Lingonberry, bag-in-box and long johns Posted by jennie on Jun 30, 2011 in Uncategorized
Do you have a collection of Ittala-glasses with the stickers left on at home? Does anyone in your family own either a Soda streamer or a spike mat? Have you ever had stick insect as a pet? Do you take it as a compliment if anyone tells you that you are “so un-Swedish?” Do you have plastic bags that are a bit too nice to put rubbish in? Do you even choose a “nicer” plastic bag to put the present in when you go to a party?
If your answer is YES to all of the above questions, you are most likely a born and bred Swede! At least according to the very entertaining card game “Lingon, lådvin och långkalsonger” (Lingonberry, bag-in-box and long johns), who rewards 3 points per YES to all of the above questions. The game is easy. 300 questions, all very Swedish and stereotypical, and you score points depending on how Swedish you are.
On the other hand, if you reply YES to any of the following questions:
Do you have a beer/glass of wine with your lunch? Have you ever been to the cinema alone? Have you ever smoked anything stronger than cigarettes? Do you use the shower gel left in the shower at the gym if you forgot your own? Well, then you lose points, as you are clearly behaving very non-Swedish. The game is easy as pie – and very entertaining, even for non-Swedes.
Want to win the game? That is easy as pie as well! Just drop us a comment and tell us what you think is typical Swedish behaviour -and why. A very Swedish jury – consisting of me and only me – will pick a lucky winner on July 11!
Lycka till!
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Comments:
Lisa:
My grandma always used to make coffe with lots of cream and sugar and dunk toast with peanut butter on it, when I was young, I didn’t like the coffee much, so she would always tell me I wasn’t a very good sweede! All my relatives tend to drink coffee after meals, always with lots of cream…. just the way they do in sweeden?(don’t know never been there, but that is what I have been told). I think it would be great to have the game, “Lingon, lådvin och långkalsonger” if I don’t win it is it available to buy in the USA? If so, where?
roselyn:
Hello
What is very swedish is to take off your shoes before entering a house in Sweden.
Dave S:
Strange… I’ve never seen restaurants with coolers of (light) beer or beer taps available to patrons at lunch until moving to Sweden, nor people who have beer with lunch in the middle of a working day. Beer with lunch seems very common in Sweden to me (especially coming from a part of the US where doing it on a work day would be a firing offense!), so doesn’t that make it “Swedish”? Or at least “Skånsk”?
Also… “born and bred”, “you lose points”.
Rutger:
Easy enough, typical Swedish: LACK OF VEGETABLES. Just think of the typical Swedish meal: Meatballs with potatoes, no vegetable involved unless you add lingonsilt. I notice that my ‘hyresvärd’ has far too many of those typical things at home, he will win this game from me.
Rutger
steph steele:
Ha, this sounds like a fun game. Now, I don’t mind going to the cinema/theatre alone and I would use leftover shower stuff if I’d forgotten my own, but they’re completely british things to do I would say. I so wish we had a Soda stream at home still, they were amazing, but the plastic bag thing is so very me. I don’t really know all that many stereotypical things, but what comes to mind is friends with their snuff tins, Swedes make very good cider and that the best meat may very well be reindeer (though because I haven’t tried 2 of those 3 things I’m sure I’d lose points).
Can:
The typical behaviour will be eating surströmming, solving everything in non-violent way, be suspicious and distant for most of the topics.
Hannah Stone:
One word… LUTFISK.
kmh:
KETCHUP…. on just about everything.
J. Eric:
Grab a ticket then stand in line
Swedes think a queue is so sublime!
Pernilla:
Being annoyed with your neighbors for leaving lint behind in the communal laundry room (tvättstuga), or even worse some one dear to be late emptying their wash out of the dryer so when it is your turn to was someone elses clothes are STILL IN THE DRYER. Very Swedish 🙂
Maia:
What I find very Swedish is thinking that a two hour drive somehwere is really far. You should not only consider staying overnight, but also bring your own sheets. You also better be sure that you have a thermos of coffee and some kanelbullar with you so you can stop for a little fika on the way. And certainly don’t forget your thermos of coffee if you are headed to the beach. Nothing quite like a proper fika with a hot cup of coffee at the beach on a sweltering day.
Reagan:
Super fun game! I’d love to play this with friends at our upcoming summer parties!
A typical Swedish behaviour that I often observe, is for a Swede to hover behind you and not say ‘excuse me,’ or ‘pardon me,’ when they’d like to get by you in a store or they need you to move out of their way. They just stand there for fear or bothering you, even though you have no idea they are there!
I’d rather that they let their presence be known and I could move out of the way.
Luke:
Is un-swedish very swedish? 🙂
Isabell:
A typical swede:
1. You rather stand up in the bus than sit next to someone you don´t know.
2. If you are angry at your neighbour you write a note to them because you would never dare to say what you think of them face to face.
3. When you are abroad you avoid the domestic food, it´s really scary to try something new.
Slavica:
In the winter i was shocked from the neat Christmas decoration and the same curtain/drapery style on the windows.
I have been wondering where is the sour/salty salad.. pretty much everything was so sweet even the so called salads.
I got back from Sweden (Norrbotten)4 days ago.. This summer i noticed this:
-Butter overdose (almost on every food)
-Weird kinds of bread
-lunchtime in 11 o’clock o.O
-Cinnamon overdose..
-raw fish 🙁
and what i mind the most: people go to work, go shop for food after work and hide at home in case there is no holiday to make them go out. it was kind of antisocial.
🙂