Swedish ‘Allsång’ Posted by Katja on Aug 1, 2011
This is a very typical Swedish summer occurrence. ‘Allsång’ takes place outdoors, with a song leader. People of all ages come to ‘Allsång’ to hear good music and sing along. Everyone is given a copy of the lyrics, so you can follow along. Even the viewers can follow along with the song texts at the…
Timbuktu – For the rest of your life Posted by Tibor on Jul 29, 2011
I thought it might be a good start for the weekend to give you a current Swedish favourite with some lyrics. The song is a humorously brilliant post break-up song by Timbuktu. He has been on the Swedish hip-hop scene for over two decades if not longer. And he is truly one of the most genuine…
The Little Frogs – in Swedish Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jul 29, 2011
I’m in Denmark attempting to learn Danish (if you’re trying to learn Danish, check out the Transparent Danish blog and Transparent Danish on Facebook). And while my Danish is coming along, I’ve also had the opportunity to spread a little Swedish culture while I’m here. Of course, there has been the ever popular exchange of…
The verb ‘att fika’ Posted by Katja on Jul 27, 2011
Swedes have a wonderful verb, ‘att fika’, meaning to have a cup of coffee (or tea) with something sweet or with a sandwich and preferably in the company of colleagues or friends. There is no really good translation for this verb and many people think that the word should be imported into the English language. …
Moment of Silence for Norway Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jul 25, 2011
Sometimes world events hit close to home. Just a few months ago, an attempted terrorist attack surprised Stockholm. Just this weekend a terrorist attack shocked Oslo. And the world. I am not a journalist. I am not going to pretend that this is a news report. As of right now, nearly one hundred people are…
Swedish Industry Summer Break Posted by Katja on Jul 21, 2011
In 1938 the first legislation for vacation time was signed, giving all workers the right to two weeks paid summer vacation. As time went on, this right was lengthened to the current five weeks of guaranteed summer vacation for all workers. Parallel with this the idea of ‘industrisemester’ was established. This means that…
Financial support for Swedish young people Posted by Katja on Jul 19, 2011
There are lots of ways that Swedes are supported financially by tax money. From birth to age 16 families are given 1050:- per child per month with the intention of evening out class differences. No family should be able to say that they can’t afford winter boots or iceskates for their children. As the number…