Archive for 'Culture'
7 Swedish Summer Tunes Posted by Chelsea B on Jun 4, 2021
Sveriges nationaldag (Sweden’s National Day) is this weekend. A sea of blue and yellow flags, and a chorus of Du gamla, du fria will ring out on June 6, live from the National Day celebration in Stockholm. But for me, nationaldagen is my cue that summer is in full swing. There’s something about the first…
Rhubarb: A Northern Climate Favorite Posted by Chelsea B on May 28, 2021
Is it a weed? Is it a delectable garden treat? One thing is for sure, rhubarb is a classic Swedish ingredient. It’s a plentiful perennial here in Minnesota, too. As a kid, I would head out to the garden with a bowl of sugar, hack off a stalk or two of this sweet and sour…
8% of Swedes Celebrate Religious Festival Eid Posted by Chelsea B on May 14, 2021
Over 800,000 Swedish Muslims are celebrating the end of the fasting month Ramadan with the religious celebration Eid al-Fitr. Although Covid-protocols have put a damper on celebrations this year, we’ll honor Eid with this post and learn why it’s one of the most important happenings for over 8% of the Swedish population, and Muslims globally…
The Swedish Kitchen Series: Grillfest Posted by Chelsea B on Apr 29, 2021
The snow’s gone, the trees are starting to bud, vaccines are rolling out, kan vi ha en grillfest nu då?! A grillfest is the Swedish equivalent of a barbecue. With the Swedish spring festival Valborg happening this week, you can bet that Swedes will be christening their grills for the season. This week we’ll pay…
11 Swedish Slang Words and Their Meanings Posted by Chelsea B on Apr 23, 2021
Mastering slang in your foreign language is not always smooth sailing. Use it well and you’ll impress native speakers. Use a word incorrectly and you risk being misunderstood, or maybe even embarrassing yourself a little bit… but wouldn’t you say that also just comes with the territory of navigating the deep waters of language learning?…
Volvo Offers Parental Leave for 40,000 Global Employees Posted by Chelsea B on Apr 16, 2021
Free daycare and education, state healthcare, and a whopping 480 days of parental leave. Say what?! The Nordic countries have long been shining examples of the welfare system with state-subsidized benefits aplenty. Sweden especially boasts that it’s one of the most family-friendly countries in the world due to its generous parental leave. Volvo has recently…
Celebrating Swedish bibliotek for National Library Week Posted by Chelsea B on Apr 9, 2021
It’s National Library Week in the U.S. so this post is dedicated to the Swedish bibliotek! We’ll begin by reviewing some helpful nouns and verbs for visiting the library, discover how public libraries work in Sweden, and highlight Kungliga biblioteket, the National Library of Sweden. If you’re expecting a demure post this week because of…