was actually used in regards to German spice traders in the 1500s who were not allowed to marry while travelling. But here comes the fun part. If you're not married when you turn 30, then you are officially a pepper maiden/pepper guy (clearly we need a nonbinary option). And that should be celebrated! How, you ask?

Well, there's a few different ways. The classic one is recieve a pepper grinder or food items containing pepper. That's if your friends are nice. 😈 If they're not nice, they might just pour a few kilograms of pepper on you. Hope you didn't put on any nice, white clothes, they're ruined now.

Now, in Jutland, some people thought waiting until your friends turned thirty was too long. What if they'd never get to give their friends any pepper? D: This had to be solved, so everyone could get spices thrown at them in wasteful amounts that would disgust even medieval royalty.

The solution? Cinnamon.

For your 25th birthday, if your friends love you, they give you a nice little cinnamon roll (I got that for mine). If they don't...........?

Remember the cinnamon challenge? It's a bit like that, except you don't have to eat it. Here's a picture from a webstore specialising in "gifts" for the unmarried 25 or 30 year old:

We call it "få kanel" (get cinnamon). This was a PSA, please write Denmark more obsessed with cinnamon.