Sweden

E

Food and Recreation

Swedish food tends to be simple and healthy. Perhaps Sweden’s most famous culinary invention is the smörgåsbord, a self-service buffet that includes an assortment of cold and hot foods. Smörgåsbords frequently include a variety of cold fish dishes, such as gravlax (cured salmon), lutefisk (cod or pollock marinated in potash lye), and pickled herring, and warm dishes such as sausages and Swedish meatballs. Breads, egg dishes, pies, and salads are also commonly included. Daily fare is generally simpler and frequently includes boiled or fried potatoes served with fish or meat. Boiled hot dogs purchased from street vendors (called gatukök) and American-style fast food are especially popular among younger Swedes. Apart from special occasions, most bread served in Sweden is thin and crispy. Swedes love strong coffee, which is served with most meals, and they rank among the world’s highest consumers of coffee per capita. Popular alcoholic beverages include beer, vodka, and aquavit, an aromatic liqueur made with caraway seeds.

Swedes are renowned for their love of sports and the outdoors. One out of five Swedes is a member of a sports club, and nearly all participants in sports are amateurs. Gymnastics are an important part of the physical education curriculum in public schools, and gymnastics teams compete throughout the country. The most popular sport is soccer. In winter Swedes are avid skiers, and many Swedes enjoy ice skating on frozen lakes and canals—especially the canals of Stockholm. Every March thousands of Swedes, joined by many athletes from abroad, participate in the famously grueling cross-country ski race called the Vasaloppet (Vasa Race). Orienteering, a sport that involves navigating using a map and compass, originated in Sweden as a military exercise. It remains a popular summer activity, especially in the challenging wilds of northern Sweden. Many Swedes own or have access to summer cottages for weekends or vacations.

F

Holidays and Festivals

Swedes enjoy several popular festivals during the year. Midsummer Eve celebrations welcoming the return of summer are held during the weekend nearest to the summer solstice. Maypoles are raised and open-air dancing continues until sunrise. Saint Lucia Day on December 13 marks the beginning of the Christmas season. The roots of Saint Lucia Day date to the Viking era; the holiday followed the longest night of the year and marked the return of longer days. In Saint Lucia family celebrations, the eldest daughter dresses in white, wears a crown of candles, and serves her family coffee and cookies in the early morning. Swedes celebrate Christmas, the most important holiday, on Christmas Eve. Traditionally, Swedes enjoy a Christmas smörgåsbord dinner and afterward exchange gifts.

IV

Culture

Swedes are proud of their cultural heritage. The late arrival of industrialization helped to preserve fine craftsmanship, and the aesthetic standards of industrial design, even for mass-produced articles, are high. Modest homes are often furnished in sophisticated taste. Until modern times Sweden’s relative poverty and isolation limited its role in European artistic life. Gifted Swedes often had to seek outlets for their talents abroad. Only in the late 19th century did any aspect of Swedish culture become influential internationally. Today, artistic activities receive large state subsidies, and corporations and local governments generously support painters, sculptors, musicians, and architects.

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During the 20th century, Sweden made major contributions to art, design, literature, music, and motion pictures. Modern Swedish crafts such as ceramics, furniture, glass, silver, stainless steel, and textiles have received international recognition for their elemental form, simple beauty, and functional design.

A

Libraries and Museums

Sweden has many libraries, including public and county libraries and research libraries connected with universities, institutes, and state museums. Among the largest libraries are those of the universities of Uppsala, Göteborg , Lund, and Stockholm; the Royal Library and the library of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, both in Stockholm; and the city libraries of Göteborg and Stockholm.

Most of Sweden’s large cities have museums. The best-known museum is the National Museum in Stockholm. It holds Sweden’s largest collection of fine arts. Other notable museums are the Skansen, an outdoor museum with displays of rural life; the Contemporary Art Museum; the Vasa Museum; and the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Also of interest are the Göteborg Art Gallery and, in Lund, the Cultural History Museum.

B

Sciences

Swedes have made many outstanding contributions in the areas of science, invention, and engineering. Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist, originated the scientific classification of plants and animals. Baron Jöns Jakob Berzelius developed the modern system of symbols and formulas in chemistry. John Ericsson was the inventor of the screw propeller and designed and built the famous American warship Monitor (See also Monitor v. Virginia). Emanuel Swedenborg was an accomplished scientist who made important contributions to mathematics, chemistry, and other scientific fields before achieving even greater fame as a theologian. Among other Swedish inventions are safety matches, ball bearings, milk and cream separators, steam turbines, automated sea beacons, and refrigerators.

Among the most famous of all Swedes is Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and smokeless gunpowder, who established the Nobel Prizes. According to the instructions in his will, Nobel Prizes are awarded every year to those who have “conferred the greatest benefit on mankind” in the fields of chemistry, physics, physiology and medicine, literature, and peace. In 1968 the Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, created a sixth Nobel award for the field of economics.