Sweden
By "Joey Tempest"
The capital of Sweden is Stockholm. The city is built on 14 islands that are connected by bridges. Within this city is a contrast of Sweden's ties to the old world as well as its advances in modern technology. The city centre is quite modern, but travel a bit away from that and you will find the Gamla Stan, or Old Town, which still has many 17th Century buildings intact and streets so narrow that modern vehicles cannot pass through. A good amount of the country is like this because it's only been in the last few centuries that Sweden has become modernized.
About 50 percent of the country is forest, which by law you are allowed to move about freely and utilize for recreation. There are also 96,000 lakes in Sweden which fall under this law as well. The country as a result is big on outdoor activities, and no matter what the season if there's a sport that can be played we'll probably do it. Obviously, we're known for a lot of our excellence in winter sports; you'll probably see a lot of Swedish names in the Winter Olympics especially in hockey and skiing, for example.
Area-wise, Sweden is probably about the size of California, and our population, at a bit over nine million, is close to that of New Jersey. Of those nine million people, over a million or so live in Stockholm.
Swedes are big on celebrating the arts. There are always music festivals taking place throughout the year, both in the city proper and in the municipalities countrywide. The largest festival is the four-day Luleåkasset, or Big Stage, which takes place in the Northern city of Luleå.
From internationally-known acts on the main stage, to the smallest of local Swedish artists in one of the many pavilions, all genres of music are covered. There is also a carnival-like atmosphere with something for everyone of every age to enjoy.
Our culture is in constant focus, and there are over 100 museums in Stockholm alone celebrating a myriad of subjects. Mixed in among all the modern buildings and parks of the country, you'll find remnants of our Viking heritage, with 2,500 runestones spread out around the Stockholm area, and burial mounds still present, some near modern buildings.
Three of the biggest holidays you'll hear Swedes talk about are Midsommar, Lucia Day and Christmas.
Midsommar began in medieval times and began as a pagan celebration of the rites of spring. These days, Midsommar, which is celebrated in conjunction with the Summer Solstice in June (or the weekend closest to it), is a mix of old world traditions and modern celebrations held everywhere from the two major amusement parks in Stockholm to open air festivals in our major parks. The bars and clubs of Sweden are usually packed and there are usually music and cultural festivals in abundance.
Lucia Day is December 13th, and the purpose of this very old tradition is to light up the darkest day of winter with song and candles -- this day is often referred to as the Festival of Lights. The oldest female child in a household wears a white gown and a crown of candles and sings traditional Swedish songs as she brings a breakfast of Lucia buns and glogg (a type of sweet mulled red wine).
Our Christmas season begins at the end of November, and there are continual festivities and shopping (especially at the huge Christmas market in the open air-museum of Skansen). For the most part, Christmas is celebrated by Swedes on 24 December with smorgasbords and family gatherings. Christmas Day is usually pretty quiet, with a trip to church in the morning but for the most part is a day of rest.
Also of note is the extremes of daylight and darkness. In the winter, Stockholm can have as much as 20 hours of night; conversely, in the summer there's just as much light. Winters in Sweden are cold, dark and rather depressing at times, so you'll find yourself probably wanting to take vacations during that time of the year for a break in the monotony. Summers are not overwhelmingly hot; in fact the weather is perfect for most activities, with the highs in July usually only in the mid-60 degree range Fahrenheit (+18 degrees Celsius).
The Krona is the basic unit of currency in Sweden. Coins can be 10 kronor, 5 kronor, 1 krona or 50 öre. 50 öre is half a krona. You need about 8 Swedish kronor to equal a US dollar. Bills are paper money. They can be worth 1000 kronor, 500 kronor, 50 kronor or 20 kronor.
Sweden has a royal family whose name is Bernadotte; their ancestry can actually be traced back to French origins. The eldest child of the King and Queen succeeds to the throne regardless of gender. They live in Drottningholm Palace, just south of Stockholm; this is one of nine royal palaces in and around the city.
The Swedish Flag is a blue background, with a yellow cross; the cross appears sideways when the flag is flying.
Personality-wise, Swedes are a quiet people. We tend to be a bit aloof when you first meet us; we'll be cordial but as a rule we'll observe and kind of attempt to figure you out before we get to know you well. We tend to be rather shy, and will attempt to avoid confrontation as rule. Once you get to know us though, you'll probably find that we're just as outgoing as the next person. It just might take a while for that personality to come through. Be patient and you will probably find that there's a lot about the person you're getting to know that you'd never have expected.
Perhaps the biggest misconception about Swedes in Western culture is the assumption that we do not speak English very well. It's rather common for someone to assume that when speaking English or even our native tongue, that we sound like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because our language is so country-specific, and not really spoken widely outside of Scandinavia, it is pretty much mandatory that we need to know English. So as a result English is taught in Swedish schools from a very young age. If you live in Sweden and use English less than your native language, you may have some minor misspellings and verb/noun misuse. But, if you are living in an English-speaking country, or your profession dictates that you use the language frequently and are an adult who learned this second language from an early age, your English writing should probably be pretty close to as good as any other English writer. The same goes for your spoken words.
While the principal language of Sweden is Swedish, a rise in emigration over the years has led to our nation becoming very culturally diverse. Many people of other cultures, races and creeds now call Sweden home, or share ancestry with other countries; as a result, someone who may not necessarily 'look' Swedish may in fact be a citizen of the country. Many Swedes not only know their native language and English; it's because of this diversity that many know up to four languages and beyond.
If you are going to use Swedish words or phrases in your English writing, you need to note that there are three extra letters in the Swedish language: ä, å, and ö. This is very important because not using the umlauts can make the word mean something rather different than you intend. These can be found quite easily by using the Character Map program on your PC or KeyCaps on a Mac.
Some basic words and phrases you might find yourself using:
God morgon - good morning
Hej/Goddag - Hello/good day
God kväll - Good evening
God natt - Good night
Hej då/Adjö (more formal) - Goodbye
Var snäll - Please
Tack (så mycket) - Thank you (very much)
Ingen orsak/Var så god - Don't mention it/you're welcome
Ja/Nej - yes/no
Hur är det?/Hur har du det? - How are you?
Hur mår du? - How are you? (How are you feeling?)
Bra - Good/fine
Inte så bra - Not so good.
Vad heter du? - What's your name?
Jag heter/ Mitt namn är - I am called/my name is...
Trevligt att träffas! - Pleased to meet you!
Välkommen! - Welcome!
Talar du svenska? - Do you speak Swedish?
Jag talar englska - I speak English.
(Other languages:
→ Danska - Danish
→ Norska - Norwegian
→ Franska - French
→ Italienska - Italian
→ Spanska - Spanish
→ Tyska - German
→ Holländska - Dutch
→ Ryska - Russian
→ Japanska - Japanese)
Ha det så bra - Take care
Vi ses senare/snart - See you later/soon
Hej/Hej då - Hi/bye
Jag älskar dig/du - I love you
Jag saknar dig - I miss you.
I hope you've found this information helpful. If you are looking for more specific information, www.sweden.se is a great place to start; their site is in both Swedish and English as well as several other languages and is very in-depth. Several of our other major cities, like Göteborg and Malmö, and even smaller cities like my hometown of Upplands-Väsby, have their own websites with detailed information as well.
Another good source of information can be found here. You can either watch a Flash presentation or use the regular HTML format that is linked.
