"Mojn" is a common greeting in Danish Sønderjylland (South Jutland), used at all times of the day, as a greeting, goodbye or just in passing. On the west coast, however, it is more of a farewell greeting. In German Schleswig-Holstein, however, the most common use is "Moin, Moin“ and never used to say goodbye. "Moin" and "Moin-Moin" are equivalent to "Guten Tag" (good day) and a passing greeting.
Originally, "mojn" or "Moin" hails from the Berlin area and is the dialectal pronunciation of the greeting "Morgen!" (good morning). In the period after 1900, craftsmen, commercial travellers and conscripts took the greeting with them from there to this region. Some Danes in Sønderjylland, however, felt that this was a "Germanisation" of the Danish language after 1920 and wanted to have the "Mojn" banned, but this was not successful. In the meantime, the greeting has developed from a national bone of contention to a symbol of South Jutland identity. Lately, the greeting "hej" (hi!), which comes from Sweden, is on the increase. In Schleswig-Holstein, "Moin" has never been associated with nationalist sentiments. It is simply a regional greeting.
