I have been meaning to blog about this ever since I found out about this strange Swedish tradition, however I am forgetful/lazy so it has taken some time, BUT now I am fully prepared to inform you all about it.
On Thursday in Sweden they eat Pea soup and Pancakes. Every, single, Thursday. Okay, clearly no everyone eats it every Thursday, but you could if you wanted to. Most restaurants offer the Pea soup with Pancake special every Thursday and even in the common household they make it as a tradition. I know that there has been more than one time in my host family where Bea has made some yummy pancakes for us on Thursday.
Where did this bizarre tradition start you may ask? It dates back to 1577, when King Eric XIV was imprisoned and wanted dead. It’s said, on a Thursday, the King was given a bowl of pea soup. The bowl of pea soup was laced with poison and he died. From that time on people ate Pea Soup every Thursday in order to honor the poor dead King.
However, another story as to how the Pea Soup came about is far more religious. 500 years ago when Sweden was predominately Catholic, people fasted every Friday. So the day before required a big, hearty meal. A large serving of meaty pea soup topped with a heavy dessert of sweet pancakes and even sweeter toppings was just the trick to fill up those Swedish bellies for the long haul through to Saturday morning.
The food itself is even weird to me because the Pea Soup is not green as many would think, but, rather it is yellow! It is often made with yellow peas and then seasoned with mustard (among other spices) and is almost always served with either ham or pork which is why I have unfortunately not been able to try it. Unlike the picture I posted above, the soup normally has a rather chunky texture because the peas are left whole. My classmates all agree that it is downright nasty, but if you want to try it for yourself click HERE for a recipe!
Swedish Pancakes remind me more of crepes than actual pancakes. They are extremely thin and often served with jam and topped with whip cream and ice cream. The kids LOVE them and they are fairly easy to make too. Click HERE for a recipe.
Swedish Word of the Day: “Årtsoppa och Pannkakor” – bet ya can guess this one.
Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made typically from dried peas, such as the split pea. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is most often greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.
and Pancakes. Every, single, Thursday. Okay, clearly no everyone eats it every Thursday, but you could if you wanted to. Most restaurants offer the Pea soup with Pancake special every Thursday and even in the common household they make it as a tradition.
This tradition was the brainchild of Swedish dentists, who conducted experiments in the 1940s and '50s to prove it was better for your teeth if you consumed your entire weekly allowance of sugar in one go, rather than small amounts over a longer period.
Midsommar (Midsummer) celebrations are held in late June when summer days are much longer. Midsommar is celebrated outdoors, where festivities include traditional music, dancing around the maypole, barbecues, and picnics. People bring drinks and sing traditional drinking songs.
People will typically remove their shoes before entering someone's home, particularly in winter. Many Swedes will give their guests a full tour of the house if it is their first time visiting. Hosts will usually offer their guests a beverage, often black coffee. It is impolite to leave straight after finishing eating.
The idea behind lördagsgodis is moderation—to limit candy consumption to a weekly, rather than a daily, occurrence. Once a week, Swedes are given a free pass to indulge in all the gummies, chocolates, and salty liquorice their Nordic hearts desire.
Below are a few samples of strange laws from Sweden: "It is illegal for a woman to marry a tree." "It is against the law for a parent to shame their child." "It is legal to sue yourself."
The word fika is pronounced “fee-kuh”, and it's used as both a verb and a noun. In English, fika means "to have coffee" or “a coffee break”, but it's about so much more than that. Fika in Sweden is when you sit with your family, friends or colleagues, and take a coffee or tea, often with something sweet on the side.
Raggare is a subculture found mostly in Sweden and parts of Norway and Finland, and to a lesser extent in Denmark, Germany, and Austria. Raggare are related to the American greaser and rockabilly subcultures and are known for their love of hot rod cars and 1950s American pop culture.
Valborg is a very old tradition and used to be all about scaring away witches and bad spirits by lighting big fires (majbrasor – bonfires) for protection and making a lot of sounds to scare off evil forces. Nowadays, Valborg is all about celebrating that spring has finally arrived.
But most Swedes, particularly the younger ones, don't eat candy on weekdays. Swedish parents prevent children from eating too much by adapting a rule they themselves learned as children; you only eat candy on Saturdays, so called “Lördagsgodis”.
It's a sweet tradition where children, and often adults, indulge in candy every Saturday, forming a treasured weekly ritual. Lördagsgodis, a unique Swedish tradition, strikingly binds indulgence and discipline into a sweet weekly rhythm, celebrating both self-restraint and the joy of rewarding one's patience.
Progressive and modern Sweden has a secret to share; we are nuts about our age-old traditions and celebrations. Country-closing Midsummer Eve, celebrating the longest day of the year, is the big one. Other popular celebrations and holidays is Christmas, Easter and Kräftskiva.
In addition to the basic twenty-six letters, A–Z, the Swedish alphabet includes Å, Ä, and Ö at the end. They are distinct letters in Swedish and are sorted after ⟨z⟩ as shown above.
In Sweden, both the man and the woman wear the engagement ring from the engagement to the wedding. Before the wedding, the guy returns his ring, which he then gets back during the ceremony. The bride receives a wedding ring, often it is a more ornate ring and with a larger gemstone.
Swedish Pronunciation Might Be The Hardest Thing To Learn. The thing most learners need help with when learning Swedish is usually Swedish pronunciation. Swedish has some vowel sounds that don't exist in English, like å, ä and ö.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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