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Archive for 'Traditions'

5 essentials of Melodifestivalen Posted by on Mar 3, 2022

Power ballads. Wild costumes. Great production value. Campy humor. Melodifestivalen is here! Each year, Sweden holds a competition to select their entry for the Eurovision song contest. This colossal televised event shakes up Swedish pop culture for several weeks each spring as millions of viewers cheer on their favorite Swedish acts. If you’re into schlager, this…

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Swedish Jul – A Christian Tradition with Pagan Roots Posted by on Dec 24, 2021

Swedish jul (Christmas) is more a cultural fixture than a religious observation. Its roots connect to the pagan Yuletide season, centered around the winter solstice – the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth came later. This week, we’ll discuss how modern Swedish jul tells the story of shared historical and religious practices. Roots of Yule…

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Say skål! Swedish Christmas Drinking Songs Posted by on Dec 3, 2021

It’s December – let the holiday festivities begin! Besides celebrating Christmas, Swedes enjoy advent and Lucia. Each holiday comes with a suite of songs that people know by heart. But at the dinner table with family and friends – a proper skål craves another type of jovial ballad – the snapsvisa. This week, we’ll cover…

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The Swedish Kitchen Series: Festmiddag Posted by on Nov 26, 2021

The holidays are upon us! And because I’ve been busy cooking Thanksgiving dishes today, I wanted to take another look at Svenska institutet’s booklet on Swedish food and traditions,“Det svenska köket.” Festmiddag (Dinner Party) is the last chapter of the book and reflects the culture of the sometimes formal, yet relaxed Swedish dinner party among…

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Into the Woods: Swedish Tree Vocabulary Posted by on Oct 22, 2021

Trees deserve all the credit. They provide us with clean air, the material to wood to build and heat our homes, so why don’t we know their names? Seems like the least we could do. To keep the skog momentum going from last week’s mushrooming post, I thought we should spend some time catching up…

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Sweden, A Mushroom-Loving Culture Posted by on Oct 15, 2021

Do you live in a mycophilic or a mycophobic culture? These adjectives of Greek origin mean either mushrooming-loving or the latter, mushroom-fearing. Foraging for wild mushrooms is commonplace in Nordic, Slavic, and Baltic countries, yet it’s not a tradition that’s taken root with American immigrant culture. Swedish youngsters grow up learning how to safely identify…

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Celebrate Pride with Swedish Queer Vocabulary Posted by on Jun 18, 2021

June is recognized as Pride Month all around the world. With Sweden’s long progressive stance on gay rights, it’s no surprise that Swedes host more Pride celebrations per capita than any country in the world. From rainbow-painted park benches and crosswalks in cities like Malmö and Göteborg to the Stockholm Pride parade drawing half a…

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