Posts under "Culture"

What I like about Sweden…

Posted by Katja 3 Comments
Dec 29 2011

It is important to bring up the positive and special things about your own country. To start off with I want to mention some of my favorite things about Sweden:

The safety and honesty we are surrounded by.

So much nature to retreat to, so close to cities. The calmness found on a long walk, the knowledge that you have freedom to pick berries or mushrooms if you find any.  Just walking surrounded nature is completely relaxing.

Lastly, the acceptance of freedom of speech and opinion. In Sweden you can write, say and wear whatever you want. You are allowed to demonstrate for whatever cause you want as long as you apply for permission first, however weird or strange things you believe in. But people who think differently also have the right to express their views on the demonstration and can therefor also demonstrate. I believe it is very important to be this democratic, to let everybody say what they think, in order not to forbid any opinions et.c

These are things which are easy to forget in the busy bustle of our lives, but which mean so much to us. I could continue the list a great many more rows, but instead I would love to hear what things other people treasure of appreciate about Sweden.

 

Student nations at Uppsala University

Posted by Steve No Comments
Dec 28 2011

One of the most unique things about Uppsala University (as well as, as it so happens, Lund University) is the student nation system. Traditionally, students from a given part of Sweden would join that region’s respective ‘nation’, as a way to split up the student body in order to promote various aspects of student life in a more organized manner. The idea comes originally from the medieval University of Paris. Nowadays, however, any student can join any nation and it is no longer a requirement to join any at all. All of the current 13 student nations in Uppsala have their roots in the early to mid 1600′s.

But what really is a student nation? Quoted directly from the Uppsala Student Union’s homepage: “A nation is a bit like a pub, a bit like a café, a bit like a student club, a bit like a college, even something like a fraternity or sorority… but not really!” Well, that’s a great way to sum it up – not even! It’s basically a place for students to meet, take a drink or coffee, party all night or even just sit and study. Some nations even have theatre groups and choirs. And if you’re a member of one nation, you have access to all of them – that one pink card is universal! Some features are, however, exclusive to the nation you’re registered with: for example, you can’t apply for a student room/apartment through any nation other than the one you are enrolled in. This is both a measure to make it easier for students of any particular nation to take advantage of his/her nation’s benefits as well as to distribute students among the many nations more equally.

Oh, I could write on forever, but there are no words to describe the actual feeling of pure student life in Uppsala. If you’re studying at an institution of higher education and are considering a semester abroad, I can recommend without hesitation Uppsala University!

Christmas Season Traditions in Sweden

Posted by Marcus Cederström 2 Comments
Dec 27 2011

We’re in those days between New Year’s Eve and Christmas when people kind of laze around, gliding through their work week just trying to get by waiting for one more holiday. So what better time to discuss a few of the different holidays in Sweden around this time?

First, Swedes love vacation days. As they should. Most companies will start you off with at least 25 days of vacation per year. And that doesn’t even count all of the public holidays. December and January are chalk full of them.

In December, there is of course julafton (Christmas Eve), the big Christmas celebration in Sweden. This is the day you’ll be watching Kalle Anka on TV with nearly the entire nation. Unfortunately, it doesn’t count as a red day, those sought after days off from work, but that doesn’t stop most people from taking the day off and many companies giving the entire day off.

Then there’s juldagen (Christmas Day). This is absolutely an official day off from work. This is the day you’ll be recovering from watching Kalle Anka on TV with nearly the entire nation.

Following juldagen comes annandag jul (Boxing Day). Just as the Swedish suggests, this is the day after Christmas. Historically there are religious reasons behind the holiday. Today, it’s just one more day off of work.

Then there is a lull. But have no fear; there are plenty of days off coming up. You just need to wait a week or so for January to roll around.

New Year’s Eve is not an official day off from work. And the traditions vary a bit from American traditions. There is no ball dropping. There is no Dick Clark. There is no countdown. In fact, trying to start a countdown with a bunch of Swedes will get you a lot of strange stares. Just trust me. But instead of a countdown, the Swedes celebrate with fireworks. Try to find yourself a rooftop to look out over whatever city you may be in. It’ll be worth it. Trust me.

New Year’s Day does count as a day off from work. And just like Americans, it’s a day usually used for recovery. Lots and lots of recovery.

Now for a lot of people, that’s it. Holidays are over. Back to work. Nose to the grindstone, no more fun for a while. Not Sweden. There is still one more day off: trettondedag jul. The Epiphany. Again, there are obvious religious reasons for the holiday, but for most Swedes today it is just another day off from work.

Finally comes the 13th of January. This is according to tradition the official end to the Christmas season. That means that you need to get rid of your Christmas decorations. Namely your Christmas tree (which Jennie does a great job of explaining in her post about The Swedish Christmas tree). Back in the day it was common to just toss the tree out of your window, even if you were in a tall apartment building. That’s less popular today and instead collection sites are usually available throughout your city. However, some people still toss Christmas, and the Christmas tree, out the window to mark the end of the season. Like me. From the 14th floor. No one was injured and I enjoyed every second of it. Until I had to clean up the mess that followed. I was picking pine needles up for months.

Safe Driving in Sweden

Posted by Marcus Cederström No Comments
Dec 26 2011

It is no secret that alcohol is a big part of the holiday traditions in Sweden for most people. Not all of course, but most. We’ve documented the crayfish tradition in August, replete with alcohol. We’ve even included a few drinking songs. And while this blog does not speak for all of Sweden, we do try to touch on the cultural mainstays of the Swedish way of life. And that includes drinking. For better or worse.

The insurance company Salus Ansvar seems to understand the prevalence of alcohol at the holidays and has created a mobile app to monitor your state of drunkenness. The app has one main goal. To keep people from driving drunk. The main concern is actually not getting into the car right after a party, but instead getting into a car the next morning with alcohol still in your system. A large percentage of Swedes according to Salus Ansvar are unsure whether or not the alcohol has cleared out their system by the time they are ready to drive in the morning. And that can have serious consequences. Especially in Sweden.

Drunk driving laws in Sweden differ quite a bit from those in the US. The legal limit differs from state to state, but I am from Colorado where the legal limit is .08%. That ends up being a couple of drinks. In Sweden though, the laws are much stricter. In fact, four times as strict. The legal limit is .02%. That essentially means one drink and you are done. No more driving. And if you decide to ignore that and pour a few more drinks into your gullet, you can reach what is considered a higher level of drunkenness. With higher penalties.  That level is .10%.

Salus Ansvars app, titled Körklar? (essentially asking you whether you are safe to drive or not and available at the Apple store if you’re interested in checking it out), takes into consideration factors such as your sex, your weight, the amount of drinks, and the time of consumption. All of these factors are computed to give an idea as to how long it takes your body to clear the effects of alcohol from your system.

Of course, this is not perfect. Each person burns alcohol at a different rate, but it is an interesting solution to a problem many Swedes deal with around the holidays. With apps like these though, the fear is always that you get the occasional idiot who instead of using it to safely monitor themselves, tries to reach a new level of drunkenness. Best advice? Be careful. Don’t drive if you’re drinking, no matter what country you’re in, and if you are going to drink, do so in moderation.

With all that said, god jul och gott nytt år!

The Swedish Christmas tree

Posted by jennie 2 Comments
Dec 23 2011

It’s the day before the dipping day, only one episode is left of the thrilling tv-advent calender “Tjuvarnas jul” and the countdown is down to hours, not days. Julafton awaits around the corner and today is the day when many families will bring in the mother of all Christmas decorations, the all important and wonderful Christmas tree.

The tradition with bringing in and decorating a Christmas tree can be traced back to the 18th century. Back then, the were mostly decorated with edible things, like sweets and fruits. And real candles, of course! The most imidiate fire hazard was prevented by hanging apples on the tip of the branches, this to make the branches heavier and the candles further apart. When the Christmas tree tradition spread beyond the upper class, home made decorations  from straw and paper became popular. Lots of tiny Swedish flags was also fashionable back in the days.

As we all know you can put pretty much anything you like in your Christmas tree. But in general, you will probably find the following in a Swedish Christmas tree:

Christmas tree (Julgran)
* A star to put in the top to symbolise the star of Bethlehem (Stjärna)
* Electric candles (Ljusslinga)
* Tinsel (Glitter)
* Glass baubles in any colour (Julgranskulor)

Quite often you can also find the following:
* Decorations made of straw, for exanple goats, hearts and stars
* Lollipops (Polkagrisar)
* Christmas crackers (Smällkarameller)

So what do you do then once your tree is there in its pride and glory? Well in Sweden, we dance around it. Hand in hand, like a big circle with the tree in the middle. There are certain dedicated dance-around-the-Christmas-tree-songs that you are supposed to sing while you are swinging away. To be fair, I’m not sure how many families who acctually do this on Christmas eve, but it’s certainly a tradition in nurseries and schools.

And finally, what do you do once you have gotten tired of your Christmas tree? Well, you throw it out with a big party of course. It’s tradition to throw it out on Twentieth Day Knut, that falls on January 13 and on this day you should have a party and dance around the Christmas tree for the last time before “plundering” it.

What have you got in your Christmas tree?

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