Archive for 'Living in Sweden'
Hej då! A farewell re-cap of favorite Swedish blogs Posted by Chelsea B on Apr 4, 2022
Allt gott har ett slut, all good things must come to an end. The Transparent Language Swedish blog is being discontinued so it’s time to say hej då kära läsare (goodbye, dear readers!). From Swedish grammar to music, food, and culture, we’re covered a lot of content together over the last few years. Don’t worry…
Study Swedish in the subway Posted by Chelsea B on Mar 17, 2022
Bank with us. Check out our new exhibit! Looking for something tasty for dinner? Stockholm’s tunnelbana (subway) might as well be a marketing agency, because it’s packed with advertisements. Good ads pose a question, make a demand, or grab your attention with a familiar face or flashy artwork. This week we’ll study three different…
5 essentials of Melodifestivalen Posted by Chelsea B 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…
Proposed Gállok mine threatens Sámi Posted by Chelsea B on Feb 10, 2022
Sámi folkets dag or Sámi People’s/National Day is celebrated each year on February 6. Typically a celebration of culture and traditional ways, in recent years it’s also become a time for people to connect via political activism. This year, conversations revolved around the impact of the proposed iron ore mine in the Gállok area within…
Swedish Jul – A Christian Tradition with Pagan Roots Posted by Chelsea B 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…
The Swedish Kitchen Series: Festmiddag Posted by Chelsea B 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…
New Science Backs Viking Debut in North America Posted by Chelsea B on Oct 29, 2021
Just when the Vikings start to fall out of fashion, they do it again. Scientists utilized a new dating technique to reinforce that not only were the Vikings the first Europeans to reach the North American continent, we now have an exact year. In 1021, centuries before Columbus even thought of crossing the Atlantic, the…