David from Oregon very astutely pointed out that it was Father’s Day (Fars dag) today in Sweden. He wanted to know how it’s normally celebrated. But because I’m the worst daughter ever (in fact, next week I will visit my dad for the first time in about 17 years, yes shame on me, I know, I know…) I had to pass the question to someone more inclined to fulfill her filial duty. So this morning I called my friend, Malin.

A: What are you doing for Father’s Day?
M: Oh, dunno… Haven’t thought about it yet.
A: Ehmm, ehmm… Isn’t it, like, cutting it close?
M: Wait, you said “Father’s Day”???
A: Yeah, it’s today…
M: Oh *&%#!

So, before lunch we drove her to Ica MAXI where she could purchase a suitable Father’s Day cake. Because it was Sunday, Systemet was of course closed. Malin’s dad likes whiskey, and she was going to get him an expensive bottle of something aged for at least 12 years in an oak barrel. But that will have to wait until tomorrow.

The Father’s Day cakes looked rather pitiful (see the photo above), and so we decided on a big slab of Budapest tårta instead. This being Sunday, our options were rather limited. And as it happens I rather like Budapest tårta, even though it’s nothing but a huge creamy cholesterol bomb.
Malin also picked up a carton of beer, a bag of chips and the new Indiana Jones movie on DVD. I suggested a book, Ica MAXI has a whole slew of paperbacks to choose from, but she gave me that “you can’t be serious” look, so we paid and left.

I drove her to her dad’s place and when she was getting out of the car, she looked at me reproachfully and said “next time can you remind me at least a day before, please?”

I don’t know if this was a “typical” Father’s Day celebration (I sure hope not!) but it seems that the holiday is treated almost as an afterthought. Sure, there were TV commercials for all the useless things that the marketing/advertising people think fathers would want. Meh… It’s the same the world over. A few stores downtown had sales on the manly stuff, like dress shirts and drill bits and rubber boots, and that seemed pretty much it. At least in our town.

Father’s Day in Sweden was initially celebrated in June, but then various commercial organizations wanted it moved, so it wouldn’t compete with Mother’s Day (Mors dag), but now, when it’s celebrated on the second Sunday in November, it seems that most people are already in their Advent-window lights mode. Poor dads…

So, let’s recap in Swedish:

Fars dag är en högtid då barn firar sina fäder och inträffar i Sverige den andra söndagen i november. Fars dag firas samtidigt i hela Skandinavien, förutom i Danmark där den firas den 5 juni.