Icelandic nationalism
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Þjóðernishyggja is the Icelandic term for nationalism; nationmindedness is a rough translation of the term. Its use was instrumental in the Icelandic movement for independence from Denmark. This term, however, long preceded the rise of Nazism in Germany. Therefore þjóðernishyggja as it was used at the time has very little to do with Nazism, Fascism or other similar extremes of nationalism. Enmity against other nations was not part of the pack and parcel, with the possible exception of the Danes, who, after all, were the governing nation of Iceland at the time.
Þjóðernishyggja is now commonly used to refer to nationalistic ideologies, but for patriotism Icelandic has another word: Föðurlandsást, i. e. Love of one's country. There is a drastic difference between the two, and while most Icelanders would probably count themselves as being some sort of patriots, outright nationalism is much rarer. The difference is mainly, if the English language is anything to go by, that nationalism refers to a belief in the superiority of one's country and culture to the detriment of everybody else, but patriotism would refer to a natural love or fondness of one's own cultural roots, while accepting similar sentiments in others.
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