Semlor

1771 February 10 in Swedish History
The Swedish King Adolf Fredrik dies of acute food poisoning at Stockholm Palace after having eaten too much, most famously of the beloved Swedish dessert “semla”. Adolf Fredrik, who was born in 1710, is succeeded by his son Gustav, who becomes King Gustav III. Gustav, who at the time is in Paris, receives the message of his father’s passing during an opera visit a month later and travels to Sweden immediately.

 Picture:www.imagebank.se

During the winter months of January through March, you’ll find cardamon buns (called semlor) filled with thick almond paste and whipped cream, in bakeries and cafes all over the country.

February 12 is THE semla day (called fettisdagen) 2013, which means that it’s the last Tuesday before the 40-day period of fasting that precedes Easter in the Christian calendar. This is the excuse used to eat these sinfully delicious buns. It is claimed that semlor started to become popular in Sweden already in 1541.

Graffiti from 19th century

My great grand parents came from the area where they made paintings to cover the walls. Especially at Christmas time.My grandmother copied many of the old paintings they had in her home. That´s why I´m lucky to have both some oldones from the and 1900th century and some newer my granny made in the 1960s´. They all tell storys from the bible. The one in the picture shows maiden which went out to meet their husbands, the one who were alert had their candles burning and the lazy ones had burned out candles. Matt. 25:1-13 Painting from Sunnerbo in Halland/Småland

 

 

 

 

 Bollaltebygget is an 18th-century built-around farm. Inside the dwelling-house, the walls are covered in poor man's tapestries. Instead of the knights and goddesses found in the tapestries of the upper class, here there are scenes from the New Testament, with Jesus dressed in rough homespun and his disciples in local dress. Graffiti from the 17th century shows the age of the buildings.

 

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Robin Goodfellow / Tomten by Viktor Rydberg

This poem is known by most Swedes ( at least the elderly part of the population :)  )

This is what Lucia is all about!

Swedish Lucia For Dummies from Sweden on Vimeo.

All Saints' Day - SWEDEN.SE

All Saints' Day - SWEDEN.SE

Halloween

Halloween in Sweden was basically imported from the USA and started to catch on during the 1990s. But still there are not very many people really celebrating.

There are many reasons I think it may flounder in popularity. First of all: it’s an imported celebration, with no roots at all in Sweden. Halloween also falls very close to “Alla Helgons Dag (All Saint’s Day) which is traditionally celebrated first Saturday in November. This day has become a day of remembering the dead. Most people are visiting cemeteries and put candles, flowers or moss wreaths.

But there is some celebrating of Halloween. The shops really want us to buy horror masks, pumpkins, spiders, skulls and other things connected with Halloween.

 

                                      A way of making the Swedish princess cake at Halloween

                                                                                      Foto: Martin Hanner, Spisa.nu

Sami Culture

Postcards from all over the world

In this site you can see postcards from almost everywhere, before 1950!! So lovely
Vykortsmuseum

Kristina från Duvemåla

These are sequences from the film, built on the book with same name,  Emmigrants by Wilhelm Moberg and the music from the musical Kristina from Duvemåla. It´s about a family from Ljuder in Småland, Sweden which immigrants to Minnesota. Part 1 shows how Kristina and Karl-Oskar first met and how their family grows. The life at the farm is hard and to get something to eat they have to get ride of a lot of stones. The last part of the fist film show us how Karl-Oskars little brother Robert is working hard at another mans farm, This farmer is very hard on him and one day he hits him so he lost he hearing. Karl-Oskar is visiting the farmer to bring some justice. They all start to dream a dream.... about another country and a better life far, far away.

Part 2 starts with Kristina getting pregnant again and Karl- Oskar is asking God why he give them all these children, when the have no food to feed them with. Kristina gets mad on him and tells him not to blame God . But Karl-Oskar keep blaming God for their life and the really bad harvest they get. Their children starvs and their daughter Anna is eating some grains that makes her stomach swells and she dies. Krisitna think this could be a punish from God for the doubt Karl-Oskar has expressed before. They desides to leave Sweden together with some relatives and other people from the same area.

 

Part 3 This sequence show us the hard life at the ship to New York. Kristina get fleas and blame Ulrica, an unmarried woman with bad reputation. Many people get really sick during the trip and some of them have to be burried into the sea. Kristina also get very ill in Scurvy and Karl- Oskar is afraid he will loose her.

 

Part 4 They now finally see land and going ashore in New York. They cant belive what they are seeing. There are so much food and people are dressed in a way only the nobless would be dressed in Sweden. There is only one big problem the language. Some of them hoped that God would make them speak English when they got ashore. Karl-Oskar get Krisitna some milk, something she dreamt of for a long time. The trip goes from New York with a train and steamboat to the place Stillwater where the nice man, reverend Jackson take care of the poor bunch of people who are hungry, in need of new clothes and help with the language.

 

Part 5 They are now reaching their new home. Kristina sees it all and start wondering if they made the right decision. She is thinking about her former life and the child who died. They are struggling with different problems. The have settled down in a place where there is a war on aginst the indians and they are some times feeling endangered. Kristina also miss her homeland, the people from home and the community. God! You have to be there!  This on is in English!

 

Part 6: This one is translated with English subtitle!! :) But the story before this sequence is that Kristina has been told from a doctor that she can´t have any more children and she will die if she get pregnant again. The couple decide to live separate, but their love can´t keep them apart.......

New film tackles Olof Palme's complex legacy

With their much-anticipated documentary about Sweden's slain Prime Minister Olof Palme set to open in cinemas across the country on Friday, the film's directors talk to The Local about Swedes' love-hate relationship with the controversial politician.

New film tackles Olof Palme's complex legacy - The Local

New ABBA museum

A long-awaited Abba museum will open next April on Stockholm's Djurgården. It will be connected to the Swedish Music Hall of Fame on the same site.


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Lasse Hallström and Lena Olin

The new Swedish movie “The Hypnotist”, based on a thriller in the Stieg Larsson Millennium tradition, is this year’s Swedish entry for nomination as the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, but attracting even more attention is the fact that it is directed by Lasse Hallström, filming again in Sweden for the first time in 25 years.

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