Multicultural Project: Sweden
Alwin Wen
Preface
Dear Reader,
Sweden is a very unique country. It is located in Scandinavia, near Northern Europe and close to Russia and many other West Asian countries. It has a special culture that makes it different from many other Scandinavian countries and is one that people tend to look over because it is not a big European powerhouse like Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, etc. But I believe that Sweden is one of the most talented and artistic countries in the world. The many successful artists Sweden has produced in the music industry as well as the countless number of hockey stars contributes to how Sweden is always highly ranked in the music industry & sports. Swedish cuisine sounds delicious and is something I would like to try at one point in my life, especially Smörgåsbord. Based on what I have read about Swedish folk culture & the history of the country, my perspective has evolved much more than just thinking that it was in North Europe next to Finland. I believe it has some of the finest artists in the world and has so much to share with the world. I used to think it was just a cold country that didn’t have much to offer, but my perspective could not have been more single sided. I hope you change your perspective on this beautiful country as well.-Alwin Wen
Background Information/Research
The Swedish culture is a very diverse one. They were first settled by Germanic tribes that were known as the Swedes. Camps of the Bromme culture gathered around the edge of the ice in what is now Sweden’s southernmost province. Sweden began a series of cultural advancements through its Viking and Middle Ages and through the many plagues that had taken over Europe in the early 1000s. Swedish was a great European power in the 1700s and eventually subsided to the greater powers that took control such as Germany and the United Kingdom. During WWII, although they were officially neutral, they were under German influence during much of the wars, which led to them doing things that were detrimental to Allied efforts.
In modern times, Sweden has become a major international leader in what has become known as the “sexual revolution”, which was the general acceptance of gender equality as well as the acceptance of gays, bis, and transgenders. Sweden is known to have some very rich musical traditions, ranging from medieval folk ballads to hip hop music. They have many musical instrument recreations of instruments that were from the pre-Christian Norse times, which while most of these have been lost to history, some were recreated using things found in Viking sites. In 2007, with over 800 million dollars of revenue, Sweden was the world’s third largest exporter of music behind the United States and Britain. ABBA, one of the most well known bands internationally that originated Sweden, sold about 370 million records, becoming one of the most prominent bands in the world even now. Some other bands that have gained fame include The Cardigans, Robyn, Roxette, and Ace of Base, as well as some recent indie pop bands such as The Knife, Lonely, The Tough Alliance, and many more. Swedish also has a very lively jazz scene, attaining a fairly high artistic standard. One of the most recent developments in the Swedish music industry has been the rise of the house/techno genre, in which artists such as Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, and Pryda have gained international acclaim.
Swedish cuisine, like other Scandinavian countries, used to be traditionally simple. It was dominated by fish, meat, potatoes, and dairy products. Due to North-South expanse, there are regional differences between the food eaten in North Sweden and South Sweden. Meats have taken predominance in the North, where foods such as reindeer and other game dishes are popular, while in the South, vegetables have taken a larger role. Swedish people have been traditionally very open to a wide variety of dishes. Cuisine has recently been centered around dairy products, crisp and soft breads, berries, and stone fruits, beef, chicken, pork, & seafood. Many of these meat dishes are served with lingonberry jam, a popular jam in Sweden. Butter and margarine are popular as the common fat sources, although olive oil is becoming more popular. Fish has long governed Sweden’s population and trade patterns even way back in history. A very popular traditional Swedish food is Smörgåsbord, which is a type of food served buffet style. Thursday was traditionally called soup day in Sweden because maids had a half day off, and soup was easy to prepare in advance. The most popular soup was ärtsoppa, which is still served in Swedish households today.
Sports is also very popular in Sweden. About half of the population take part in a sports activity. Over 2 million people in Sweden (about 20%) are in a sports club. The most popular spectator sports in Sweden are soccer and ice hockey. Due to Sweden’s position in the world, winter sports are very popular. Aside from basketball, American sports are not quite as popular in Sweden, although American football and baseball are practiced in areas. Ice hockey in Sweden has produced many popular figures that have played in the NHL such as Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin, Nicklas Lidström, Markus Näslund, Daniel Alfredsson, Henrik Sedin, and many more, and the men’s national ice hockey team for Sweden has won the World Championship nine times as well as the Olympic gold medal in 1994 and 2006. Recognized domestically as Tre Konor, they are considered one of the greatest ice hockey teams in the world. Sweden’s soccer team has seen some success in its past, having finished second at the 1958 World Cup as well as third in 1950 and 1994.
The author of the piece Faithful and Unfaithful used many different examples of Swedish culture in the folktale. The type of talk that was used was typical of how a Swede would sound like if their Swedish was translated to English. “"I should like to be a manservant," was Faithful's answer, "but first of all I must have stable-room and fodder for my horse."” (Faithful and Unfaithful Folktale). Fodder is another word for food, or hay for the horses, which is what the Swedish call it. The queen & king structure in Sweden was taken from the classic times during the Kingdom of Sweden, where Eric the Victorious started the long list of monarchs. No one knows for sure when the Kingdom or Sweden began, but it has had many monarchs and kings throughout its history. In the story, Unfaithful lies to the king many times to try and get Faithful killed, but eventually he ends up getting himself banished from the kingdom. This is representative of how it is looked down on to be disrespectful to newcomers in Sweden as well as lie to people.
Connections/Insights Analysis
One universal value that can be found in this piece is the fact that honesty is a man’s best friend. As seen with Unfaithful, who tries to get Faithful banished or killed by telling lies to his king, being honest will always give you good results. Faithful does not try to lie his way out of it; instead, his horse knows that he is a good man who does not lie and helps him by giving him advice on how to do each task given to him by the king. In the story, Unfaithful says, “"Do not distress yourself no longer, for Faithful has been boasting to me that he could rescue your beautiful queen from the hands of the troll."” (Faithful and Unfaithful, paragraph 17). The king believes Unfaithful and forces Faithful to complete the job, who is a victim of circumstance and lies. As a result of his honesty & loyalty to the king, his horse leads him to the way to find victory against the troll that was holding the king honesty. Another key connection to the Swedish culture are the names of the hero & the villain, Faithful and Unfaithful. The hero does the impossible tasks for his king, and remains honest and true to himself throughout his journey in the kingdom. His name, Faithful, means loyal, constant, and steadfast, as well as remaining true to himself. Meanwhile, the villain’s name, Unfaithful, means the opposite, which is always avoiding the truth and false to duty, disloyal, etc. This represents specifically how the honest man is the one that remains true and receives all of the rewards for being “faithful”, while the one who is disloyal and lies to people is the one that suffers the consequences.
Bibliography
"Faithful and Unfaithful." Swedish Folktales – The Gold Scales. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
"Starkad and Bale." Swedish Folktales – The Gold Scales. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
"The Evil One and Kitta Grau." Swedish Folktales – The Gold Scales. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Kent, Neil. "Sweden." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
"Culture of Sweden." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.