Before buying homeowner’s insurance, have you ever checked if it covers damages from a moose stepping into your living room? This was the topic of the consumer section on the first day we got our newspaper after moving to Stockholm. My American hubby had been there for two days and almost turned around. He’d thought we moved to the suburbs of a capital, not to the back woods.
Swedish moose warning sign
Well, during the next 11 years, he learned that moose are a big part of Scandinavian culture and everyday life. Moose accidents were a huge topic when he had to retake his driver’s license. You can’t drive anywhere in forested areas without seeing moose warning signs – unless they have been stolen by over-excited tourists. We occasionally met moose on the neighborhood streets and we even had one visiting our back yard. Luckily, it did not get drunk after nibbling on our apple tree!
As many Swedish Americans, we are super busy celebrating our holidays, Midsummer last weekend and Independence Day this weekend. A belated “Glad Midsommar” and Happy 4th! It can’t be stressed enough: the DAYS ARE GETTING SHORTER AGAIN! Inspired by all the good Scandinavian safety reflectors have done for decades, we’ll keep reminding you.
Funflector safety reflectors
Are you heading for festivals, amusement parks, evening concerts in the park, block parties, beach parties…? Temporary parking lots are often dark and not so well organized. A safety reflector or two will make you much more visible! Order yours from our web shop, as always with free shipping! Why are pedestrian safety reflectors so Scandinavian? This is a question I recently got from a fellow blogger, the Swedish American Mamma. Just don’t think he answer is as easy as “it is darker over there in the winter”. (After all, if you leave your office at 5 or 5.30, it doesn’t matter if the sun sets at 3.30 or at 5 pm. Even in America, it is dark after the sun sets…) Please head over to the Swedish American Mamma (or the repost on our blog) and read more about why Swedes are so excited about their cool, fun, colorful Scandinavian safety reflectors! Elisabeth
Why do people often think that reflectors are only for kids? Adults walking or biking in the dark are also very difficult to see for drivers. Adults are out after dark more often than kids. Adults, who have had a couple of beers can be unpredictable pedestrians. So what are the good excuses for adults not to wear reflectors? In Sweden, traffic safety is a big thing—that’s where Volvo comes from after all—and the attitude is sooooo different from what we encounter in the US. At the glimling office, we love to discuss cultural differences and here is such a beautiful example on the Swedish view of pedestrian safety. Half full or half empty?
We found an article by the Swedish insurance company Trygg Hansa, stating: “Only half of adult Swedes wear reflectors”—wow, how impressive! With American eyes, the glass is half full, but the choice of the word “only” shows that the Swedish insurance company Trygg-Hansa, who conducted the survey, thinks the glass is half empty. Wow—half the adults and 90% of kids up to the age of 12 wear reflectors. WOW!—and they label it “only.” As we have written earlier, about 30% of Finns wear reflectors and even that greatly reduces the number of accidents. How many Americans? Not even 1%… The funflector team
The modern movement has little to do with fashion. Last week, the Chicago chapter of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce (SACC-Chicago) gathered at HAUTE LIVING, a furniture showroom in downtown Chicago. Åke Jansson, president of Lammhults Möbel AB, Sweden and Jeffery Smith, founder and owner of HAUTE LIVING talked about modern furniture and Scandinavian design.
The spacious, contemporary showroom displayed carefully selected European classic pieces along with new design from both Europe and the US. The abundance of thoughtful design, solid wood and absence of ornamentation, made many of us native Swedes feel right at home.
This post is all about a yummy Swedish-German dish related to both pancakes and bread pudding (and not at all about the islands off the northern coast of New Zealand.) In my house, we serve both American and Swedish pancakes, but when there is too little time for those, we turn to “Poor Knights.” They are white bread dipped in Swedish pancake batter and then fried. The recipe is easy and they don’t need to be on the stove for very long. We follow the Swedish tradition and serve them as a substantial dessert after a bowl of soup.
This is what you need for 4-6 people:
4 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
24 oz white bread (e.g. country buttermilk), not too fresh
1/4 – 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
Butter for frying pan/griddle.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl (wide enough to hold a slice of bread).
Add 1/2 the milk and mix.
Add flour and beat until smooth.
Mix in remaining milk, salt and cinnamon.
Soak a slice of bread, lift it up with a spatula and put in heated and buttered griddle/frying pan. Use medium heat and fry them golden brown on both sides. Serve warm with apple sauce.
The American relative of “Poor Knight” is French Toast, but “Poor Knights” have flour added to the milk-and-egg batter. Variations on this are common all over the world and a good way to make a tasty dessert from stale bread. The odd name has triggered many interesting discussions around our kitchen table as to why the poor “kniggets” were so poor. What comes to your mind? Elisabeth
Finally, Christmas is almost here! In Sweden, Christmas countdown has arrived to “lill-julafton” – little Christmas Eve. The fact that even the days before Christmas have names, may tell you how important Christmas used to be – and still is!
The countdown starts with the first Sunday of Advent (this year Nov. 28) which kicks off adventsfika (afternoon coffee with Christmas cookies and sweet buns), Christmas concerts and – by now long ago – Christmas shopping.
Paper advent calenders are still popular and starts on the 1st of December. You open a little door every day from December 1st to Christmas Eve (24th) to see what is drawn on the sheet behind. There are available in America as well, but most commonly filled with a piece of candy instead of pictures. The most popular Swedish advent calender is, however, “Julkalendern” a kid’s TV show with one short episode every day. Every year is different and most of the shows are by many considered to be the best Swedish TV productions for for kids. It started in the 60’s and caught on quickly in the neighboring Scandinavian countries. For another few weeks, you can catch up with this year’s Swedish julkalender on SVT play.
Lucia is the next big event, celebrated on December 13th as I described in our previous blog post.
After Lucia, Swedes get busy getting their Christmas food, bread, sweets, trees and gifts ready. Rooted in the times when most people were farmers and had to prepare all the meat from their Christmas pig, there are many dishes on the “julbord”, a Swedish smörgåsbord with the addition of a Christmas ham.
The julbord is served on the 24th. It is also the day when tomten (the Swedish Santa Claus) visits late afternoon to give gifts to all nice children. The blog “Celebrate Christmas like a Swede” has a wonderful description of what we do. Look under the heading “Things we do and dates to remember” except that they forgot “annandag jul”. Literally it means “second day Christmas” and it is another holiday to do nothing or shop for bargains at the first day of the Christmas sale.
This Christmas tree has an eclectic mix of ornaments from Europe and America. With that we thank you for being our reader and wish you
Imagine early morning before sunrise when the darkness of the season feels heavy. All of a sudden, there is a faint singing in the distance and the doorway is lit up by a woman in a long white gown, wearing a wreath with candles on her head. Lucia, her maidens, and the “star boys” follow and bring light, joyful singing, coffee and sweet saffron rolls.
A “star boy” in the Lucia procession.
The night of the 13th, the day of Lucia in the saints’ calender, was the longest night in the medieval calender. To the fend off the darkness and the dark forces, one had to eat several meals before dawn. Feasting on food from the Christmas slaughter eventually turned into Lucia who brings light, coffee and saffron rolls before dawn.
Swedish saffron buns (“lussekatter”) for Lucia.
This year’s Lucia on Swedish Television has a beautiful mix of traditional Lucia carols and modern songs and is available until January 13. In the Swedish neighborhood Andersonville in Chicago Lucia will be celebrated tonight at 4.45 and at 7. See The Swedish American Museum for more info.
Lucia choir by the Swedish School in Chicago.
Lucia is no longer the darkest day of the year: we have another week to go before it gets brighter again. Fend off the dark forces and especially pedestrian traffic accidents with some joyful safety reflectors!
How dark is it where?
If you belong to those who tell us that you are never out in the dark, please think again! This is when the sun sets today in a few cities – and remember that dusk starts earlier!
Anchorage – 3:41 pm
Montreal – 4:11 pm
Boston – 4:12 pm
Vancouver – 4:14 pm
Chicago – 4:20 pm
Toronto – 4:21 pm
New York – 4:29 pm
Minneapolis – 4:32 pm
Denver – 4:36 pm
Washingotn DC – 4:47 pm
San Fransisco – 4:51 pm
Indianapolis – 5:20 pm
Dallas – 5:22 pm
Honolulu – 5:51 pm
Of course, none of these places are as dark as the Nordic countries—Oslo (3:11 pm), Stockholm (2:47 pm), Helsinki(3:12 pm), but if your kids have any after school activities or you work normal office hours, you are bound to be out in the dark in most of these places. Get sunset and sunrise in your own city at timeanddate.com. Once you have your city, click the “Sun & Moon” tab.
The Swedish saying “Kärt barn har många namn” (“A beloved child has many names”) could be turned around to “A beloved name is used for many children.” That is certainly the case for the name, or rather symbol, “Tre Kronor,” which means “Three Crowns.” What other name could you find that is used for so many vastly different phenomena as an ice hockey team, a tall ship, a soap opera, a restaurant, a former royal castle and much more? The only common denominator is that it has something to do with being Swedish or of Swedish origin. Of course, we also have Three Crowns safety reflectors in our Globetrotter Collection!
Al Johnson in Sister Bay, WI, announces their Swedish heritage with a “Tre Kronor” coat of arms. Photo by Gunilla Perry. “Sverige” means “Sweden” (in case someone would not guess that from the design) . Three crowns safety reflector has a Swedish flag on the backside.
History of “Three Crowns”
“Tre Kronor” is one of the oldest national symbols that is still in use. It was first used in the seal of the Swedish king in 11th century and became a more common symbol for the kingdom of Sweden over the next hundred years. At that time, the three wise men were popular as patron saints. Pilgrimages were frequent to the Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, where the Shrine of the Three Kings was kept and said to contain their bones. The greater and lesser coats of arms are still used by the royal family as well as government officials.
“Three Crowns” Design Still Popular
Spending some time in Sweden this summer, we noticed quite a few people wearing T-shirts with various three crowns designs. We picked up the pajamas shirt (photo above) at a Kappahl store.
If you are more curious or hungry, follow some of the links above. If not, just enjoy the cheerful design on some fashion forward clothes and accessories! We have found a few shirts with some interesting crossover between Swedish and American style available here in the US: a baseball shirt with “Tre Kronor” and a T-shirt with three monkeys wearing crowns 😉 .
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