My Name is Jonathan and I am a South African immigrant who for the past 8 years has been living in Sweden. I am half South African and half Swedish, so please forgive me if I only get half of the facts right about the Swedish culture. The best for me to explain is to compare Swedish culture to South African culture, they are very different, but I hope it brings understanding to the wonderful Swedish culture.
Geography of Sweden
Location: Northern Europe, Between Norway and Finland.
Map references: Europe
Climate: Temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north.
Terrain: Mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west.
Natural resources: iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber and hydropower.
Famous places to visit in Sweden:
Sweden is a famous tourist destinations for millions of travelers from all around the globe. The tourist attractions here are extremely rich in history. A list of such famous places to visit in Sweden is furnished below that you can avail during your joyful stay in Sweden.
Arild
It is situated close to the Kullaberg hill, on the Kullen Peninsula with the city of Helsingborg close by. Arild is located in the Bay of Skälderviken. Arild is a small fishing village in the county of Skåne in Sweden. This town has a relatively mild climate, with huge variations between seasons.
Gotland Island
Typified by mild autumns, it receives many hours of sunshine. Gotland Island is popularly known as ‘the Pearl of the Baltic Sea’; it is the largest island in the Baltic Sea.
Landskrona
Landskrona was founded by King Erik XIII, ruler of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and accorded the status of a town in 1413. Landskrona is the seat of the Landskrona Municipality in Skåne County, Sweden. The city was rebuilt in the mid-eighteenth century.
Everyday life
Swedish people themselves are a cold climate people...now I don't mean they live in a cold climate, what I mean is that they are not a very open sort of people. For example, picture if you will, you are in South Africa and a friend might want to come and visit you. They might or might not phone to tell you that he/she is on their way to come over for a "cupper" (cup of tea) . As for Swed's, if you were to ask them if you can come for a visit, through experience, a calender gets pulled out and they will ask if you are able to come over on a certain day and a date gets schedule. I am not saying that all cold climate people are bad, what I am trying to do is show you the way the Swedish are through "culture personalities".One thing that is also good to know that will really help with the thinking and actions of Scandinavian people in general, is whats known as Jante Law . The Jante Law was named and described by the Norwegian/Danish author Aksel Sandemose in his novel A Fugitive Crosses his Tracks (En flygtning krydser sit spor, 1933), where he portrays the small Danish town Jante, modelled upon his native town Nykøbing Mors as it was in the beginning of the 20th century, but typical of all very small towns, where nobody is anonymous.
There are ten different rules in the law, but they are all variations on a single theme: Don't think you're anyone special or that you're better than us.
The ten rules are:
Don't think you are anything.
Don't think you are as good as us.
Don't think you are smarter than us.
Don't fancy yourself better than us.
Don't think you know more than us.
Don't think you are greater than us.
Don't think you are good for anything.
Don't laugh at us.
Don't think that anyone cares about you.
Don't think you can teach us anything.
Swedish History
Like all cultures Sweden has along history, of war, peace, economic problems and even high points in its existence. One historical point that comes to every one's mind when you mention Sweden is the Viking Crusades during 800 - 1050 AD. Sweden technically became a country in the year 1000 AD. From the middle of the 12th century there was an intense struggle for power between the Sverker and Erik families, who held the crown alternately between 1160 and 1250. In the 1560's Sweden's king, Gustav II Adolf was determined to have full control of the Baltic Sea and from there Sweden had many wars with Denmark. In 1630 Gustav II Adolf was successful in his quest to control the Baltic Sea. Conquering a great deal of Norway, Finland, Germany and the present-day Baltic republics also belonged to Sweden. Domestic politics were marked by a period of calm and peace after King Gustav IV Adolf (1792-1809) lost the throne in 1809. The French marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte became king in 1818 as Karl XIV Johan. Bernadotte succeeded in forcing Norway into a union with Sweden in 1814. This union was peacefully resolved in 1905 after many internal disputes. In 1842 compulsory education was introduced, and the reigns of King Karl XIV Johan's son and grandson, Oskar I and Karl XV, saw the end of the guild system; the adoption of free trade; and finally the introduction of local self-government in 1862 and the reform of Parliament.Swedish Traditions
While looking around for information about Swedish traditions a found a few. So I decided to write a about a few that I found interesting.
Walpurgis Eve and Mayday
On the eve of Spring, on the last day of April. This festival is celebrated charol singing, speeches and most importantly crackling bonfires. It is an ancient tradition, the bonfires were lit to scare off the wild animals from the pastures where the cattle would graze from the first day of May. To this day they still celebrate this old tradition in some areas.
Crayfish under the Moon
This interesting celebration is pretty much to say goodbye to summer. The Crayfish Party has become one of the most typical Swedish traditions. On the first Thursday of August, "crayfish hyteria" breaks out in Sweden; people go on shopping sprees to buy Chinese lanterns, funny hats, huge paper bibs and napkins decorated with a crayfish motifs. The table is laid out for the party and on mild late summer evenings the garden chairs are taken out, the lanterns are hung up and Swedes wrap themselves in blankets, eating crayfish until well after dusk has fallen.
St. Martin's Goose Eve
On St. Martin's Goose Eve, on November 10, people from the southern province of Skåne gather at home or in restaurants for the annual goose menu and to enjoy a welcome break from everyday life. It is still a while until Christmas and the landscape in veiled in grey and rainy atmosphere. Geese are the focus of this celebration because this fine-tasting bird has always been a symbol of Skåne, just as the reindeer is of Lapland. The reason why this celebration exists mainly in Skåne today is because geese are more abundant there, thanks to the grazing pastures.
Selma Lagerlöf's book about Nils Holgersson, who rode on a goose from Skåne all the way to northern Sweden, has made the Swedish geese famous to children outside the country!
Sources:
Scent of Sweden - by Kristina Kisthinios
Walpurgis Eve and Mayday
On the eve of Spring, on the last day of April. This festival is celebrated charol singing, speeches and most importantly crackling bonfires. It is an ancient tradition, the bonfires were lit to scare off the wild animals from the pastures where the cattle would graze from the first day of May. To this day they still celebrate this old tradition in some areas.
Crayfish under the Moon
This interesting celebration is pretty much to say goodbye to summer. The Crayfish Party has become one of the most typical Swedish traditions. On the first Thursday of August, "crayfish hyteria" breaks out in Sweden; people go on shopping sprees to buy Chinese lanterns, funny hats, huge paper bibs and napkins decorated with a crayfish motifs. The table is laid out for the party and on mild late summer evenings the garden chairs are taken out, the lanterns are hung up and Swedes wrap themselves in blankets, eating crayfish until well after dusk has fallen.
St. Martin's Goose Eve
On St. Martin's Goose Eve, on November 10, people from the southern province of Skåne gather at home or in restaurants for the annual goose menu and to enjoy a welcome break from everyday life. It is still a while until Christmas and the landscape in veiled in grey and rainy atmosphere. Geese are the focus of this celebration because this fine-tasting bird has always been a symbol of Skåne, just as the reindeer is of Lapland. The reason why this celebration exists mainly in Skåne today is because geese are more abundant there, thanks to the grazing pastures.
Selma Lagerlöf's book about Nils Holgersson, who rode on a goose from Skåne all the way to northern Sweden, has made the Swedish geese famous to children outside the country!
Sources:
Scent of Sweden - by Kristina Kisthinios
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