Posts under "Culture"

Swedish Christmas Songs

Posted by Tibor No Comments
Dec 22 2011
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Julsång – nu är det jul igen

|:: Nu är det jul igen, och nu är det jul igen
Och julen varar väl till påska ::|
|:: Nu är det jul igen, och nu är det jul igen
Och julen varar väl till påska ::|

|:: Men det var inte sant och det var inte sant
För däremellan kommer fasta ::|
|:: Och det var inte sant och det var inte sant
För däremellan kommer fasta ::|

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Räven raskar över isen

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga flickornas visa?
Så här gör flickorna var de går,
och var de sitter och var de står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga flickornas visa?

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga gossarnas visa?
Så här gör gossarna var de går,
och var de sitter och var de står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga gossarnas visa?

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga gummornas visa?
Så här gör gummorna var de går,
och var de sitter och var de står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga gummornas visa?

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga gubbarnas visa?
Så här gör gubbarna var de går,
och var de sitter och var de står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga gubbarnas visa?

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga skräddarens visa?
Så här gör skräddaren var han går,
och var han sitter och var han står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga skräddarens visa?

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga skomakarns visa?
Så här gör skomakarn var han går,
och var han sitter och var han står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga skomakarns visa?

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga målarens visa?
Så här gör målaren var han går,
och var han sitter och var han står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga målarens visa?

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga bagarens visa?
Så här gör bagaren var han går,
och var han sitter och var han står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga bagarens visa?

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga sotarens visa?
Så här gör sotaren var han går,
och var han sitter och var han står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga sotarens visa?

Musikhjälpen – bringing Sweden together for a good cause

Posted by jennie 1 Comment
Dec 15 2011

It’s every child’s right to go to school. This  is stated in the UN’s Children’s convention, but unfortunately as we all know, this is not the case. All over the world, over 100 000 000 children are denied the right to education, the majority of these childen are girls.

Right this minute, thousands of Swedes are taking part in a huge charity event with the aim to collect as much money as possible for every girl’s right to go to school. it. It’s called Musikhjälpen (The music help) and it’s a collaboration between Swedish public radio and Swedish public TV and this is the fourth year it’s taking place – every year with new hosts and a new good cause to support. The set up is simple. Three hosts  – famous Swedes – are locked in in a glass cage, this time it’s placed right in the centre of Gothenburg. The cage will be their home for six days, their food supplies are limited and they will broadcast radio and TV live 24/7. Things are happening in the cage all day and night and you can donate money by making song requests or by joining any of the thousands different activities going on, in the cage and all over the county. Small children donate their Christmas present money, big companies donate big cheques and I can tell you, the whole event is a real tear jerker. It’s amazing to see such a big part of Sweden – celebrities, politicians, teenagers, children, old people, rich, poor – come together for a great cause. Throughout the week, you can bid on loads of donated celebrity memorabilia or dinner dates with various famous people. Or, just simply request a song. This costs 50 SEK – enough money to send a girl in Africa to school for a whole month.

The collected sum is at the moment close to 4 000 000 SEK, but the aim is to double that and then some.

Musikhjälpen started in Holland seven years ago and has spread to Switzerland, Belgium and Kenya, amongst others. Please take a look at Musikhjälpenshomepage – where you can look, listen and read more! Or, just simply take a look at the faboulous winter weather Gothenburg is having at the moment…not.  And while you are there, why not request some great Swedish classics?

Fika. Swedish Style.

Posted by Marcus Cederström 3 Comments
Dec 12 2011

After several years in Sweden and a move back to the United States, I realized I had picked up quite a few habits. Some decidedly Swedish. Like taking my shoes off every time I enter someone’s home. It’s just a nice thing to do in my opinion and it ensures that all of that gunk I’ve been walking on outside, doesn’t make its way inside.

One habit that I did not pick up was going out for a fika. Probably because I don’t drink coffee (on a side note, I was once told that me not drinking coffee made me a stereotypical American. Because Americans don’t drink coffee. Obviously.). But no trip to Sweden is complete without hearing the word fika on a regular basis.

A while back, Katja wrote about the classic snacks for a fika, and even took a look at the habit of fika-ing in cafes instead of at home.  Today, we’re going to talk a bit about the word and the cultural mainstay it has become.

First, what is it? Fika is a cultural phenomenon that is similar to English tea.  You’re supposed to have yourself some coffee, maybe some saft if you’re not into coffee, and some baked goods.  Fikas are common in the work place, where you’ll sometimes have both a morning and an afternoon fika.  They’re a common way to go on a first date. A common way to go on a last date.  A common way to meet new people, meet old friends, meet new colleagues.  Sometimes you might even have a job interview over a fika.

As you’ll notie above, there’s not much the fika can’t do.  It’s amazing really. The word itself is pretty impressive.  It can act as both verb and noun.  For example:

Verb form: Ska vi fika imorgon eftermiddag? (Shall we fika tomorrow afternoon?)
Noun form: Ska vi ta en fika lite senare? (Shall we grab a fika a little bit later?)

Fascinating isn’t it?  It gets better. Or at least for the linguistics amongst us it gets better.  Nationalencyklopedin has a very short, but very interesting (and unfortunately, now NOT free service) that describes how the word originated from a slang language used by marketplace merchants in Västergötland.  The Swedish word for coffee is kaffe, which became kaffi. Somehow, and this is where my linguistic knowledge hits a wall, the letters were rearranged and we are left with the word fika.

So next time you find yourself in Sweden and someone asks you out for a fika. Say yes. You’ll already have a great conversation starter (speaking of which, Katja has written a lovely post about a classic conversation starter in Swedish. Check it out.).

Julskinkan – the centerpiece of the Swedish julbord

Posted by jennie No Comments
Dec 8 2011

Warning: If you don’t like the look of meat being prepared, you should probably stop reading now!

I assume all you fellow Sweden lovers are familiar with our buffet style habit of eating. Our beloved smörgåsbord comes out at Easter, at Midsummer’s eve and most importantly – at Christmas. This time of the year, our julbord (Christmas table) is packed with köttbullar (meatballs), inlnagd sill (pickled herring), rökt och gravad lax (smoked and gravadlax), rödbetssallad (beetroot sallad), korv (sausages)… and most importantly, the ham. Julskinka. I think it’s safe to say that most of the non vegetarian julbord will have a piece of ham in the middle of the table and for most people (me!) this is definitely the most important part of the Christmas eating. It’s an ancient tradition to cook and eat ham in Sweden around Christmas and almost 7 000 tonnes are being sold every year. It’s best served with mustard, on a piece of knäckebröd (crisp bread) with a dollop of beetroot salad on the side – and this is exactly what I will stuff my face with tonight. My very own Christmas ham is calling me from the kitchen and this is how I did it:

1. A cured oncooked ham joint is left to soak in water over night to remove some of the salt from the curing. Is it just me or does this joint look like a pig’s face? Which I can assure you, it’s not…

2. Put it in a pot with carrots, a stick of celery, an onion, a few cloves and juniper berries. Cover it with water and then leave it to simmer until the internal temperature reaches 75 degrees C  (170 F). This takes about 20 minutes per 450 grams (1 lb).

3. Allow it to cool in the broth, take it out and put it in a rosting tin. Peel off the skin, leaving the fat underneath which can be scored into diamonds.  Spread the scored fat with a mix of egg and mustard and then sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of it. Put it in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the crumbs have got a nice colour.

4. Let it cool and then – eat!

PS: This is obviously just my personal take on it and in no way the “correct” way of doing it. Have you got another way – please share!

The countdown to Christmas!

Posted by jennie 5 Comments
Dec 1 2011

Finally! December is here and today we are properly kicking off the countdown to Christmas. Well, this is  not entirely true, since first of Advent was last Sunday (November 27) and that’s the day when most Swedes goes candles-and-stars-mental and decorate every window possible. You know the story, Sweden is pretty dark and miserably around this time of the year and we need light, light and more light to stay sane. This is what my windows look like – very Swedish but the only difference is that here in England, I’m one of few with decorated windows. It’s in other words easy to spot the Swede on the street! Please feel free to comment on our lovely December weather, wet and 10 degrees warm…

It was a man named Oskar Andersson who invented the world’s first electrical candlestick (adventsljusstake) in 1934. These have been custom in most Swedish homes and possibly thanks to IKEA, they are now spreading across the globe. They consist of seven electrical candles, normally put together in a pyramid shape, and can be made of wood, plastic, stee and you can pend an absolute fortune on one if you feel the need. The red flowers are called julstjärna in Sweden (Christmas star) but I believe the correct name is Poinsettia or Christmas rose. A must in the Christmas window!

Another big milestone in the countdown to Christmas is Julkalendern, the Christmas calendar. It is a Advent calendar in the form of a television show starting on the first of December, and ending on Christmas Eve. The show comes with an Advent calendar and after every show, you open a new window. Every episode is 15 minutes long and is shown either early in the morning, at 7.15 am – it’s a great and very cosy way to start the day!  – or in the evening, at 6 .15 pm. It’s a much loved and old tradition; the first Julkalender was first on Swedish TV in 1960 and has been going every year since. The tradition has spread to the other Scandinavian countries and the national radio has its own julkalender as well.  There’s a new story every year, but the show is normally set somewhere in a wintery Sweden and contains either a mystery or even a few ghosts – and tonnes of Christmas spirit! This year’s julkalender is called Tjuvarnas jul (The Christmas of the thieves) and is a classic fairytail in the spirit of Charles Dickens.Read more about it here and make sure to watch it here! Christmas spirit guaranteed

Oh well, I know it’s early but still: God jul for know, dear blog readers!

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