Category: Uncategorized

How to give festive greetings the Swedish way 

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes


I used to be very confused. Now I’m only a bit confused. 

You see, in British English we give festive greetings by saying Merry Christmas and that lasts until the end of December until we say Happy New Year. That’s it. 

In Swedish, it’s a bit different. And it’s not totally clear. 

Leading up to Christmas, Swedes say ‘God Jul’, Merry Christmas. This lasts until around Christmas Day. 

Then it at some point changes into the greeting of ‘God Fortsättning’ which literally means Good Continuation. 

This keeps continuing until at some time between the 28th and 31st Dec, it becomes ‘Gott Slut’. This doesn’t mean Good Slut but Good End. 

This lasts to the end of December and then from 1st Jan it becomes Happy New Year – ‘Gott Nytt År’. And then from the 2nd Jan, it becomes ‘God Fortsättning’ – Good Continuation– for a while, I actually haven’t worked out for how long. 

Not as straightforward as in English maybe. However, Swedish etiquette expert Magdalena Ribbing provides us with a way out of potential embarrassment. According to her, it is not so important what one says. What’s more important is that one actually greets another person. 

A shockingly early Swedish Christmas 

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes


Christmas Eve is the day of celebration in Sweden. So what happens on Christmas Day? Mostly it’s about eating the leftovers, going to the sales, maybe the cinema, chilling out. However for some people it has a more symbolic meaning as they get up at the crack of dawn and go to the shockingly early Christmas service called Julotta. 
Julotta is usually held at 7 AM in most churches, but in some churches it is celebrated as early as 4 AM. During previous decades, most Julottas were held at 4 AM. Traditionally, the service should end before, or at the time of, dawn: hence the word otta which means ‘the time just before dawn’. 

Swedish immigrants have even spread the festivity to different countries. The earliest recorded history of Julotta service in the United States of America was held in Strombeck Church in Minnesota in 1883. After Julotta, people raced to get home first from the church. The winner was believed to harvest the most bountiful crops for the year ahead.
Merry Christmas! God Jul! 

Toward the light! 

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

Today  is the Winter Soltice, the day when the sun is the furthest away from the northern hemisphere. At 11.44 today to be exact. Way in the north of Sweden, the sun doesn’t even go up for 24 hours. But from tomorrow, the familiar hot ball of heat starts getting closer again and we move towards the light and from January 1st it’s visible in the sky at some point all over Sweden. 

Moving towards the light is a big deal for the dark countries like Sweden. In Swedish folklore, the winter solstice was a dangerous night when animals could talk and supernatural spirits appeared. Animal sacrifice was common to appease the gods and beg them to bring the light back. Today’s not as extreme as that but it is a topic of comment -on social media, in coffee rooms and on the cover of most newspapers who emblazon the phrase ‘now we’re going towards lighter times’. 

It’s astronomical but also metaphorical. After all that’s happened this autumn and winter, it feels positive that the forces of light are gaining more strength.
For a while at least. 

Shedding my light on the Lucia debate

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

 

Today is Santa Lucia in Sweden – December 13th.  At the darkest time of the year, when we all are drained by the black mornings and afternoons, Lucia pays us a visit. With candles in hair and surrounded by a posse of singers, Lucia shines light into the dark depths of our spirits. The music plays. The choir harmonises. Lucia smiles at us. And slowly, slowly, the day awakens.

I love Lucia. Long live Lucia – this Sicilian martyr, who’s tradition is said to have come to Sweden via Italian merchants around the late 18th century.

Every year, towns around Sweden elect a Lucia and they visit shopping malls, old people’s homes and churches, singing and handing out gingerbread. And every year there is a debate about who owns the right to be Lucia. The answer to that question depends on your starting point – does one take a traditional view or a modernist view? The Swedish traditionalists will say that Lucia definitely has to be a girl, ideally blonde and blue-eyed. The modernists will say Lucia should reflect today’s society and therefore can be any colour or gender.

This year, as many before, the debate took a nasty turn. A large department store depicted Lucia as a gender-neutral, dark-skinned child. For some people, this was too much. Hateful, despicably racist, and, of course, anonymous comments flowed in via social media, revealing yet another crack in Sweden’s tolerant facade.  Consequently, the department store removed the advert to protect the child. This social media behaviour is unacceptable and should be in no way condoned. Having a view point is everybody’s right (be it traditionalist or modernist), but attacking a child is something totally different.

As I watched Lucia this morning I was reminded of the real message. The humanist message. Sure, Lucia is literally about bringing light to the dark day. But the metaphor is clear, if we care to remember it. It is about caring. It is about being open even when we feel closed. It is about community.

One of the songs the choir sang this morning is called ‘Sprid ditt ljus’ – and I think this sums it all up. Translated into English, the chorus goes: ‘Spread your light, in the darkest times, warm us now and let us all feel peace’

Maybe it’s just me, but I think who is elected Lucia isn’t that important. What’s more important is that we remember the point. We should open our eyes to the light that is shone on our society where we have growing social divides, enormous groups of displaced people, poverty, starvation, homelessness on our streets.

Once a year, Lucia shines the light. Can we find it within us to shine our lights on each other? I, for one, intend to try.

Happy Lucia! May the light keep you warm.

 

 

Grand Hotel in Stockholm – you make your bed, you lie in it. 

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

Today I wrote a comment on Stockholm’s Grand hotel’s FB page. This is what I wrote: 

‘Companies can decide themselves who they want to do business with. Hopefully their decisions are based on some kind of vision and social responsibility. That’s why I am so surprised that Grand Hotel chose to accommodate a gala event of Europe’s fascists hosted by Sweden’s right wing racist party last night. You have damaged your reputation and you have lost this customer. I will personally never set foot across your threshold again and I will never recommend your hotel to any friends or business acquaintances. Appropriately for a hotel – ‘you make your bed, you lie in it’.

My comment got a lot of likes, but also I was accused of hating democracy, of being false, of being a liar. The trolls were out. I was told that if I don’t like it, I can leave the country. The concept of freedom of speech was used as a main argument. 

This made me curious about what freedom of speech actually means in Sweden, since it got thrown at me as an insult. This is what I found:

Freedom of speech is regulated in three parts of the Constitution of Sweden:

1) Fundamental Rights and Freedoms protects personal freedom of expression “whether orally, pictorially, in writing, or in any other way”

2) Freedom of the Press Act protects the freedom of printed press, as well as the principle of free access to public records (Principle of Public Access) and the right to communicate information to the press anonymously

3) Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression extends protections to other media, including television, radio and web sites.

However, most interesting and relevant for the net trolls and the haters at the Grand Hotel, Sweden’s Freedom of Speech laws do not mean everything is ok. 

There are clear ‘Hate speech laws’ which prohibit threats or expressions of contempt based on race, skin colour, nationality or ethnic origin, religious belief or sexual orientation.

So to all the trolls out there, don’t throw freedom of speech at me or at anybody else who stands up for democratic communication without first knowing what you are talking about. There is no freedom to express your kind of hate in Sweden, and if you don’t like that – you can move to Russia. 

Top 10 things I miss about Sweden

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

swebuildings

I’ve been hearing and reading a lot of Sweden-bashing recently. While we are free to think what we want, I believe it’s all too simplistic to focus on the negative and complain about Sweden or Swedes. It’s very easy to focus on what Sweden is not, rather than what it is.

Recently, I’ve been a lot in Asia and Latin America, far away from Sweden and my family and friends. Sometimes when we’re confronted by new environments, it is then we realize what we appreciate about our home locations. I’ve been putting some thought into it. Apart from my loved ones, what is it that I miss about Sweden when I’m away?

Here are my top 10, in no particular order of priority.

  1. the feeling that the sky is big and endless, giving a sense of freedom in my mind and spirit
  2. knowing that I can take a deep breath and fill my lungs with fresh oxygen instead of polluted toxic fumes
  3. the calmness in my thoughts and that I don’t have to battle with external noises in order just to hear myself think
  4. my anonymity and just blending in with the crowd
  5. the certainty of knowing how things function and how I am supposed to behave
  6. walking outside without interruption, confusion or danger
  7. the knowledge that I don’t have to keep buying bottled water – I can drink directly from the tap without getting seriously sick as a consequence
  8. the evening light cascading on the colorful buildings – the umbras, the rusty reds and the deep golds
  9. the sting of the cold air on my nose and cheeks (never thought I’d admit to that one)
  10. the Swedish aesthetic – environments filled with stylish modern design, cool Nordic solutions and healthy-looking easy-on-the-eye people

None of this is to say that I don’t enjoy traveling, because I do very much so. I just think that sometimes it’s worth taking a moment to reflect over what you appreciate about where you live.

I’m sure, if you do, you’ll find there’s a lot more than you think.

What do you appreciate about Sweden when you’re not here? I’d love to hear your thoughts – write them in the comments below.

If you like this blog, please share it with your friends.

This thing about being tall 

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

At a height of 193 cm, I am at the tall end of the man scale. However, in Sweden, I am rarely reminded of it. While I am taller than the Swedish 182 cm average, I still blend in. It isn’t until I visit another country that I become reminded that I am towering over other people and height becomes a source of attention or in worse case ridicule. 

This makes me think of visibility in relation to the intercultural experience. Does the more visible we are affect the authenticity of the experience? 

I remember my first time in Asia how people pointed at me and laughed. I remember in Mexico how people wanted to touch me and in China how they wanted to take a photo with me. My physicality was strange to them and, as such, my presence was impossible for them to ignore. 

I genuinely think that my experience of other countries is coloured by the fact that I can’t hide. I am seen by everybody wherever I go. Shorter people can more easily disappear in the crowd and, as such, can more neutrally observe their surroundings. Through no choice of my own, I am often influencing mine, which consequently makes my surroundings less authentic. 
In Sweden, people don’t notice. Or maybe they just don’t care. Or are too polite to point it out. Whatever the reason, I perceive that my feeling of physical sameness rather than difference is something that helped me adapt quickly to Swedish society and acknowledge it as the place I feel at home. 

Watching the Brazilians at Gate C15 

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes


Sitting at gate C15 in Frankfurt waiting to board for Sao Paolo and it’s a whole different experience than when waiting for a plane to Sweden. 

The majority of the passengers are Brazilian and it is reflected in the extremely high noise level here at the gate. No quiet contemplation and patient queuing here, but joyous raucous banter. 
Then a priest arrives in white collar. He stops and addresses the whole gate with something jovial, a big smile on his face. Everyone laughs and many get out of their seats to shake his hand. 

The flight is overbooked. They offer 600 Euros to anyone from economy who wants to give their seat up until tomorrow. Hysteria ensues. Several people want to and clamour around the counter, the remaining passengers start talking to each other in one giant Portuguese conversation. 

The situation at Gate 15 is vibrant and alive. 

If this is a taste of Brazil, I can’t wait to arrive. 

‘Why is Sweden so dull?’

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes


I’m just home from a business trip to India, where I worked with groups of people in Delhi and in Chennai. They worked with Swedes in a remote team and many had actually been to Sweden. I started my session by asking them what they would like to know about Swedes and Sweden. Their requests were interesting. 

Apart from the usual work-related questions, there were other questions which reveal a lot about how Sweden might be perceived by others. Here are some of their comments:                                       

    
‘Why is Sweden so uncolourful and dull?’

‘Why is Swedish food so bland?’

‘Why are Swedes not interested in us?’

‘They focus so much on their work-life balance. Why don’t they care about ours?’

‘How do they survive the cold weather?’

‘Because they are not religious, where do they get their values from?’

‘Why are Swedes so lonely?’