Tag Archives: traditions
The day before the dipping day Posted by jennie on Dec 23, 2009
Christmas Eve is not only known as julafton in Swedish, it is also known as the Dipping Day (Dopparedagen). And although we are Vikings and quite fond of our winter baths, this name has nothing to do with dipping in the ice cold sea. No, the name Dopparedagen comes from a very old tradition of…
Midsummer’s Eve Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 20, 2008
It’s that time of the year again when the entire Sweden goes outside to sing, dance, drink and celebrate the arrival of summer. Yep, it’s Midsommarafton (Midsummer’s Eve) today. Regardless of the actual day of the summer solstice, the holiday is always scheduled for Friday-Saturday between June 19th and 25th. On Midsummer’s Eve businesses close…
Take a Break – Swedish Style Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 17, 2008
One of the very first words of Swedish, right after hej and tack, that every foreigner learns is fika. Which also happens to be my favorite Swedish word, too. And you’d be hard pressed to find a word more Swedish to the core than fika. You could even say that fika is a social institution…