Archive for 'Culture'
The Swedish welfare state Posted by Stephen Maconi on Oct 24, 2016
In the world outside of Sweden and the Nordic countries, there is a common understanding that Sweden is very “left-wing” in the sense that it is very much a welfare state. The common belief is that government subsidies land in the hands of private people on a regular basis, and that high taxes are…
Way out West Posted by Tibor on Aug 31, 2016
The Way Out West music festival is one of the biggest events in Gothenburg and also in Sweden. Gothenburg will constantly do things differently than the capital. Sometimes it succeeds sometimes it’s less of an accomplishment. The line-up is fancier and fancier every year and the rumors tell that the management organizing probably the festival…
Monica Zetterlund – Trubbel (with English subs) Posted by Tibor on Aug 29, 2016
Monica Zetterlund, born Eva Monica Nilsson, was a Swedish singer who mostly recorded jazz work. She began by learning the classic jazz songs from radio and records. She didn’t know the language and what they sang about in English but because of her strong will and hard work, she put her had to it. She was…
Glad Midsommar! Posted by Tibor on Jun 24, 2016
Glad Midsommar gott folk! The Midsummer eve that we are actually celebrating today is also known as St. John’s Day (English) or Juhannus (Finland) Szent-Iván éj (Hungary). The tradition has pagan origins. In Sweden we celebrate always on the weekend of the summer soltice so actually the longest day has already been on the 21st…
13 skills you need in Sweden Posted by Tibor on Mar 15, 2016
This article is so spot-on on the skills needed to live in Sweden, that I translated to English just for you guys. Enjoy! http://www.cafe.se/13-skills-du-behover-for-att-klara-dig-i-sverige/ 13 skills you need to live in Sweden In every country there are things that are specific to the place and the culture. And to survive in Sweden it is important to…
Leap Year in Sweden Posted by Marcus Cederström on Feb 29, 2016
February of 2016 has twenty-nine days instead of twenty-eight. In Swedish, that’s called a skottår and February 29 is called skottdag. Nothing too exciting about that. Skott, according to Institutet för språk och folkminnen [the Institute for Language and Folklore], essentially means “to add” in this case. So skottdag is just a day that is…
Swedish Blueberry Soup Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jan 29, 2016
First, to clear things up, blåbärssoppa is technically made with bliberries. Bilberries, sometimes known as European blueberries, are the berries that Swedes call blåbär, which translates directly to blueberry. But blueberries that we find in the United States are not the same. I know. It’s all very confusing. The blåbär that you find in Sweden…