2010 June | Swedish Language Blog

Posts from June 2010

The Swedish national anthem: Du gamla, du fria

Jun 30 2010

These World Cup-times have made me think about national anthems and what they reflect of our countries. Since I don’t speak Dutch, Japanese, Portuguese or any of the other languages, I have no clue what so ever what the players are singing out there on the pitch (I do get really annoyed when they DON’T sing…) but I am still trying to ‘locate’ why this and that national anthem is this and that country’s national anthem. And truth to be told, it’s not easy! The general idea with national anthems is “to connect it with the idea of the nation – either in spirit, or directly through lyrics”. So my simple yet humble question to you today is of course: When hearing “Du gamla, du fria”, does it ”represents Sweden and connects with it” – in your opinion?

Hrm hrm, will you all please rise for the Swedish national anthem!

Or does it even more so, when adding some lyrics?

I found this English translation of it, please don’t have a pop at me for not trying to translate it myself…

Thou old, Thou freeborn, Thou mountain high Northern land

Thou quiet, Thou joyful, Thou wonderful

I honour Thou most beautiful country on our world

Thy sun, Thy sky, Thy green fields

Thou rest on memories from the Great Power’s days

Then Thy honoured name flew over the World

I know that Thou are and Thou remains as Thou where

I want to live and I want to die in the North!
I want to live and I want to die in the North!

I like our anthem. I think it’s strong and powerful and I love singing the last two lines, it always make me think of big bearded Vikings for some weird reason. Not that I sing it very often to be fair, but on Sweden’s National Day (the 6th of June) and on big sports occations it is of course a must - even more so when living abroad and struggling with “God save the queen”. But “Du gamla, du fria” is actually not Sweden’s official national anthem. We sing it purely because of tradition and if we all of a sudden felt like changing our old (since 1844), well, I guess we could. Some people seriously think this should be Sweden’s national anthem and from time to time, the “Make Öppna Landskap our national anthem!”-movement has been quite strong. I have never been a part of that movement, although it is a nice – and I guess very Swedish – song.

Ulf Lundell – Öppna Landskap (Open Landscapes). I won’t even try to translate the rest…

Anyway, question time! Is ”Du gamla, du fria” a good representative for Sweden ? What do you make of “Öppna Landskap”? And, any thoughts on your national anthem?

The Swedish provinces: Götaland

Posted by jennie No Comments

Jun 29 2010

After a Midsummer’s weekend filled with “Helan går”, herring and homesickness, let’s get back to business and end our journey through the Swedish provinces. The third and final region is Götaland, known as the south part and consists of the provinces Blekinge, Bohuslän, Dalsland, Halland, Skåne, Småland, Västergötland, Östergötland, Gotland och Öland.

16. Östergötland is the home of several famous canals, amongst them the popular Göta kanal, a heavily trafficked tourist boat route that starts in Västergötland and holds 58 sea locks. Another popular tourist attraction is Kolmårdens djurpark, a big zoo with a famous tiger safari and dolphinarium.
Province animal: Knölsvan (swan)
Province flower: Blåklint (blue bottle)

17. Dalsland is a small province, often called “A miniature Sweden” because of its varied scenery with lakes, flats and even a mountain (Kopplefjäll). The province has one city, Åmål, a place made famous from the movie “Fucking Åmål” (Lukas Modysson) from 1999.
Province animal: Korp (raven)
Province flower: Förgätmigej (forget-me-not)

18. Bohuslän – my beloved home in Sweden – is famous for its amazing rocky scenery, its many small sea side resorts and its fishing industry. Göteborg partly belongs to Bohuslän, other cities are my old hometown of Kungälv and the coastal town of Uddevalla. Marstrand is popular place for tourists, read about Tibor’s visit here.
Province animal: Knubbsäl (seal) Province flower: Kaprifol (honeysuckle)

19. Västergötland is home to Göteborg, the second biggest city in Sweden, the famous knight Arn, the popular amusement park Skara sommarland and the amazing crane’s mating dance at the lake Hornborgarsjön. Once evey year, thousands of cranes meet here to mate, a spectacular event that attracts tourists from all over.
Province animal: Trana (crane)
Province flower: Ljung (heather)

20. Småland has nurtured many worldwide known Swedes, such as Carl von Linné, Ingvar Kamprad – the founder of IKEA, Astrid Lindgren, the tennis player Stefan Edberg and the ABBA member Agnetha Fältskog. The head office of IKEA is still located Ingvar’s hometown of Älmhult and Astrid Lindgrens värld (The world of Astrid Lindgren) is a very popular tourist attraction for Astrid-lovers, both young and old. Småland is also worldwide famous for its many glassworks, such as Kosta Boda.
Province animal: Utter (otter)
Province flower: Linnea (twin flower)

21. Gotland is the place to visit if you are after sunshine; Gotland is the most sunny place in all of Sweden. Because of that – and it’s amazing beaches and rich history – Gotland is a hugely popular place for tourists, both Swedish and foreign. Gotland was the home of the late director Ingmar Bergman and several movies has been filmed on the little island. Ferrys to Gotland leave from Nynäshamn (Södermanland) and Oskarshamn (Småland), although Visby has an airport.
Province animal: Igelkott (hedgehog)
Province flower: Murgröna (ivy)

22. Öland is Sweden’s second biggest island but its smallest province. Like Gotland, it’s a famous destination for tourists and the retreat for the Swedish royal family, who has a place called Solliden on Öland. Öland is linked to the mainland since 1972 via Ölandsbron and Kalmar.
Province animal: Näktergal (nightingale)
Province flower: Solvända (sun rose)

23. Halland’s beautiful coastline and beaches has made it a popular tourist destination – especially the seaside resorts Varberg and Falkenberg. Halland is also known as a surfing province due to its beaches and waves. The biggest city is Halmstad, the hometown of Roxette’s Per Gessle.
Province animal: Lax (salmon)
Province flower: Hårginst (hairy greenweed)

24. Blekinge is often called “The garden of Sweden” and its many picturesque fishing villages are popular tourist destinations. Fishing is a big thing in Blekinge and the town and river Mörrum is the place to be if you want to catch a salmon or five. The biggest city in Blekinge is Karlskrona
Province animal: Ekoxe (stag beetle)
Province flower: Ek (oak)

25. Skåne, the most southern place in Scandinavia, is since 2001 linked together with Denmark by Öresundsbron. The biggest city is Malmö, Sweden’s third biggest city, known as youthful, cultural and continental place. Lund is a very popular student town and lately Ystad has become a big tourist destination, mainly due to the books and movies about Kurt Wallander.
Province animal: Kronhjort (red deer)
Province flower: Prästkrage (marguerite)

Can you guess the provinces??

Right, there we have it. All the way through Sweden, from Happaranda to Ystad in three blog posts. I know, I have probably missed out on several equally important facts, places, persons or tourist attractions (although I have used “popular” and “famous” about a million times), but feel free to add whatever you think is important. Or, let us know if there’s anything particular you want to know more about. Your wish – our command, as always.

Photo: Peter Grant, Kjell Holmér/Sweden.se

Summer Vacation in Sweden

Posted by Marcus Cederström 3 Comments

Jun 28 2010

Jennie did a wonderful job of describing the Midsummer tradition here in Sweden. The longest day of the year is celebrated (albeit not always on the actual day but still…) with relish in a country that is enveloped in darkness for much of the winter.

But once Midsummer comes and goes, the nights start getting a little bit longer, the days a little bit shorter. Cracking the “it’s all downhill from here” jokes are pretty common after Midsummer, luckily there is plenty of sun still to enjoy. And more importantly, plenty of vacation days to use in order to enjoy that sun.

Sweden is known to be very worker friendly. We wrote earlier about the number of official Swedish public holidays (12 for those of you scoring at home). There are also plenty of unofficial days which result in time off. But maybe most important is the number of vacation days.

Most salaried employees start with about 25 work day’s worth of vacation. The idea is that working people need the opportunity to spend time with their families, to get away from the office, to re-load their batteries if you will.

With 25 days being offered, people take full advantage. That’s five full work weeks. Enough time to take an entire month off during the summer. And many people do. Having moved here from the US during the summer months, I became increasingly frustrated when trying to get things done (bank accounts, job interviews, etc.). It dawned on me that following summer what had happened, most offices were working with skeleton staffs because so many people were using their vacation days.

Coming from the US where two weeks of vacation for salaried employees tends to be pretty common, the five weeks was a welcome addition to my work life. Let’s just say that it didn’t take me long to get into a similar habit.

What are the vacation policies like in your home country?

To learn more about working in Sweden and your rights, click here for the Swedish Work Environment Authority.

Midsummer’s Eve: The essentials

Posted by jennie 7 Comments

Jun 25 2010

Midsummer’s Eve is finally here and all over Sweden this big occasion is celebrated in various ways. But there are a few essentials you’ll need to make the celebration complete.

The decorations (dekorationerna):

A handmade daisy chain (blomsterkrans) is today’s signature piece, all kids and women (mostly) wear them. They are easily (ehm, kind of…) made with a piece of wire, some green branches and flowers of your choice. Some use nothing but flowers, I would probably use birch as filler. It’s easier and takes less time that way. Birch is also used to decorate doorframes, balconies and tables, along with flowers, tonnes of flowers!

The clothes (kläderna):
Traditionally, this is the day to wear you national costume if you by any chance would have one. In the province of Dalarna, this tradition still lives on but it’s a bit more difficult to spot a national costume in the rest of the country. A raincoat over a summer outfit seem to be more common, since this day normally is quite bad weather-wise. But today’s rapports from Sweden luckily says sunshine, I honestly can’t remember the last time I experienced a sunny Midsummer’s Eve. On the other hand; I have always spent them on the west coast. It tends to be better up north.

The food (maten):
The good old smorgasbord with herring, new potatoes, meatballs, sausages, salmon and a bit more herring is normally eaten for lunch. Strawberries and cream is also a must, along with a barbeque in the evening.

The drinks (dryckerna):
Midsummer’s Eve is one of Sweden’s biggest drinking nights and it’s not unusual for Systembolaget to run out of booze these days. The queues are massive the days before and people mostly buy beer and Aquavit of different flavours. Elderflower, dill, juniper, cumin and anis are some of the taste sensations you might get in your shotglas today and of course, no drinking without a drinking song.

The entertainment (underhållningen):
The traditional dancing around the midsummer pole normally takes place around 3pm. In most places, the council organize big gatherings in public spaces with pole dancing (no, not THAT kind…), raffles, games and entertainment, often traditional folk dance. People with big gardens might make their own midsummer pole (smaller scale) and the design of the poles varies across the country.

There are thousands of videos on Youtube showing Swedes swinging around the pole andpathetic as I am, I started sobbing when browsing through these! I am homesick today and I bet many fellow expat Swedes feel the same. Here is one of the lot, thought I might show you something different than the crown point ”Små Grodorna” (The little frogs) but just jump to the end if you fancy seeing some Swedes imitate frogs.

The end (slutet):
If you are not too dizzy after all the Aquavit and the running around the pole, you should end Midsummer’s Eve by picking seven different kinds of wild flowers and put under your pillow. The person who you will marry in the future will then appear in your dreams…

Sweet dreams and a lovely Midsummer’s Eve to everyone! Mine will contain herring from IKEA, flowers from Tesco, a homemade, weird looking mini midsummer pole and a great bunch of Bristolian Swedes. Not too bad, after all.

Photo credit: Bo Lind and Fredrik Sweger/Sweden.se

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Posted by jennie 4 Comments

Jun 24 2010

Picture the following scenario:

Who: You and a whole bunch of friends
Where: In someone’s big summerhouse on an island in the Swedish archipelago
When: Midsummer’s eve

It’s bright and early on Midsummer’s Eve. You are woken up by the sun who gently strokes you with its warmth. Or perhaps it was the little bird singing away outside your window who made you open your eyes? Outside: A clear blue sky and a calm sea. The little breeze keeps the temperature nice and comfortable. One by one, your friends are slowly waking up and everyone gathers around the big rustic table outside for a lovely al fresco breakfast. During breakfast, you divide the chores between you. Someone is picking flowers, others are making a Midsummer pole. Some are in charge of the lunch, the rest are taking the boat into town to by some more supplies. When all is done, you gather once again around the big rustic table to enjoy the lovely strawberry cake that someone spontaneously decided to make. Afterwards, it’s time for a swim in the lovely blue sea. Perhaps you bring a few bottles of ice cold beer down to the jetty and sit there for a couple of hours. There’s no rush, no stress. When the beers are finished and your bodies are slightly tanned, you all wander back the house to dance around the pole, sing silly songs and drink more beer. Someone has already set the table, and when the dancing and the singing is over, you once again gather around the big rustic table, this time it’s packed with new potatoes, herring, salads, meatballs, aquavit and other delicacies. You eat and drink for hours, sing more songs and eat a bit more while the sun is setting over your little island. The longest evening of the year ends with skinny dipping in the warm sea before you all go to bed just before the sun rises once again over your little island.

This is how the Swedes picture themselves celebrating Midsummer’s Eve every year. Midsummer = sunshine, sea, friends, herring and a little more sunshine. And when we finally realize that the island dream won’t happen this year either, this is how we imagine that EVERYONE ELSE are celebrating Midsummer. Midsummer’s Eve in Sweden is filled with more expectations than New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve put together and if you, god forbid, don’t have an island, a summerhouse or a boat, well then you have to settle for less and have a party anyway. And no matter if you are on the island or in the city, a typical Swedish midsummer normally contains a huge amount of rain and crap weather in general, someone who gets way too drunk on aquavit (because herring isn’t the most substantial food in the world), a few arguments and massive hangover. Fun, nevertheless. But not so much the big midsummer night’s dream.

This on the other hand, is how the Germans imagine a Swedish typical Midsummer’s Eve (a warning to sligthly sensitive readers, though!). This is a – believe it or not – a commercial for IKEA, but it was banned in the end. Can’t for my life understand why!

Swedish Blog

Search

Most Popular Posts

Most Recent Posts