Neil Shipley on Swedish culture – the strange, the special and the sublime
Author: Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes
Since 1994, I've been watching the Swedes. Not in a creepy, obsessive way, but like an adventurer in unknown territory who carefully observes his surroundings.
I run a training company with my American business partner in Stockholm. We hold seminars and workshops in Cultural Awareness and Communication.
For more info about this check out www.keytraining.se
It feels like it has rained for ever in Stockholm this summer. We awaken to rain, we walk in the rain, we come home in the rain, and we go to bed to the sound of the rain. Around the country, rivers have broken their banks, streets are flooded, roads collapsed and trains derailed.
I guess to some degree the wetness is positive as it is replenishing the water magazines that have dried out, and soaking the forest beds to prevent any potential fires.
In English, we have lots of words for rain, with some fun ones such as drizzle, mizzle, sleet, spit and ‘ache and pain’.
So I became curious about how many Swedish rain-related words there are – other than the word for rain – ‘regn’. Here are 18 that I found:
Duggregn – a light rain, spit
Dusk – drizzle
Snöblandad regn – sleet
Hällregn – heavy rain, pouring down
Ösregn – torrential rain
Skyfall – sudden heavy rain, a cloud burst
Skur – shower
Störtregn – heavy rain, a downpour
Skval – constant, uninterrupted rain
Sommarregn – light, summer rain
Regnby – rain shower
Slagregn – heavy rain, a deluge
Glopp – rain with large snow flakes in
Arlaregn – refreshing morning rain
Strilregn – steady rain
Nederbörd – precipitation
Dagsregn – precipitation
Rotblöta – a large amount of rain, usually in the summer
Spöregn – very heavy rain
So the next time, look out of the window and see what word best describes the rain outside. It might at least give you a few seconds of distraction in this wet drudge.
Any other Swedish words for rain that you’d like to add to the list?
This week is Stockholm Pride. It culminates on Saturday with a huge parade. The event celebrates 25 years this year, and some people question if it is still needed or relevant.
The answer, unfortunately, is more than ever.
But we’ll come to that later.
Currently there are 73 Pride festivals in Sweden during the year. From Arctic Pride way up in the north to Malmö Pride in the south, it is possible to celebrate throughout the year.
This indicates that many Swedes seem to have embraced the concept of Pride with open arms. There is, of course, a commercial benefit but the main reason seems to be that LGBT+ Pride resonates well with the societal Swedish values of equality, tolerance and acceptance.
However, like everything, it has its opponents.
Sweden’s current conservative government is in power, solely with the support of a right-wing populistic party. This party has consistently attacked LGBT people and the Pride movement. For example, this week, one of their politicians tweeted that Pride legitimizes pedophilia.
It is comments like this that plant the seeds of aggressive counter demonstrations, homophobic, anti-Pride propaganda and personal physical attacks. LGBT+ people are still regularly abused, discriminated against and attacked in Sweden. And if we lift our eyes to the broader world, we see examples of LGBT + rights being restricted or removed, and same sex relations being criminalized and punishable with the death penalty.
This is why Pride is still needed, not only as a celebration, but as a political manifestation of human rights.
If you’d like to know where a Pride is near you, go to http://www.svenskapride.sewhich collects all the Swedish events in one place.
In English, we have lots of ways to say that we are going to bed to sleep: ‘up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire’, ‘hit the hay’, ‘beddybies’, ‘hit the sack‘ to mention a few. And it turns out, so do the Swedes. ‘Gå till sängs’ ( go to bed) is probably the most common, and literal. Here are a few other examples:
’Dags att koja’ – time to go to bed (Koja is a small hut, or a bunk on a boat)
‘Nu ska jag gå lägga mig’ – now I’m going to lie down
‘krypa till kojs’ – creep to the hut / bunk
‘Knyta sig’ – knot yourself – similar to curl up
‘Slagga’ – similar to crash out
What other expressions for going to bed do you know?
More than 90,000 articles have been written about the Koran burning in Stockholm that occurred last week. Many of these articles are declaring Sweden as Islamophobic. The action has led to international public protests, storming of embassies, burning of the Swedish flag, and condemnation from everyone from Turkey’s Erdogan to the Pope.
So, is this true? Is liberal-minded, egalitarian Sweden, in fact Islamophobic? Like everything the answer lies in your definition, and perspective.
It all boils down to understanding Swedish freedom of speech. In Sweden, you are allowed to publicly comment on, demonstrate against and criticize anything.
Influential powers such as the royal family, industry giants or organized religions cannot legally stop or influence this.
In Sweden, you are free to follow any religion you want. Likewise you are free to criticize any religion you want. That is the basis of democracy in Sweden.
With this understanding, you can see how the burning of any religious scripture is allowed and not, per se, limited only to the Koran.
So you have to separate the law from ethics. This is why the Swedish government condemns the action but at the same time defends self expression.
That said, there are other laws in Sweden that restrict public speech. For example, if it is considered hate speech, or incitement to violence, or against the interests of national security.
In the case of the recent Koran burning, outside a mosque on the first day of Eid, and with today’s political instability, one can seriously question the police’s choice to allow a such a demonstration to occur. Personally, I think it shows a poor sense of judgement and disregard for public safety and national security. But it wasn’t illegal, and fully in line with freedom of speech.
So, is Sweden islamophobic? From this one action, no. If you want to burn a bible or the tora, you can. Is Sweden Islamophobic in other regards? Maybe. Were the actions of the individual demonstrator islamophobic? Maybe, although he himself is Muslim. He claims his action to be politically motivated.
Time will tell what the outcome is of this. The man who carried out the act is currently living under police security, and amongst other things is being charged with starting a fire during a fire ban.
With Midsummer arriving on Friday, it is time to start planning for your survival. Midsummer’s Eve is the craziest custom in the Swedish calender and the time of the year when Swedes go a little bonkers. As a non-Swede, get ready to brace yourself. Here are a few hacks to make sure you make it to Midsummer’s Day in one piece.
Greet like a Swede. In Sweden it is considered polite to greet everybody individually, even if you plan to never speak to them again or remember their name. The appropriate way is to stand 1-2 meters away, look directly in their eyes, say ‘hej’ followed by your name. They will do the same. You might even give a small wave or shake hands if you are comfortable doing so (remnant of the pandemic). If you are feeling adventurous, follow up your ‘Hej’ with a ‘trevligt’ or even a ‘Glad Midsommar’. Job done. Now you can hit the booze.
Snaps is not the same as a shot. A lot of alcohol gets drunk on Midsummer’s Eve, especially beer and snaps With the popularity of shots in recent years, it’s easy to make the mistake that Swedish snaps is the same thing. Believe me, it is not. Snaps can be up to 42% alcohol, considerably more than your normal shot. So, go easy and sip the snaps or see yourself slipping sideways off your chair before the strawberry dessert has even been put on the table.
Take tissue. Midsummer’s Eve is a looong day and you probably will need the loo at some point. The trouble is, so will everybody else – to the detriment of the supply of toilet paper. There’s a big chance you will be seeking relief in the woods so come equipped with the appropriate amounts of paper for your needs.
If shy, bring swimwear. Bathing in the icy June waters is a common activity at Midsummer. Swedes generally are not afraid of skinny dipping when they do this. If you are, then come prepared with swimwear and a towel.
Shelve your maturity. Part of Midsummer is dancing around the maypole, playing silly games, pretending to be a frog, participating in competitions. To survive these activities, it helps to conjour up your inner child and forget you are an adult for a while.
Protect yourself. Given the amount of alcohol consumed at Midsummer, it is no surprise that many babies in Sweden are made on this day. It you don’t want to join the ranks of parents, remember to put it on before you put it in.
Throw in the thermals. It looks like it might be super sunny and warm this Midsummer’s Eve. But it is good to be prepared. It is not unusual that temperatures fall into single figures and that pesky rain pours down onto the smorgasbord. So bring a jumper, a rain jacket and even thermals to enhance your experience.
Don’t expect culinary miracles on Midsummer’s Eve. The food is exactly the same as is eaten at Christmas and Easter, with a few small summery exceptions – strawberries, cream, dill and new potatoes. Remember to use hand disinfectant before you attack the buffet.
Learn a drinking song. On Midsummer’s Eve, food and alcohol is accompanied by Swedish drinking songs. Learn one in advance and shine at the table. Even better sing one in your own language and you are guaranteed to use those rubbers you packed just for the occasion. For me, ‘what shall we do with the drunken sailor’ works every time.
Argue over the rules. At Midsummer a popular Swedish garden game is called kubb. Involving the throwing of sticks, everybody seems to have their own understanding of the way to play. If you want to feel really Swedish, make sure you start an argument about the rules.
Take pills. Of varying types. Allergy pills are good because there are flowers everywhere: on the table, in the maypole, on peoples’ heads. Pain killers are good as a lot of snaps is consumed. Indigestion pills are good as the food is oily, fatty, acidic, smoky and rich. The after day pill is good, well… because…
That’s it! Follow this guide and you are sure to have a wonderous Midsummer’s Eve in Sweden.
Glad Midsommar!
Please share this post to help others get ready for the big day!
With Midsummer arriving on Friday, it is time to start planning for your survival. Midsummer’s Eve is the craziest custom in the Swedish calender and the time of the year when Swedes go a little bonkers. As a non-Swede, get ready to brace yourself. Here are a few hacks to make sure you make it to Midsummer’s Day in one piece.
Greet like a Swede. In Sweden it is considered polite to greet everybody individually, even if you plan to never speak to them again or remember their name. The appropriate way is to stand 1-2 meters away, look directly in their eyes, say ‘hej’ followed by your name. They will do the same. You might even give a small wave or shake hands if you are comfortable doing so. If you are feeling adventurous, follow up your ‘Hej’ with a ‘trevligt’ or even a ‘Glad Midsommar’. Job done. Now you can hit the booze.
Snaps is not the same as a shot. A lot of alcohol gets drunk on Midsummer’s Eve, especially beer and snaps With the popularity of shots in recent years, it’s easy to make the mistake that Swedish snaps is the same thing. Believe me, it is not. Snaps can be up to 40% proof, considerably more than your normal shot. So, go easy and sip the snaps or see yourself slipping sideways off your chair before the strawberry dessert has even been put on the table.
Take tissue. Midsummer’s Eve is a looong day and you probably will need the loo at some point. The trouble is, so will everybody else – to the detriment of the supply of toilet paper. There’s a big chance you will be seeking relief in the woods so come equipped with the appropriate amounts of paper for your needs.
If shy, bring swimwear. Bathing in the icy June waters is a common activity at Midsummer. Swedes generally are not afraid of skinny dipping when they do this. If you are, then come prepared with swimwear and a towel.
Shelve your maturity. Part of Midsummer is dancing around the maypole, playing silly games, pretending to be a frog, participating in competitions. To survive these activities, it helps to conjour up your inner child and forget you are an adult for a while.
Protect yourself. Given the amount of alcohol consumed at Midsummer, it is no surprise that the many babies in Sweden are made on this day. It you don’t want to join the ranks of parents, remember to put it on before you put it in.
Throw in the thermals. It looks like it might be super sunny and warm this Midsummer’s Eve. One of the warmest ever! But it is good to be prepared. It is not unusual that temperatures fall into single figures and that pesky rain pours down onto the smorgasbord. So bring a jumper, a rain jacket and even thermals to enhance your experience.
Don’t expect culinary miracles on Midsummer’s Eve. The food is exactly the same as is eaten at Christmas and Easter, with a few small summery exceptions – strawberries, cream, dill and new potatoes. Remember to use hand disinfectant before you attack the buffet.
Learn a drinking song. On Midsummer’s Eve, food and alcohol is accompanied by Swedish drinking songs. Learn one in advance and shine at the table. Even better sing one in your own language and you are guaranteed to use those rubbers you packed just for the occasion. For me, ‘what shall we do with the drunken sailor’ works every time.
Argue over the rules. At Midsummer a popular Swedish garden game is called kubb. Involving the throwing of sticks, everybody seems to have their own understanding of the way to play. If you want to feel really Swedish, make sure you start an argument about the rules.
Take pills. Of varying types. Allergy pills are good because there are flowers everywhere: on the table, in the maypole, on peoples’ heads. Pain killers are good as a lot of snaps is consumed. Indigestion pills are good as the food is oily, fatty, acidic, smoky and rich. The after day pill is good, well… because…
That’s it! Follow this guide and you are sure to have a wonderous Midsummer’s Eve in Sweden.
Glad Midsommar!
Please share this post to help others get ready for the big day!
Since 1908, each of Sweden’s 25 provinces (landskap) has its own animal, coat of arms, flag and flower to define its identity.
Stockholm, for example, is on the border of two provinces – Uppland and Södermanland. The flower of Uppland is the beautiful ‘kungsängslilja’ (snake’s head fritillary). Södermanland has the floating ‘vit näkros’ (white water lily).
Other official provincial flowers include heather, daisy, honeysuckle, forget-me-not, lily of the valley, cowslip and, interestingly in Blekinge, they have the English oak.
In 2021, Sweden’s new national flower was chosen in a public vote. The winner? The colourful and ubiquitous harebell, also known as the small bluebell (in Swedish Blåklocka’.)
I’m from County Durham in the UK, where we have the vivid spring gentian as our county flower. The UK national flower is, since the 1400’s, the Tudor rose.
What’s the national or provincial/county flower where you come from?
This time of the year, a common sight and sound on the streets of Sweden is students on trucks.
Dressed in traditional white caps, and bolstered with alcohol, the students jump up and down to the booming music from loud speakers concealed in the vehicle. They scream, sing and shout and, if it’s a hot day like today, they spray beer on each other and sometimes unsuspecting pedestrians.
Many of them have banners hanging on the side of the trucks. Usually these are just informative but sometimes they’re personal, political or funny.
These youngsters are celebrating the end of their school career. Most of them are 19 years old and have just graduated from Sixth Form College/High School. In fact, I was just this morning watching my goddaughter as she ran out of her school screaming and dancing, before jumping onto her truck.
It’s not all fun and games though. Every year the media reports accidents and injuries, which is not entirely unexpected considering the mad energy with which the students jump and scream. And trucks have been banned from certain roads and areas in the towns.
In Sweden, doing ‘studenten’, as it’s called in Swedish, is a major rite of passage into adult life. The youngsters finish their last day at school, come running out of the building to be greeted by waiting parents and families. They then climb aboard their trucks for their lap of honour. After that they go around to each other’s homes where each family usually arranges a reception to honour the newly-graduated student.
It is a very common sight on the streets of Sweden this time of the year and a refreshing reminder of the hopefulness of youth.
On 6 June 1523, Gustav Vasa was crowned King of Sweden. He was one of the few survivors of the Stockholm Bloodbath, in which his father and 80 other nobles were murdered, Game of Thrones style.
He ruled the country until 1560. During his reign, he released Sweden from the Kalmar Union consisting of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. He also turned Sweden from a catholic country into a Protestant one, with the monarch and not the pope as head of the church.
6 June is another significant day in Swedish history – on 6 June 1809 the country signed a new constitution. This lay the foundation for Sweden’s current status as an independent democracy and was in place until 1974.
The constitution returned political power to the parliament after King Gustav IV Adolph was deposed in a military coup in 1809. He was the last Swedish monarch to rule over Finland. After him, the crown passed not to his children but to his uncle, Charles XIII. Charles had no legitimate heir, which set into motion the quest for a successor. This was found the following year in the person of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, the first monarch of the present royal family.
For these two reasons, Sweden celebrates its National Day today – June 6th. It was declared in 1983, and was first celebrated as a public holiday in 2005. And this year celebrates 500 years of independence!
The day is celebrated with various events up and down the country.
I am currently on an island in the Baltic Sea, at the mouth of the Bay of Bothnia. It is a Finnish island called Åland. The island is about 170 km from Stockholm and 160 km from Åbo in Finland. Åland consists of Fasta Åland on which 90% of the population resides and about 6,500 skerries and islands, of which 60–80 are inhabited. The capital city, where I am, is called Mariehamn where around 15,000 people live.
So how come the official language of Åland is Swedish?
The island was originally a part of the Swedish Empire, but has also belonged to Russia, France, Germany and Sweden again, before becoming a part of Finland. After much conflict, the League of Nations decided in 1920 that, although belonging to Finland, the island would be independent and self-governing. By law, Åland is politically neutral and entirely demilitarised, and residents are exempt from conscription. Åland was granted extensive autonomy by new legislation of the same name in 1951 and 1991. Åland remains exclusively Swedish-speaking by this act.
Speaking to the locals, the accent sounds like an interesting blend of Swedish, Finnish and Gotlandic (another Baltic island).
Åland, as an autonomous region, has its own parliament, police force, bank, postal service and flag. It is also a tax-free zone, and is a daily stopping point for ferries from Sweden and Finland where passengers are able to buy duty-free alcohol, tobacco and other goods. In fact, about 2 million people a year visit Åland, but usually only to switch boats. I have to confess this has been the way for me also. This trip is the first time I’ve actually ventured into the town and further onto this beautiful island.
Watching the Swedes 