Scandinavian Influence in Germany (Freedom Ascendant)

There is a marked influence coming from Scandinavia in Germany due in part to historic migrations, but more recently due to the Wirtschaftswunder requiring a large number of guest workers, who later were allowed to bring in spouses and girlfriends, though a number of these guest workers would go on to marry German women, as there was still a surplus after the second World War. They brought with them their language, food, drinks, mannerisms, political leanings, and even cultural tendencies, which caused a shift to the somewhat conservative German culture.

Number of Guest Workers
Year    Guest Workers   Spouses/Girlfriends Brought Over 1961	 52,000 	1962	 53,000 	1963	 51,850 	 84,193 1964	 52,900 	 65,981 1965	 54,114 	 61,133 1966	 56,943 	 59,683 1967	 53,173 	 49,733 1968	 52,466 	 47,867 1969	 51,031 	 44,819 1970	 53,033 	 39,772 1971	 52,513 	 36,466 1972	 51,044 	 35,155 1973	 49,877 	 22,353

Food
A variety of new foods were introduced into Germany, such as Smörrebröd (Danish smørrebrød), a type of open-face sandwich

Drinks
From Sweden, Mumma has become a popular Christmas drink, along with Wacholderbeerengetränk (Juniper berry soft drink), Fruchtsoda (Fruktsoda, a lemon-lime soft drink), Trocadero, and the alcohol called 'Brännwinn.' From Norway and Sweden, Akewitt, and the Danish tendency to drink coffee (Kaffee in German) influenced the creation of Sternhausenkaffee (Sternhausen coffee), by Michael and Caroline Sternhausen (née Sprogøe) in 1971. Holunderblütengetränk (Elderflower drink), Honigwein (mead), and various fruit wines have become common throughout Germany.

Music
An interest in ancient German songs was awoken by the workers who came over, influenced by those who were discovering ancient instruments in Viking burial sites. They found the lur (a sort of trumpet), wood flutes, drums, and simple string instruments. Especially those who married German women were exposed to older German Christian poems, ballads, and other songs, and started putting them to music. Instruments like the hurdy-gurdy, nyckelharpa, autoharp, dulcimer, and the recorder became more becoming more well-known by bands such as die mittelalterliche Mägde, Faun, and a number of others.

The Mägde would go on to sing the theme song to the RTL series Martin Luther.

A wide revival in classical and opera came about from a number of these guest workers, also bringing with them the band Fesseln, with Hildegard Brandner, Julia Obermaier, Heidi von Gerkan, and Alexi Kaulitz performing various string instruments with a synthpop addition to various compositions like the 1812 overture.

Cultural Shifts
Brought up in Scandinavian culture, many of the Danish had this concept called hygge, meaning "a form of everyday togetherness", "a pleasant and highly valued everyday experience of safety, equality, personal wholeness and a spontaneous social flow," shortened to coziness or comfortableness. They brought and spread this concept wherein they would spend time with friends, grilling Wurst, drinking a beer, and enjoying the company of friends. The Christmas version is called Julhyggen in German, and the concept's spread is the reason why Germany scores so high on happiness.

Blonde became a very attractive hair color, with a number of brunettes dying their hair blonde. A number of Scandinavian women went on to pose in men's magazines, and to star in movies as the love interest for the male lead. To this day, most German men will poll that they prefer a blonde to a brunette, and blue/green eyes to brown eyes when asked.

Traditional Germanic dress became slightly more common at festivals like Sommersonnenwende (Midsummer), with the dirndl, lederhosen, and other regions' tracht being worn more commonly.

Political Shifts
The incoming guest workers were unable to vote till at least 1977, when numbers of them started gaining citizenship, the last of them gaining citizenship by 1981. They had all gained fluency in German, and wanted a voice in their adopted country. These Scandinavian-Germans were slightly more liberal in their worldviews than the Germans around them, slowly shifting some attitudes towards a slightly socialist policy, without saying so. Germany did manage to pass