semiswede

Melodifestivalen begins this weekend with a six-week long competition that will grip the nation until March 9th when we find out who will represent Sweden in the 2013 Eurovision song contest. Founded in 1956, Eurovision is the top-ranked program in Europe with 125 million viewers tuning in annually to watch musical performances from roughly 40 nations. […]

Vecka 28-31 har vi stängt för semester. Translation? Week 28-31 we are closed for vacation. During the precious Swedish summer you will find variations of this sign from websites to hand-written versions hanging in small shops. Swedes take summer very seriously and there is always hope for a mild, yet gloriously warm and sunny summer. […]

I’m a big fan of the spectacular Swedish spettkaka. Ribbons of batter piped onto a conical form make-up the unique confection sometimes called a pyramid cake in English, probably because the literal translation of spettkaka is spit cake. That’s a bit unfortunate, but makes sense when you learn the cake is baked on a rotating […]

Filled with candlelight, white robes, singing, and saffron buns, Lucia in Sweden has evolved into a unique tradition that is observed throughout the country on December 13th. Although it isn’t an official holiday, Lucia celebrations are prominent from schools to universities and small towns to big cities. The origins and history of Lucia are quite […]

In case you haven’t heard, crawfish are a big deal in Sweden, but only in August. There is a long-standing tradition of cracking open these bright red crustaceans at parties where paper crawfish decorations, goofy party hats, and smiling moons decorate festive outdoor parties. Masses of crawfish and aquavit (snaps) are consumed between the first Wednesday in August and the […]

I recently had the opportunity to contribute a food-related article to http://www.thelocal.se/, which covers the Swedish news in English. My topic was ten Swedish foods I would miss if I moved. In general I tried to stick to things that would be difficult to get, or make, outside of Sweden with the exception of the kanelbullar […]

It’s the height of the short Swedish strawberry season and the berries are out en masse. When the Lönnslätts Bär strawberry pods are plopped down around my city I know summer is officially here despite the fact it might only be 55°F (13°C) and raining. I love passing by my neighborhood pod where if the wind […]