r/sweden • u/lynxlynxlynx- rawr • Jul 18 '15
Fråga/Diskussion Welcome /r/Canada! Today we are hosting Canada for a little cultural and question exchange session!
Welcome Canadian friends! Please select the "Canadian Friend" flair and ask away!
Today we are hosting our friends from /r/canada! Please come and join us and answer their questions about Sweden and the Swedish way of life! Please leave top comments for /r/canada users coming over with a question or comment and please refrain from trolling, rudeness and personal attacks etc. Moderation out side of the rules may take place as to not spoil this friendly exchange. The reddiquette applies and will be moderated after in this thread.
At the same time /r/canada is having us over as guests! Stop by in this thread and ask a question, drop a comment or just say hello!
Enjoy!
/The moderators of /r/sweden & /r/canada
For previous exchanges please see the wiki.
Så tar vi båten över till Amerikats mer nordliga breddgrader och besöker Kanada! Så på med skridskorna för här ska vi ta guld i reddits första landskamper i hockey och curling!(?) Vi kan också passa på att besöka platser som Uppsala, Stockholm och Thorsby som faktist ligger i Ontario, Saskatchewan och Alberta respektive. Så ta detta tilfälle i akt att passa på att fråga ut världens näst största land! Som alltid ber vi er att raportera opassande kommentarer och lämna top-kommentarer i denna tråd till användare från /r/canada. Ha så kul!
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u/vchizzle Jul 18 '15
How much of an influence does the Swedish royal family have? Are Swedes generally in favour of the monarchy?
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u/lynxlynxlynx- Jul 18 '15
I did a quick google and found these statistics from this year on the confidence of the royal family.
Very high 17.8%
Pretty high 20.8%
Neither high nor low 25.7%
Pretty low 8.9%
Very low 25.7%
Don't know 1%
I'll let others discuss it more. How is the situation of the monarchy in Canada?
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u/PoliticalDissidents Jul 18 '15
No one cares about the monarch, I think very few people like her but no one hates the Queen, we don't care. She's on all are coins and the $20 bill. No one would make a fuss.
The constitution pretty much removes all power from the Queen and what little remains isn't at all exercised so no big deal. The government says we do those metaphorically on behalf of the Queen but it's no more than our own actions.
Technically the Governor General is the representative of the Queen in Canada. This person is needed to sign in laws and is only veto laws. Not even the PM can veto laws, only governed general. Thing is the Governor General is appointed by the PM so they do 100% his bidding.
What connection is there with Swedish monarch and government?
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u/Skalpaddan Jul 19 '15
What connection is there with Swedish monarch and government?
The leaders in our government and the royal family are both invited to the Nobel Prize dinner. Otherwise there aren't really anything that connects them as far as I know. Our king and the rest actually rarely speak about political topics at all and when they do they almost always are speaking about it objectively or at least neutrally.
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u/-nyx- Jul 18 '15
How much of an influence does the Swedish royal family have?
Politically? None.
Otherwise... Still none really.
Are Swedes generally in favour of the monarchy
Most don't care I think.
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u/LimivorousArbour Jul 18 '15
How accurate is the documentary Smala Sussie in portraying day-to-day life in Sweden?
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u/lynxlynxlynx- Jul 18 '15
When that docu came out there was a big uproar. Pölsa emigrated and is in hiding and people started moving to Stockholm and Göteborg en masse in order to not be caught up in something like it. It is still today considered a very dark chapter in Swedish history.
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Jul 18 '15
Question from Greenland, not Canada.
With Norway and Denmark being "Anti-EU" in a sense of not wanting to or not fully join EU, Sweden seems to be pro-EU where you have joined since idk, but if it were for r/sweden, would you prefer a Nordisk/Skandinavisk union over EU?
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u/MestR Jul 18 '15
I think we had a survey here some time ago where way more people were in favor of a nordic union than EU. r/sweden is by no means representative of the general population though.
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u/lynxlynxlynx- Jul 18 '15
Also there isn't a proper concept of a Nordic Union to be in favor of in reality it's mostly wishful thinking without any connection to current political movements.
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u/Ratatosk123 Jul 19 '15
I'm not really sure if Denmark would be more "anti-EU" than us. They joined one of the EU predecessors already in 1972 (while we didn't join until 1995) and they unlike us have pegged their currency to the euro exchange rate.
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u/DaveyGee16 Jul 18 '15
I heard that Swedes dislike small talk. So, how do you approach someone new to make friends or approach them for a date?
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u/lynxlynxlynx- Jul 18 '15
Yes! Our secret is that we get drunk. That's not a joke that's what we do. If you move here and don't drink you're gonna have a bad time...
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u/typewriter_ Jul 18 '15
We do, and we don't.
"Singles without children is the most common household form in Sweden. It stands for 37,7% of all households."
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u/DaveyGee16 Jul 18 '15
That sounds really boring..
What about friends? Are Swedes just really close to childhood friends?
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Jul 18 '15
Is there such thing as an ugly Swedish person?
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u/Netcher Jul 18 '15
Yes, there is a fair number of such. But uglyness is generally based on things like crappy fashion-taste och poor hygiene and both of those things, fashion & hygiene, are pretty important to swedes.
Among men aswell as women. Swedish men dress fashionably. That covers up a great deal of ugly.
Now, counterquestion; Is there such a thing as a rude canadian?
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u/patadrag Jul 18 '15
Hej!
Even though Canada likes to think of itself as a northern country, the majority of the populated areas are pretty far south; for example, Toronto is on about the same latitude as Monaco. So I was wondering, how do people in Sweden deal with the very long nights in the winter and the very long days in the summer?
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u/rubicus Jul 18 '15
Winter: If possible, spend as much time outside as possible when the sun is up, like taking a walk during lunch or similar helps a lot. It's the most cozy season where we light tons of candles inside and snug up in front of the TV. Lighting and cozyness are key. Vitamin D supplements can help too. I find waking up when it's still dark outside to be hard, so for me having a wakeup light alarm clock or similar helps a lot too.
Summer: Shades, big curtains or similar are important to get the light away when sleeping, especially during the morning hours (sun often rises 3am even here in the south). Having something to cover your eyes can help, especially in the north where you might have to fall asleep with the sun still up. Lots of people manage to sleep anyway though. The late sun setting hours are so awesome since you can spend time outside until 10-11 pm while still having access to daylight and is perfect for BBQ nights etc. Only thing you need is mosquito repellant. Biggest problem is that it's easy to lose your sense of time, and I often miss the closing hours of my local food store since the sun is still up. Solution is a wrist watch.
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u/kukenster Jul 18 '15
Lots of vitamins and try to make the best of it during the winter. Our Swedish summers are, when its not raining, one of the best in the world. The very long days during summer makes you more energetic and helps us through the winter depression.
Edit: And those who can usually take a week vacation to Thailand or Gran Canaria during the winter.
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Jul 18 '15
i have lived in northern Sweden my whole life and i still find it hard to deal with the long nights. I try to go for trips, to the alps or somewhere warm. Other than that you try to get up in the morning and enjoy the few hours of sunlight that you get.
Also viamin d
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Jul 19 '15
So I was wondering, how do people in Sweden deal with the very long nights in the winter and the very long days in the summer?
I live relatively far up north.
Around Christmas, the sun barely makes it above the horizon (between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock). Around the summer solstice, we get at best twilight. No real darkness at all.
How do you deal with it:
Perpetual Darkness: You manage. Vitamin D supplements help a bit. Beyond that, you try to scrounge what little sunlight you can get. I usually go for a walk during my lunch break in the winter. Going to to work in darkness, working in an office all day, and coming home in darkness gets old real quick. Although the darkness doesn't really get to you until the spring. Seasonal depression is a bitch.
Perpetual Sunlight: In part, you get used to sleeping when it's not entirely dark. But there's also some light-proofing measures you need to take if you're to stand any chance of sleeping. Thick black curtains, and so forth. If that isn't available, I roll up a black t-shirt into a makeshift blindfold and put that on my face. You figure tricks like that out as you go along. Beyond the sleep thing, there's really only advantages to this. Imagine: After a night's drinking -- it's say 3 AM -- you walk out into a park and enjoy the warmth of the sunrise. Almost makes up for the compact darkness between October and March.
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Jul 18 '15
As someone who lives in the far north of Sweden, where its more of an extreme than down south, eat things with much Vitamin D (consider supplements as well) and dress warm, and try to be outside during the few hours of daylight we do have, beyond that its just about trying to endure it.
As for the summer, well, having proper roll down style curtains in the bedroom helps a lot with trying to get proper sleep in, since the sun never really sets during the summer, it might dip just below the horizon but it never actually gets any dark outside during night for months on end. Fortunately we are relatively spared from heat waves due to being so far north here, it gets hotter down south though.
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u/Cyriz Jul 18 '15
How much of a language barrier is there to an english speaking person, in the nordic region?
If i wanted to do an extended vacation there, or a working vacation, would I be able to get by with only basic swedish?
How different from swedish is finnish, danish, etc?
Cheers guys, hope to visit some day =D
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u/kettal Jul 18 '15
Do you think that English/American culture is invading Sweden? Do you think that the universal ability to speak English is eroding Swedish culture?
For context: that is an attitude many French Canadians have about the English language.
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u/Nantook Jul 18 '15
Is it true that swedes (and other Scandinavians) generally dislike small talk with strangers?
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u/adaminc Jul 18 '15
How accurate is the tv show "Welcome to Sweden"?
In case you haven't seen it, it has Greg Poehler, Josephine Bornebusch, Lena Olin, Claes Månsson, and a lot of Hollywood stars make cameos.
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u/drpestilence Jul 18 '15
Hi friends! What would you suggest an eventual Canadian tourist should be aware of when interacting with you lovely folks? (Cultural differences that may be seen as weird or uncomfortable like hand gestures, personal space, that kind of thing)
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Jul 18 '15
Serious question. I keep hearing about problems with immigrants in Swedish cities. Is it actually that bad or is it just overblown in the media?
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u/Tal-IGN Jul 18 '15
How popular is hockey in Sweden compared to other sports? In Canada, many Swedish hockey players are pretty big celebrities who would be recognized anywhere they go. Are Swedish pro hockey players recognizable celebrities to the average Swede?
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u/dasoberirishman Jul 18 '15
Do most Swedes consider themselves as having Viking heritage? And is this history taught in schools?
I often heard, while traveling Europe, that it is quite expensive to drink in Finland; young people, as a consequence, often brew their own beer and have "bottling parties" every weekend as a way of getting together and having a few brews at 1/10th the price. Is this also prevalent in Sweden? Why?
What do Swedes honestly think of Danes? And Norwegians? Bear in mind, most of my stereotypes about Scandinavians comes from SATW comics.
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u/literary-hitler Jul 18 '15
I am a Canadian with Scandinavian ancestry. As a tradition we eat lutfisk at Christmas time. How often do you swedes eat lutfisk?
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u/mangletron Jul 18 '15
How do Swedes answer the telephone? (I cannot find the Canada flair)
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u/vladicuss Jul 18 '15
Hej,
Jag bor i canada och jag alskar Sverige :)
... Okay, that's all I really know.
Anyway, I'm a teenager currently living in Canada, and it's been my dream to move to Sweden for a while now. What could you suggest that might help me emigrate successfully?
Tack!
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u/Nantook Jul 18 '15
What do swedes drink their milk out of? In Canada there is a national divide between people that drink milk out of bags and people who drink it out of cartons.