Tag Archives: Swedish culture
Bake your own Swedish pepparkakor! Posted by Chelsea B on Dec 18, 2019
Each Christmas, I make a few Swedish recipes to share with family and friends. My two favorites are glögg, wine mulled in spices, and pepparkakor, crispy, spicy ginger cookies. While these recipes are old classics, I love them because they are also staples for modern Swedish holiday celebrations. Many Swedish-American food traditions are recipes that…
An Introduction to Swedish Musik Posted by Chelsea B on Nov 5, 2019
Music is a huge passion of mine, so I’ve decided to dedicate the first post of each month to it. Music allows listeners to explore a variety of narratives within a culture and is a fantastic tool for language acquisition. Whether it’s boosting general listening comprehension or learning the rhythm of spoken language, music…
As Fall Sets in, Swedes Bring on the “mys” Posted by Chelsea B on Oct 22, 2019
As temperatures drop and the cold weather blues set in, Swedes harness “mys.” The Danish and Norwegian “hygge” is not the only Nordic concept used to encapsulate wellbeing and coziness. The phenomenon of long and cold winters in Scandinavia is nothing new, so instead of letting the lack of sun and cold temperatures get them…
Five Fun Swedish Summer Vacation Tips Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jul 31, 2015
The other day, I sent an email to a library in Sweden in search of an obscure recording. ‘Twas no use. The response was simple: “I’ll be on vacation for the next four weeks.” I should have known better. It’s summer in Sweden. And summer in Sweden means vacation. Most folks working a salaried job…
Swedish Midsummer Dances Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jun 19, 2015
Every June, Swedes gather to celebrate Midsummer. Actually, they celebrate Midsummer Eve. It’s a time of singing and dancing and even a bit of drinking. That singing and dancing is quite the traditional part of a Midsummer celebration. As is the drinking, actually, but we’ll focus on the singing and dancing for now, just like…
Eurovision Sweden – 2016! Posted by Marcus Cederström on May 25, 2015
Eurovision is, quite possibly, the greatest musical event in the entire world. That’s actually a scientific truth and cannot be disputed. Unfortunately, only 200 million people around the world tuned in. That means there are still a whole lot of folks who missed the show. But don’t worry. Plenty of Swedes watched. Like 3.4 million…
Eye Contact and Shoeless Feet in Sweden Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jun 19, 2012
Learning Swedish, or any language really, also means learning a bit about the culture. Whether it is finding out more about the politics of a country or understanding the dinner habits, as you grow more comfortable with a language, it becomes more important to also grow comfortable with the culture. Or at least understand that…