Category: Society

If you’re name’s Paul, or Pål, then today you may well be a very happy man. In Sweden, as in many other countries, each day is associated with a name and the person who has that name is celebrated. It’s called a Name’s Day and today is Paul.

To some Swedes, the Name’s Day tradition is irrelevant but to others it’s still celebrated with cake and even presents.

What I wondered is where the Name’s Day tradition came from. And after some research, I found the answer. It seems like the custom originated with the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic calendars of saints, where believers, who were named after a particular saint, would celebrate that saint’s feast day.

During the 18th century in Sweden, names used by the royal family were introduced to the Swedish list of name days, followed by other common names. Then, in 1901 a comprehensive modernization was made to make the list up to date with the names that were current at the time. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences had a monopoly on calender production, strangely. And since the Name’s Days were published on calenders, they had a monopoly on them too. However, this monopoly expired in 1972 and various competing Name’s Day lists were released into society.

In 1986 a consensus of a new single list with three names on each day was reached, and then reduced to two names on each day. However, people weren’t happy. This prompted the Swedish Academy to create the list that is used today.

So, what about us foreigners whose names don’t appear on this list? Well, the Centre for Multiculturalism produces their own calender every year with other names on. This is to provide a counter balance to the very Swedish official name list. According to their Multicultural calender, today is Ester’s day. Ester is Persian and means star. So, congratulations to Ester. Yesterday was Estelle’s day and tomorrow is Evren (Turkish for ‘universe’).

And my name then? Neil?

Well, Neil doesn’t appear on the Swedish list or on the Multicultural list. After further scrutiny, I think I’ll have to opt for October 8th. This is when Nils has his day. Neil/Nils, Neil/Nils, Neil/Nils. Yeah, that should work.

That’d be ok wouldn’t it?

Out in the world, a prevailing stereotype of the Swedes is that they are liberal and sexually liberated. But even sexual freedoms can be too extreme. For example, zoophilia, or bestiality, has been legal in Sweden since 1944. It is also, by the way, legal in Denmark and Finland.

This is shocking information. How can a country like Sweden that fights for the rights of individual expression and rights allow such hanous actions to take place? Is bestiality allowed because Swedes don’t believe it possible? Current laws protect the animal from cruelty, but as long as it is not injured, then sexual activity is allowed.

But now, at last, a new law is being proposed. This new law would solely encompass the sexual abuse of animals for the perpetrator’s own pleasure. I am speechless that it has taken so long to affect a change. Outraged that it occurs in the first place. Thankful that the law is changing. Animals share this planet with us and they are subjugated under our will. They are without voices. This law will give them more rights, but they still do not have a voice. It is up to all of us to respect animals and to not abuse the power we have over these helpless beings.

Shame on you Sweden that it’s taken until 2011 for you to realize this.

In the Phillipines, a little baby was born. But Danica Camacho isn’t any ordinary baby.

This innocent child has become a symbol for what Swedish Professor in World Health Hans Rosling is calling ‘the beginning of the end’. Although impossible to accurately calculate, Danico has symbolically been labelled the 7 000 000 000th citizen of Earth. Today, 31 October 2011, the population of the planet has broken the 7 billion threshold.

Why does Hans Rosling call it the ‘beginning of the end’? According to him, the number of births in the world is decreasing. And with an aging population, it’s only a question of time before the imbalance in generations becomes unsustainable.

And how does this relate to Sweden?

Although an aging population might be a problem in Sweden itself, overpopulation hardly is. According to the UN World Prospects Report, Sweden is one of the countries in the world that has the lowest number of citizens per square kilometer. Sweden has 21 citizens per square kilometer, on average. Compare that to the 18,534 citizens per square kilometer in China, or 16,923 in Monaco. The country with the most space is, as you might guess, Greenland, with 0,026 people per square kilometer. This is closely followed by the remote Falkland Islands and then Mongolia.

These statistics are naturally an avergae of the whole country, and most populations are intensified around their major cities. The most densely populated city is where little Danica Camacho was born today – the Phillipine capital of Manila where staggering 43,079 people occupy one square kilometer. In Europe, the most dense city is the rather obscure French town of Levellois-Perret. Here, 26,126 people squeeze together in one kilometer. And Stockholm’s population density? A measly 3597 people per kilometer.

So next time I’m on the underground and somebody complains about the number of people, or sitting on a bus, they whinge about the annoying amount of traffic, you know what I’m going to say?

‘Try living in Manila, then you’ll really have something to complain about.’

Last night, I participated in a Tenants’ Association meeting. All the owners of the flats were gathering together to vote on whether or not to build balconies on one of the buildings. Now, I happen to live in said building, so I was very interested, and turned up with my voting card in hand and smile on my face at the agreed time.

At best, these kinds of meetings give you an insight into Swedish democracy. At worst, they drag on and on and on with everybody giving their point of view, often irrelevant. Unfortunately, last night’s meeting was of this latter kind. Two and a half hours of discussing the merits of balcony building unfolded before we were able to whip out our cards and vote. I was desparate. I was tired and frustrated. But democracy takes time.

After the long drawn-out discussions, we finally voted. I learned that, in order for one side to ‘win’, there must be a 2/3 or more majority. This meant we needed 63 votes to win. The cards went up, the counting began. And the result?

59 votes for, 20 votes against and several abstentions.

Although there was a clear majority for the building of balconies, we lost. 20 people could prevent it from happening. Now, is this democracy? I wonder.

This is what’s known as Tyranny of the Minority – where a minority of people can block the decision for the majority. It’s very common in Swedish decision and policy making. But is it democracy?

It certainly didn’t feel like it last night.

In an unusual burst of self-confidence, a few years ago, Stockholm branded itself as the ‘Capital of Scandinavia’. One could expect this to mean that of the Scandinavian and Nordic cities, Stockholm is the most sought-after and popular to live in.

But this, apparently, is not the case.

Of all the Nordic cities in the region, the city that people mostly want to live in Helsinki.

In a recent Global Liveability Survey of 140 cities, the Finnish capital comes out as number 7 on the list. The survey looks at criteria such as health care, environment and education.

Melbourne is in the number one position, then Vienna, then Vancouver. The first American citiy to appear on the list is Honolulu – in place 26.

Cultural researchers say that you can understand a culture by looking at the products of that culture. For example, the way the houses look, what kind of clothes people wear or the food they eat.

One cultural product to come out of Sweden is a substance called ‘snus’. ‘Snus’ is brown, sticky and can cover your teeth in discoloured drool. Sound attractive? Then read on.

‘Snus’ is a moist tobacco powder, made in Sweden since the 19th century. ‘Snusers’ squeeze the moist substance into pellets or use pre-packed sachets that look like miniature teabags, placing them under their upper lip for up to an hour. In best case, you don’t notice that the ‘snus’ is in the user’s mouth. In worst case, the ‘snuser’ has a very swollen upper lip giving them a slightly retarded look. But where’s the kick? Well, absorbed into the bloodstream through the lip, ‘snus’ has a softer but longer nicotine buzz than cigarettes. No snoozin’ with ‘snus’ in.

Due to health reasons, within the EU, the sale of ‘snus’ is banned, which is odd since cigarettes and other forms of tobacco aren’t. However, in the rest of the world, ‘snus’ is proving a hit, with sales booming in the US and Canada. North Americans are increasingly buying ‘snus’ as a way either to quit or to beat smoking bans.

Nobody knows when the use of tobacco as a stimulant started but Europeans first came into contact with it during the 1400’s when Christopher Columbus landed on Haiti. The tobacco plant was quickly exported to Europe and put into products such as snuff, chewing tobacco and cigarettes.

It was believed at that time that tobacco cured cancer and syphilis.

But users of ‘snus’ don’t have to worry about the latter. ‘Snus’ has a pungent smell making the user’s breath very strong. The chances of catching a sexually transmitted disease are limited when nobody will even kiss you.