Best 3 Swedish Culture Everything International Students Need to Know
Highlights of Swedish culture
Highlights of Swedish culture. When you arrive in Sweden, you will discover some key values that underpin life in Sweden. These include freedom, equality & sustainability, and make up the Swedish Way. While it may be unusual for a foreigner to strike up a conversation with you on the street, you will find that Swedes are quietly passionate about working together to create a much better world.
Depending on the country you grew up in, you may or may not be surprised by the differences you encounter while studying in Sweden. So what is it like to study and live in Sweden on a cultural level?
Swedes value openness and cooperation at university and the workplace and don’t like to judge some people as more valuable than others. While you may be surprised to call your professor or boss by their first name and find them dressed more casually than expected, you will soon get used to the egalitarian nature of the Swedish dynamic.
In Sweden, you have the freedom to be who you want to be, the way you want to be. You have the freedom to express your opinions, fight for your rights, and make a difference in society.
Sweden is one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world. In recent decades, Sweden has passed laws to try and ensure that the LGBTQ+ community has the same rights as everyone else. Some of these laws include a gender-neutral marriage law (2009) and a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation (2011).
An important element that makes Sweden one of the most advanced countries in the world is that people are constantly fighting and working – for improvement, as well as ensuring their freedoms and rights are protected.
Swedish Food
Food in Sweden
The Swedes’ love for the outdoors carries over into their food culture. When you make friends with Swedes, you might be invited to go to a crayfish party which might involve setting traps and feasting on these shellfish. If crayfish are not appetizing, you can enjoy the outdoors by picking berries and mushrooms in one of Sweden’s many forests.
Lingonberries picked in the forest are often made into jam and eaten year-round as a condiment for many Swedish meals. Fresh and pickled herring is common in Swedish cuisine as the Baltic Sea is rich in herring. Herring is also a staple in Sweden during midsummer and Christmas. You may be surprised the first time you order a sandwich in Sweden and receive only a slice of bread. Swedish sandwiches are usually open-faced with meat, vegetables, and sauces piled on top.
Swedes are usually health-conscious and their diet reflects this with one exception: Saturday sweets. The average Swede consumes about sixteen kilos of candy per year and most of that consumption is likely to occur on Saturdays when adults and children eat large amounts of candy.
Swedish Holidays
Holidays in Sweden
Like most of Europe, Sweden takes holidays seriously with plenty of time off school and work to celebrate with family and friends. Sweden’s biggest holidays are Christmas and Midsummer.
Midsummer
Midsummer is celebrated on the summer solstice – the longest day of the year. As a northern country, Sweden has long periods of daylight and in the very north of the country, the sun never sets. The prolonged daylight leads to prolonged feasting as Swedes flock to the countryside to celebrate. Traditionally, Swedes wear flower crowns dance around flower poles, and eat several meals, drinking schnapps to rowdy drinking songs.
Christmas
Soon after the winter solstice, Swedes end the year by gathering with family and friends to celebrate Christmas in their homes. Although the cuisine varies depending on the region and family, typical dishes include ham, meatballs, herring, hard bread, and wine.
A unique tradition that many Swedes follow is to gather in front of the television to watch the afternoon Disney Christmas specials that have been airing for decades. Like Christmas celebrations around the world, the Swedish gift exchange includes a rhyme written as a clue that is read aloud before each gift is opened.