Swedish Customs, 1911
The Swedes are a most hospitable and kindly people, and enjoy entertaining. They do not mask their feelings, for as soon as a visitor arrives, he is made to feel…
From: 1911 C.E. To: 1911 C.E.
Location: Sweden
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“Customs” from Peeps at Many Lands: Sweden by William and Mrs. Liddle, 1911.
The Swedes are a most hospitable and kindly people, and enjoy entertaining. They do not mask their feelings, for as soon as a visitor arrives, he is made to feel at home with the words, "Valkommen till oss" (Welcome to us).
If it should be about the hour for dinner, he will be invited to partake with the family. If he be a foreigner, a surprise awaits him, for, on entering the dining-room, instead of sitting down at once to dinner, he is led up to a side-table. On this he sees bread, butter, and cheese, and numerous small dishes with anchovies, smoked salmon, caviare, and different kinds of meats, hot and cold, too numerous to mention. This is called smorgasbord. He is expected to take a piece of bread and butter and whatever of the other dishes he may feel inclined for. This is considered an appetizer for the proper meal, which no stranger must forget.
Then the company assembles round the dinnertable behind the chairs, and a very nice custom is observed. One of the children, perhaps one who can only lisp a prayer, asks God's blessing on the food, at which the gentlemen bow, and the ladies curtsey. After dinner there is another beautiful custom, when the children go up to the parents, kiss their hands, and say: "Tack for maten" (Thanks for food). If the guest is present, he shakes hands with the host and hostess, at the same time expressing his thanks for the meal.
Weddings in every country are always looked upon with interest, but a Swedish country wedding is one especially interesting and picturesque. It is an event which demands the attention of the district for several days. A large number of people are invited. This means considerable expense, but the heads of the several families invited make a contribution of provisions.
If the wedding be in the church, the bride, with a silver crown on her head and pearls round her neck, goes there on horseback. She is escorted during the festivities by a number of musicians and young men also mounted. The hats of the men are decorated with ribbons of bright colours and with flowers. Some of them carry guns, which they frequently fire, and this is supposed to be a reminiscence of those days when a bride had to be protected from the attack of a hostile clan. The rest of the company follow in carriages or on foot. At the church there is a triumphal arch through which all pass. After the ceremony is over, the procession returns to the bride's home for the rejoicings. Here again is a triumphal arch of green boughs. The young men ride three times furiously round a maypole, while whips are cracked and guns are fired.
Then comes a banquet, which usually lasts for three or four hours, after which there come games and dancing, not for a few hours, but often for three days and three nights, during which the festivities continue without a break. Among the more wealthy they may last five or six days. If the provisions are exhausted, the hostess introduces a highly spiced rice-pudding. This information is understood, and soon, after great cheering, the company separates. The feasting is not yet over, as the young couple are expected to entertain all who have been present.
A pretty custom observed in some districts is "dancing the crown off the head of the bride." The bride is blindfolded. The maidens present form a ring and dance round her, until she takes the crown off her head and places it haphazard on the head of one of the girls. She on whom this honour has been conferred will be the next to wear a crown at her own wedding. The girl places it on the head of another, and so on, till it has rested on the head of everyone.
If you enter a Swedish peasant's home, you will see one or more long poles attached to the roof. On these are strung a number of very thin round discs. This is the rye bread, which is the only kind eaten by the peasant, and is also found at the King's table. The peasantry do not eat much new bread. They only bake four times a year, and each baking lasts for three months.
A very common dish in a Swedish peasant's house is solid sour milk. It is placed on the table in a wooden dish. After the housewife has added some sugar, all sit round the table with wooden spoons, and each marks out for himself what he considers his rightful share. After this they all set to work, and do not move until the whole is eaten.
The Swedes are very fond of open-air life. They practically spend the summer out of doors. Where you find a band, there is usually a large crowd of men, women, and children, sitting at little tables drinking their punch, beer, and coffee. The Swedes are very fond of family life. The father, mother, and children usually go out together. On Sunday afternoons and feast-days every town is a scene of gaiety. All the inhabitants give themselves up to pleasure. There is no rowdyism, but a great deal of enjoyment. The innate refinement of the Swede checks any inclination there might be for anything rough or uncouth. He shows this when he goes into a shop. Very many of those behind the counters are young women. The Swede takes off his hat to them, and wishes them "Good-morning" as pleasantly as he would to his greatest lady-friends.
One thing a Swede is never without, and that is his coffee. You may not always get good tea, but you will always get good coffee. The peasants will drink it as often as five times a day. They are also fond of sugar. They have a strange custom of putting a piece of sugar between the teeth, and sweetening the coffee as it passes through the sugar into their mouths. They call this dricka på bit. They seem to think they get more enjoyment from the sugar in this way than if it were dissolved in the coffee.
There is one other custom that people in England would like to know about. It is the festival of Santa Lucia. There are several stories as to its origin. Some say that it refers to the shortest day, though it falls on December 13. Lucia night, according to the peasants, is so long that the ox from hunger bites the crib. "Lucia night is mortal long," said the cow. "It's as good as two," replied the ram. "That's true," put in the goat; "it's a pity it exists." Some speak of a beautiful virgin named Lucia, who was about to be married. She had given all her dowry to the Christians because of their courage. When her lover heard of this, he informed against her. She was condemned in the end to death by burning. When the fire was placed around her, she remained unhurt, and did not die until a sword was thrust into her throat.
The day is observed in a very quaint fashion. At a very early hour in the morning, perhaps as early as three or four, the sleeper is awakened, to find a maiden dressed in white standing by the bedside. Her hair is streaming down her back. On her head, which is encircled with a wreath of green leaves, are a number of lighted tapers. In her hands are a salver with coffee and cakes, which must be partaken of in bed. After this, in some houses, all get out of bed and sit down to a big feast. Afterwards they shoot a fish by the aid of a torch composed of slips of dry and resinous wood.
Liddle, William, and Mrs. Liddle. Peeps at Many Lands: Sweden. Adam & Charles Black, 1911.
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