CUSTOMS
The Swedes are a most hospitable and kindly people, and enjoy
entertaining. They do not mask their feelings, for as soon as a
visitor arrives, he is made to feel at home with the words, “Välkommen
till oss” (Welcome to us).
If it should be about the hour for dinner, he will be invited to
partake with the family. If he be a foreigner, a surprise awaits him,
for, on entering the dining-room, instead of sitting down at once to
dinner, he is led up to a side-table. On this he sees bread, butter,
and cheese, and numerous small dishes with anchovies, smoked salmon,
caviare, and different kinds of meats, hot and cold, too numerous to
mention. This is called _smörgosbord_. He is expected to take a piece
of bread and butter and whatever of the other dishes he may feel
inclined for. This is considered an appetizer for the proper meal,
which no stranger must forget.
Then the company assembles round the dinnertable behind the chairs,
and a very nice custom is observed. One of the children, perhaps one
who can only lisp a prayer, asks God’s blessing on the food, at which
the gentlemen bow, and the ladies curtsey. After dinner there is
another beautiful custom, when the children go up to the parents, kiss
their hands, and say: “Tack för maten” (Thanks for food). If the guest
is present, he shakes hands with the host and hostess, at the same
time expressing his thanks for the meal.
Weddings in every country are always looked upon with interest, but a
Swedish country wedding is one especially interesting and picturesque.
It is an event which demands the attention of the district for several
days. A large number of people are invited. This means considerable
expense, but the heads of the several families invited make a
contribution of provisions.
If the wedding be in the church, the bride, with a silver crown on her
head and pearls round her neck, goes there on horseback. She is
escorted during the festivities by a number of musicians and young men
also mounted. The hats of the men are decorated with ribbons of bright
colours and with flowers. Some of them carry guns, which they
frequently fire, and this is supposed to be a reminiscence of those
days when a bride had to be protected from the attack of a hostile
clan. The rest of the company follow in carriages or on foot. At the
church there is a triumphal arch through which all pass. After the
ceremony is over, the procession returns to the bride’s home for the
rejoicings. Here again is a triumphal arch of green boughs. The young
men ride three times furiously round a maypole, while whips are
cracked and guns are fired.
Then comes a banquet, which usually lasts for three or four hours,
after which there come games and dancing, not for a few hours, but
often for three days and three nights, during which the festivities
continue without a break. Among the more wealthy they may last five or
six days. If the provisions are exhausted, the hostess introduces a
highly spiced rice-pudding. This information is understood, and soon,
after great cheering, the company separates. The feasting is not yet
over, as the young couple are expected to entertain all who have been
present.
A pretty custom observed in some districts is “dancing the crown off
the head of the bride.” The bride is blindfolded. The maidens present
form a ring and dance round her, until she takes the crown off her
head and places it haphazard on the head of one of the girls. She on
whom this honour has been conferred will be the next to wear a crown
at her own wedding. The girl places it on the head of another, and so
on, till it has rested on the head of everyone.
If you enter a Swedish peasant’s home, you will see one or more long
poles attached to the roof. On these are strung a number of very thin
round discs. This is the rye bread, which is the only kind eaten by
the peasant, and is also found at the King’s table. The peasantry do
not eat much new bread. They only bake four times a year, and each
baking lasts for three months.
A very common dish in a Swedish peasant’s house is solid sour milk. It
is placed on the table in a wooden dish. After the housewife has added
some sugar, all sit round the table with wooden spoons, and each marks
out for himself what he considers his rightful share. After this they
all set to work, and do not move until the whole is eaten.
The Swedes are very fond of open-air life. They practically spend the
summer out of doors. Where you find a band, there is usually a large
crowd of men, women, and children, sitting at little tables drinking
their punch, beer, and coffee. The Swedes are very fond of family
life. The father, mother, and children usually go out together. On
Sunday afternoons and feast-days every town is a scene of gaiety. All
the inhabitants give themselves up to pleasure. There is no rowdyism,
but a great deal of enjoyment. The innate refinement of the Swede
checks any inclination there might be for anything rough or uncouth.
He shows this when he goes into a shop. Very many of those behind the
counters are young women. The Swede takes off his hat to them, and
wishes them “Good-morning” as pleasantly as he would to his greatest
lady-friends.
One thing a Swede is never without, and that is his coffee. You may
not always get good tea, but you will always get good coffee. The
peasants will drink it as often as five times a day. They are also
fond of sugar. They have a strange custom of putting a piece of sugar
between the teeth, and sweetening the coffee as it passes through the
sugar into their mouths. They call this _dricka på bit_. They seem to
think they get more enjoyment from the sugar in this way than if it
were dissolved in the coffee.
There is one other custom that people in England would like to know
about. It is the festival of Santa Lucia. There are several stories as
to its origin. Some say that it refers to the shortest day, though it
falls on December 13. Lucia night, according to the peasants, is so
long that the ox from hunger bites the crib. “Lucia night is mortal
long,” said the cow. “It’s as good as two,” replied the ram. “That’s
true,” put in the goat; “it’s a pity it exists.” Some speak of a
beautiful virgin named Lucia, who was about to be married. She had
given all her dowry to the Christians because of their courage. When
her lover heard of this, he informed against her. She was condemned in
the end to death by burning. When the fire was placed around her, she
remained unhurt, and did not die until a sword was thrust into her
throat.
The day is observed in a very quaint fashion. At a very early hour in
the morning, perhaps as early as three or four, the sleeper is
awakened, to find a maiden dressed in white standing by the bedside.
Her hair is streaming down her back. On her head, which is encircled
with a wreath of green leaves, are a number of lighted tapers. In her
hands are a salver with coffee and cakes, which must be partaken of in
bed. After this, in some houses, all get out of bed and sit down to a
big feast. Afterwards they shoot a fish by the aid of a torch composed
of slips of dry and resinous wood.