7.2.6 Sweden Culture
Description
This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
7.2.6 Sweden Culture
Swedes work hard, pay high taxes, try to be open minded to other cultures
(there is much immigration, which most people seem to accept), enjoy their
traditions (around Christmas and Midsummer, for instance), but it is not
true we should be among the heaviest drinkers in the world. Statistics in
the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet January 7th 1995 shows Swedish alcohol
consumption to be on only 21st place among a selection of the industrialized
nations, with 6.1 (100% pure) liters of alcohol/year (after most Western
European countries and USA). On the other hand we do (most of us do) still
follow our old custom to drink only occasionally, but then with the goal to
get drunk. [ For further information, see the article in part 2 about Nordic
alcohol customs. ]
Swedes take pride in making the society friendly to children and their
parents including long government-paid maternal leaves, subsidized
pre-schools and municipal investments for sport and leisure-time activities.
Swedish women have one of the highest fertility rates in the industrialized
world, giving birth to 1.97 child each, and the highest rate of breast
feeding.
In the same intention to make the society friendly and to lighten the lives
of its members, Sweden has also put certain effort into making public
buildings, and also ordinary tenement houses, available for wheel chairs.
The nature, the big woods and the mountains, have a particular place in the
hearts of the Swedes. The General Right to Public Access ("Allemansrätten")
is unique for the Scandinavian countries, and the most important base for
outdoor recreation, providing the possibility for each and everyone to visit
non-cultivated land, to take a bath in seas, and to pick the wild flowers,
berries and mushrooms.
The religious rites as baptizing, confirmation, marriage and funeral are
deeply rooted in the culture, although only a small minority participate in
ordinary mass. Despite the fact that the Swedes have honored the old
Germanic tradition that the people follow the religion of the king, and
subsequently all Swedes were obliged to communion long into the 19:th
century and to membership in the state church long into the 20:th century,
it can also be noted that Swedes belong to the most secularized people in
the world.
The church, and its services, are felt more as a cultural heritage, than as
a religious. As for instance at 1:st Sunday in Advent and at Christmas Eve -
the two days at the year when the churches are filled.
Science and technology also play an important role in the modern Swedish
society. Private companies fund substantial research and development, and
also the government funds research at the universities. Examples are the JAS
Gripen fighter project, and the information technology strategies put forth
by the Bildt (1991-1994) government. (The following cabinets, led by Ingvar
Carlsson and Göran Persson have been less enthusiastic about these
projects.)
Leading cultural institutions (in Stockholm) are the Swedish Royal Opera;
the Royal Dramatic Theater; the National Touring Theater; and the Swedish
Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Literature is important in Swedish culture. Authors like August Strindberg
(1849-1912), Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) who wrote Gösta Berlings Saga
(awarded with the Nobel Prize) and Astrid Lindgren (1907-) are among the
best known. At the previous century shift public libraries were organized by
different organizations in nearby every village with a church or a school.
Most of them still remain, but now run by the municipalities. A curious
detail is that most Swedes probably would not count authors as Edith
Södergran and Tove Jansson as Swedish authors, despite the fact that they
have written in Swedish - their mother tongue.
There aren't many internationally known Swedish composers, but Swedes have
an ancient fondness for ballads and troubadours (Carl Michael Bellman
(1740-1795) is dearly loved by Swedes), and in the later days Swedish pop
and rock groups have reached international fame (e.g ABBA, Army of Lovers,
Roxette, Ace of Base, etc).
Of the many immigrants very few have yet become popular cultural
personalities. Maybe with exception of the poet Theodor Kalifatides and
Finland-Swedish actors, as Stina Ekblad, Jörn Donner, Birgitta Ulfsson and
Lasse Pöisti. Promising is however how a lot of new Swedish rock bands come
from suburbs with immigrant majorities, and how some of the most popular
rock and pop artists are immigrants, as for instance dr. Alban.
Sweden also has a strong movie tradition, already from the days of the
silent movies, people such as Victor Sjöström (1879-1960), known in the
United States as Victor Seastrom, and Mauritz Stiller (1883-1928). The
director Ingmar Bergman (1918-) is world-famous and actors like Ingrid
Bergman (1915-1982) and Greta Garbo (1905-1990) have played in several of
the classics of the movie history.
Various sports are popular in Sweden, especially team sports like soccer and
ice hockey, but also for example tennis and table-tennis, outdoor activities
like skiing and orienteering.
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