A sea of red and white flooded City Hall square in Copenhagen in 1992. The cheers echoed all the way to Sweden. Victory over their old rivals Germany in the European Championships of that year is etched in the memory of every Dane.
For the rest of Europe, particularly the officials in Brussels, 1992 marked a stressful year in European integration. On June 2nd, as the nation's football stars hurriedly prepared for a competition they had qualified for only by default, the Danish people rejected the Maastricht Treaty in a national referendum despite support from government and opposition politicians for a Yes vote.
Thankfully for the Brussels officials, the government called a second referendum and this time voters gave the required Yes vote.
This year, the Danes prepare for the World Cup finals in France. At the Folketinget, the Danish parliament, politicians try to dismiss similarities between 1992 and 1998. When the footballers take to the pitch in France, Danes once more go to the polls, this time for a referendum on the Amsterdam Treaty.
On Holy Thursday, one of the few traffic jams in Denmark signals the trek across the Danish-German border by thousands of shoppers to take advantage of the lower taxes on beer and cigarettes. While the shops in Denmark shut for the day, and flags fly at half-mast in memory of the German occupation in 1942, Danes mark the day by invading the border towns of northern Germany.
In the border city of Flensburg the pedestrian street is more like Stroeget, the main shopping street in Copenhagen. Most of the shop attendants are bilingual and capable of converting currency with the speed of a calculator.
However, it is not all one-way traffic at the border. Germans regularly cross to Denmark for holidays and more exotic products. While Danes head south for spirits, Germans cross the border for sex, or at least for the large sex stores located yards inside Denmark.
In the spirit of New Europe, Danes are trying very hard to like the Germans, yet they fear Germany is trying to take over Europe. Every summer thousands of German tourists flock to Denmark's west coast for its golden beaches. As one Danish shopkeeper put it, they fear waking up one morning to find the Germans have bought Jutland and turned it into a windsurfing centre.
Most Danes support closer European integration. However, they believe their society has developed further than their European neighbours: their social security system is certainly more advanced. There is little homelessness and unemployment benefit is one of the highest in Europe.
Some fear closer ties with Europe will force them to lower their standards due to European immigrants milking their social welfare. Already an influx of immigrants and refugees has left some school classes with no Danish pupils. Any further softening of border controls is seen as a step too far for many.
Another troublesome point for pro-European Danes is the issue of harmonisation, especially in the area of the environment. Long lines of windmills tower above the flat landscape. Danes carefully sort their refuse and local rubbish dumps are called recycling centres. Most bottles carry a deposit which is redeemed when returned to the shop.
This practice was objected to by the European Commission since it put imported beer at a disadvantage. The Danes argued that the environment was more important than competition laws.
Today's Danes are peaceful people. The only helmeted warriors on the streets are bikers. However, among its 406 islands there is a strong diversity of opinion, well represented by a plethora of political parties. Any party getting 2 per cent or more of the popular vote is guaranteed parliamentary representation.
Despite this diversity all Danes remain proud of their nation, demonstrating this with the red and white Dannebrog, the national flag.
