However, over the past few decades, Halloween has started to take root as a fun autumn holiday to celebrate, especially with the younger generations. Though it likely will never come close to overtaking the popularity of Christmas in the region, the holiday’s connection to pagan traditions could make it a fitting addition, as the Nordic traditions often feature an interesting blend of Christian and pagan customs.

Read on to learn more about the Nordic holiday traditions that have been influenced by ancient local rituals, including Midsummer, Christmas and Easter.

1. Saint John鈥檚 Eve in Denmark and Norway

One of the most obvious examples of a Nordic holiday steeped in pagan tradition is Sankt Hans in Denmark and Norway. Celebrated on June 23rd, this event is Denmark and Norway鈥檚 take on midsummer celebrations and is a time to have fun with friends and family. While its name has come about thanks to Christian influence, celebrating the birth of St. John the Baptist on June 24th, it was originally . In both Denmark and Norway, people gather on the beach with family, neighbours and friends, enjoying good food and drink, singing songs and lighting big bonfires.

One of the most notable and intriguing aspects of Sankt Hans is the burning of straw effigies, typically shaped like witches, originally meant to keep evil spirits away and protect communities from malevolent forces, like witches and trolls. This has been , given the historically violent nature of witch hunts and witch trials, and even though the tradition is not directly connected to this history, some still find it in bad taste. However, it鈥檚 still a common sight to see in Denmark. In the modern day, these bonfires are ultimately a way of welcoming summer by feasting and enjoying time with friends and family.

2. Easter in Finland

Some of the traditions associated with Easter in Finland might surprise you if you鈥檙e unfamiliar with Finnish customs. While the holiday shares some familiar non-religious icons with other countries, such as eggs and bunnies, it also includes a unique practice that is connected to old pagan rituals.

On Palm Sunday, which in the Christian tradition celebrates Jesus鈥� arrival in Jerusalem and the crowds welcoming him as their king with shouts and waving of branches, Finnish children dress as little witches, complete with face paint and colourful scarves. They knock on doors, reciting rhymed blessings for the health and prosperity of households and handing out decorated twigs, often in exchange for small treats or coins. Interestingly, this custom is now being transferred and transposed to Halloween, a holiday which stems from Celtic pagan rituals.

The practice, known as has roots in a blend of pagan and Christian beliefs. The tradition of little witches relates to ancient fears and reverence for witchcraft, as well as the celebration of spring鈥檚 return and hope for a good harvest. The Christian influence comes from the tradition of hailing the entry of the king to his city and children giving blessings with branches. The combination of Christian observance with pagan customs makes Easter in Finland an interesting blend that demonstrates how a globally well-known celebration can take on localised forms and flavours.

3. Midsummer in Sweden

If there is one holiday that epitomises the influence of pagan customs on modern Nordic holiday traditions, it鈥檚 . It has also retained its pagan name, unlike the Danish and Norwegian midsummer celebrations, now given the Christian name of Saint John鈥檚 Eve and Saint John鈥檚 Day.

This holiday honours the summer solstice and is marked by communal gatherings, traditional dances around the 尘颈诲蝉辞尘尘补谤蝉迟氓苍驳 (maypole) and large feasts featuring pickled herring, potatoes and fresh strawberries. These festive lunches and flower crowns worn by participants are meant to represent nature鈥檚 abundance and beauty, reflecting a culture that still sees the natural world as something worthy of celebration and respect.

The day鈥檚 events are centred around celebrating summer, as daylight stretches for nearly the full 24 hours in the far north. Bonfires are lit as a nod to ancient customs meant to ward off evil spirits and protect crops, like the celebrations in Denmark and Norway. The enduring popularity of Midsummer, a favourite Swedish holiday coming second only to Christmas, continues to connect modern life to its pagan past.

4. Nordic holiday traditions at Christmastime

While modern Christmas is primarily a Christian holiday, it is hard to ignore its significant overlap with older pagan traditions. Before Christianity spread across the Nordic countries, December was marked by , a festival from Norse mythology and religion the locals called Hjul, celebrating the round shape of the sun at the winter solstice. In the modern Scandinavian languages, hjul and jul are homonyms, meaning wheel and Christmas, respectively. Many of today鈥檚 Christmas customs, including the Yule log, the evergreen tree and even the festivity鈥檚 timing, stem from Yule鈥檚 celebration of rebirth and light.

Yule was originally a festival that honoured the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky led by Odin, marking the closeness of the dead and the living at the darkest time of the year. The purpose of other Yule rituals was then to make sacrifices to the gods to scare away death and evil and to celebrate the sun鈥檚 return and rebirth. In Christianity, Christmas was chosen to mark and celebrate the date of Jesus鈥� birth in the 4th century.

The merging of Yule and Christmas wasn鈥檛 just a coincidence; it was designed to ease the transition to Christianity for the Germanic peoples. Today, this convergence manifests in Nordic holiday traditions like candlelit processions, wreaths and holiday feasts.

5. Halloween, the new old Nordic holiday tradition

In recent years, the popular American holiday of Halloween has made its way across the Atlantic and is , albeit in a more subdued way. While still seen as an imported, commercialised American holiday, its origins align surprisingly well with the region’s own history of honouring the supernatural and the changing seasons. The American holiday stems from the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain, which welcomed winter and remembered the dead, with bonfires to ward off evil spirits (sound familiar?).

Just as Easter in Finland welcomes witches, Halloween provides an opportunity to revisit the cultural legacy of spirits and folklore. In the Nordic countries, Halloween celebrations combine the traditional imagery of ghosts, witches and carved pumpkins with regional twists. For example, many communities use the holiday to share the tales of trolls, spirits and other creatures that have long haunted Nordic folklore.

Additionally, the next day, November 1st, is , which is a solemn day for people in the Nordic countries to commemorate their dead loved ones by placing candles on their graves, particularly in Finland and Sweden. This makes Halloween not just an imported tradition but one that resonates with local history and beliefs and connects to other traditions of the region.

Why the persistence of paganism in Nordic holiday traditions?

Why have Nordic holiday traditions been so impacted by paganism? Through centuries, these older customs have given people a sense of where they come from and helped them feel they belong to the local community. 听

Paganism, as with most ancient religions, was built on the natural world and the cycles it follows. The changing light throughout the year and the importance of agricultural and seasonal markers deeply influenced the emergence of paganism, especially in the Nordic countries, where landscapes can be harsh and the contrast between dark winters and bright summers can be especially stark.听听

In modern life, nature is still a crucial part of Nordic culture and society. The relationship with the environment is reflected not only in festivities but also in society and politics, where sustainability and environmental consciousness are top priorities.听

The reason for the continuation of these holiday traditions is not an intentional celebration of pagan customs. Instead, these traditions have become a unique part of culture and society that people enjoy, with intriguing and insightful histories that are worth learning about. Plus, the continued celebration of these traditions underscores a shared cultural identity among the Nordic countries.听

To learn more about Nordic and Scandinavian culture, find our collection of blog posts here.

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Nordic purchasing power

In 2018, the combined GDP of the Nordic region amounted to $1.64 trillion 鈥� equating to 鈥� an increase from $1.44 trillion in 2015. The 27 million inhabitants of the Nordic countries have a higher GDP per person than the EU, and imports play a significant role in these figures.听听

Swedish consumers imported goods worth around in 2019, Denmark and Norway .听 听

In addition, they are at the . 听

Online is big bucks

Online purchasing plays an important role in this region, with the average Swedish consumer spending around听1000 euros annually on everything from fashion to groceries, literature and audiobooks, home furnishings, dietary supplements, medication and other pharmaceuticals, sports and leisure products, as well as movies and entertainment and much else besides. This is an attractive and lucrative market for those who are able to successfully place their market stall in the proverbial (or literal) Nordic town square.听

Gradual change but faithful consumers

As the market is smaller compared to the likes of China or Japan, many international companies鈥� focus has been away from the Nordics. The region鈥檚 market leaders have therefore been dominant for decades. So how do you best ensure that your products or services captivate Nordic consumers? There are three important behavioural patterns to consider when reaching out to these northern populations.

The loyal Nordic consumer

by Google and behavioural science experts, The Behavioural Architects, into consumer behaviour, found that the Nordic consumers tend to be faithful once they decide on a favourite brand.听

Willingness to try a second-choice brand is generally lower than in countries such as the UK. In fact, researchers found that the most important element to influence the Nordic consumer鈥檚 choice was 鈥渟ocial proof鈥�, i.e. testimony from others who are already using the product or service and have perhaps recommended it. This factor carried more weight than a recommendation from an expert or getting a free gift, two other example methods tested in the experiment, which simulated 310,000 purchase scenarios with 31 product categories using real in-market consumers.听

Moreover, according to statistics collated by Trustpilot, 79% of shoppers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. The judicious use of both online and printed reviews can really make a difference when enticing the Nordic consumer to purchase your product.听

Nordic consumers spend more time on their choices听

When searching online, Nordic consumers (two words is most common) before sifting through lots of hits over several days, while considering the various options 鈥� 41% take two weeks or more before purchasing a product found online, and 57% carry out five听or more searches before purchasing consumer electronics.听

The good news is that such a careful decision-making process makes it easier for newcomer brands to have a chance at delighting the savvy Scandinavian consumer.听

Your web presence can be optimised for Nordic search behaviour by ensuring that key words fit with the sort of short search terms used by Nordics when looking for products or services, whether to buy online or to locate in the real world. And this leads us neatly to the third point:听

Nordic consumers prefer information in their own language听

The vast majority of Nordic people are proficient in English up to a point, yet 8 out of 10 Nordic consumers prefer a website to use their own language rather than English. 听

The vast majority of Nordic people are proficient in English up to a point, yet 8 out of 10 Nordic consumers prefer a website to use their own language rather than English.

Research by Nimdzi clearly shows that although Nordic consumers will tolerate an English website if a version in their respective languages does not exist, they prefer to interact with products in their native language, and give preference to brands that go the extra mile to localise their products and services. 听

The data also show that Nordic consumers are more receptive to advertisements that address them in the language that hits closest to home. As many as 9 out of 10 of these high-value potential customers will ignore a product that is not in their native language and well over half of them would be more interested were the content available in their own language.听

Moreover, two-thirds of e-commerce consumers consider when shopping online. So, whether you offer your goods online or offline in a physical store, having a sharp marketing copy and clear product information in the native language of your target audience will certainly improve your chances on the Nordic market. This includes localised search terms and expressions, along with local language versions of websites, brochures and product information and reviews. 听

Now let鈥檚 take a closer look at the Nordic languages and what it means to localise into them.听

The linguistic specifics of the Nordics

The Nordic region is of course not only one country, and it most certainly does not have only one language. The three Scandinavian languages 鈥� Swedish, Danish and Norwegian 鈥� share a common origin across the three nations, whereas Finnish is distinct as a Uralic language.听

Then there is Iceland, whose language also belongs to the North-Germanic family of Indo-European languages, like Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. Icelandic is closely related to the Old Norse spoken by the Vikings who settled on the island in the 9th century. Iceland has taken a very听purist approach to its language, avoiding the adoption of foreign words and instead developing neologism 鈥� new words 鈥� for new phenomena and products. An example of this is theatre, which in the Scandinavian languages is teater, but in Icelandic is 濒别颈办丑煤蝉 (literally playhouse, which of course we know from English, derived from the Old English plega plus the Old Norse(!) hus).听

You can read more on the Nordic languages in this blog post.听听

Finding the right approach for going local

Understanding the linguistic diversity in the Nordics helps to develop a nuanced and pragmatic approach to localisation in this market. 听

One example of a cost-effective way to apply this approach is to use a method known as Scandimix, where the three Scandinavian languages are presented on the same line, with only those words added in the respective languages that are needed for clear and unambiguous comprehension. It works well where space is restricted, too.听

For marketing copy and text that is directed at consumers, you鈥檒l want something that holds a high level of quality and flow in the target language 鈥� sentences that not only give a literal translation of the source text, but really communicate your brand, your product and your quality on every line. For this, the approach that tends to work best is trans-creation, a combination of translation and creative writing. 听

For technical, medical, financial or legal translation, and not least corporate communication and a plethora of other text types, Sandberg has distinct approaches and experts in the various fields to handle them correctly.听

How to get started?

When working with multilingual content, one of the first steps to effective communication is to create a style guide. Without detailed guidelines, everything is open to interpretation. A style guide is especially important during the process of international expansion, as it is essential to calibrate every possible factor that can impact the quality of the interactions and ultimately your capacity to persuade in the long-term.听

Another point to consider is consistency in the use of language. The same word or expression can be translated in different ways, but this hinders the effectiveness of your message. Developing a glossary of common terms is an easy and practical way to get your target audience familiarised with your brand鈥檚 terminology.听

We at Sandberg have amassed cultural and language expertise over 25 years as we have supported businesses in building the linguistic and emotional bridges to the Nordic consumers鈥� hearts and minds. If you鈥檇 like to know learn more on how adapt your communication for Nordic consumers, we鈥檙e happy to offer a free localisation consultation.听

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A brief history

Originally, the term gingerbread referred to preserved ginger. It later referred to a confection made with honey and spices. Nowadays, gingerbread refers to a wider variety of baked goods, ranging from a soft, moist loaf cake to a particularly crunchy ginger biscuit.

Gingerbread was first brought to by the Armenian monk Gregory of Nicopolis when he taught French Christians the art of gingerbread baking.

Later, during the 13th century, gingerbread was brought to Sweden by German immigrants. And references from the in the 15^th century show how the baked gingerbread to ease indigestion.

A couple of centuries on, the first documented trade of gingerbread biscuits dates to the 17th century, where they were sold in monasteries, pharmacies and town square farmers鈥� markets.

While these biscuits can be traced back through the years, the first gingerbread men were credited to Queen Elizabeth I, who would delight visiting dignitaries with gingerbread figurines made in their own likenesses.

Tasty traditions

The baking and decorating of flat biscuit-shaped gingerbread is a in many Scandinavian homes, but the art of turning these 2D pieces into a 3D structure is just as popular.

Building a gingerbread house is a quintessential tradition

In Sweden, designing and building gingerbread houses is considered a 鈥樷�� tradition in the run-up to Christmas. The same could be said for Norway 鈥� every year since 1991, thousands of Norwegians from kindergarteners to local businesspeople come together to participate in the construction of .

Where did the gingerbread house come from?

Gingerbread houses originated in Germany during the 16th century, and over the years these tasty constructions have become a rather popular and Christmassy tradition.

These edible creations grew in popularity when the Grimm Brothers wrote the story of , in which the main characters stumble upon a house made entirely of sweet treats deep in the forest. Whether the story influenced the success of the gingerbread houses, or the gingerbread houses inspired the story, remains unclear.

Tried and tasted

As great as a successful and structurally sound gingerbread house is, it is often the mishaps and personalised methods that make for the best stories. Our Norwegian translator, Guro-Sigurd, gives us a real feel of just how unconventional gingerbread house making can be:

We designed a gingerbread house from scratch and it was beautiful

Although gingerbread isn鈥檛 an exclusively Norwegian or even Scandinavian tradition, it still meant a lot to me growing up. For most of my childhood, we bought one of those ready-made gingerbread houses that you simply assemble and decorate. But one year, and the year following, we decided to take a page out of a friend鈥檚 book and design one from scratch. We took out the pencils, rulers and protractors and cut out the shapes needed in paper before tracing them onto gingerbread dough to make sure the pieces were just right. It was a very simple house, but it was beautiful and it was ours.

It鈥檚 also traditional to assemble a gingerbread house using melted sugar. Some people just use icing, but melted sugar makes for a much more durable and stable construction. I was pretty young when we decided that, while melted sugar yielded good results, it was a pain to work with. So, we switched to using a glue gun instead!

We had our own tradition of taking down the Christmas decorations on the 20^th day after Christmas, and this included dismantling the gingerbread house. And we always made a big show out of it! Instead of just throwing it out, we would smash it with a hammer. Traditionally you鈥檙e meant to eat the hammer-smashed pieces afterwards, but seeing as we had used a glue gun, we preferred not to eat the house after Christmas. If we were feeling particularly brave, though, we would nibble on the pieces we were fairly sure didn鈥檛 contain any glue.

Try your hand at some Nordic gingerbread

Below we have compiled simplified gingerbread recipes from each of the Nordic countries, with a link to a more detailed version.

Have a go and see which recipe you like best!

Finland

Our managing director, Anu Carnegie-Brown, often makes a batch or two of gingerbread biscuits around this time of year and shares her tried and tested Finnish Piparkakut recipe below ( you can find a similar online recipe).

Ingredients:

• 150ml of syrup
• 2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp of ground ginger
• 2 tsp of ground cardamom
• 1 tsp of ground cloves
• 1 tsp of allspice
• 200g butter or margarine
• 170g of caster sugar
• 100ml of cream
• 2 tsp of baking soda
• 415g of plain flour

Instructions:

Heat the syrup and spices in a saucepan. Allow to cool down. Whip the sugar and butter, add the syrup/spice mix and the cream. Carefully sieve in the combined flour and baking soda. Blend until smooth and put in the fridge until the next day.

Roll out the dough and cut the shapes of your gingerbread. Bake the gingerbread for 6鈥�10 minutes at 200潞C.

Sweden

Sandberg IT Manager, Adam Dahlstr枚m, has a personal preference for gingerbread biscuits that have a citrusy tang to them and recommends the Swedish recipe below for .

Ingredients:

• 1kg wheat flour
• 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
• 500g butter
• 3 dl heavy cream (40%)
• 500g caster sugar
• 1/3 litre syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 陆 鈥� 2 陆 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp ginger
• 陆 tbsp ground cloves
• 8-10 drops lemon flavour (or a little lemon zest)

Instructions:

Mix the flour and bicarbonate of soda then combine with the butter. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff and add the sugar, syrup, spices, eggs and citrus flavouring of choice. Work everything together until smooth and supple. Leave to cool for at least 24 hours.

Roll out the dough and cut into your desired shapes. Place the shapes onto a lined baking tray and bake at 200潞C until golden brown.

Demark

The Danish term literally means 鈥榖rown cakes鈥� and, despite the recipe for these biscuits not containing ginger, this classic Christmas treat is considered part of the gingerbread family.

Ingredients:

• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g brown sugar
• 100g molasses
• 230g all-purpose flour
• 陆 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 陆 tsp cloves
• 陆 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt

Instructions:

Melt the butter, sugar, and molasses over a low heat until the sugar dissolves and everything combines. Let this cool for 5鈥�10 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda and salt. Mix everything together until no dry spots remain.

Wrap the final dough in cling film and place in the fridge overnight. Roll out your dough and use cookie cutters to cut out whatever shapes you want. Bake cookies for 6鈥�8 minutes at 175潞C.

Norway

As the name suggests, the recipe for Norwegian often includes a pinch of black pepper. The original Danish recipe calls for an ingredient called potaske which gives the biscuits a crisper snap and crunchy texture.

Ingredients:

• 150g unsalted butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 70ml treacle
• 50ml golden syrup
• 75ml whole milk
• 1 medium egg yolk
• 450g plain flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cardamom, ground to a fine powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (or 1 tsp potaske, if you have it!)
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 录 tsp finely ground black pepper
• 陆 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions:

Melt the butter, sugar, treacle, syrup, milk and egg yolk in a pan. Add the dry ingredients and stir well. Wrap the dough in cling film and put it in the fridge overnight.

Roll out the dough and cut out the shapes that tickle your fancy. Put the shapes on a lined baking tray and bake the cookies on the top shelf for about 10 minutes at 160潞C.

Iceland

Similar to the Norwegian gingerbread recipe, the Icelandic also packs a slight peppery punch and is a festive favourite around this time of year.

Ingredients:

• 250g butter at room temperature
• 200g granulated sugar
• 250g light corn syrup (or golden syrup)
• 2 eggs
• 475g all-purpose flour
• 1 陆 tsp baking powder
• 陆 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 录 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions:

Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the syrup and eggs and beat everything well. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices and mix until combined. Wrap the dough and refrigerate overnight.

Roll out the dough and cut the gingerbread using cookie cutters. Put the gingerbread shapes onto a lined baking tray and bake for 7 minutes at 180潞C.

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Have you ever wondered if the people of the Nordic countries swear? Finland and Denmark take turns being the happiest country in the world, and Iceland, Norway and Sweden are not far behind on the same metric.

So, do Nordic people even have reason to curse? If you ask them, the answer would probably be: of course! Across the Nordic countries, swearing is a widespread practice, from teenagers to jaunty grandmothers. Even younger children are known to throw in a swearword once in a while (sometimes under their breath, depending on the proximity of their parents).

If you鈥檙e curious about this perhaps controversial language practice as performed in the Nordic countries, then this article is for you. Read on to get an idea of the nature of profanity in this part of the world, as well as specific examples of swearwords from each country.

So, hva faen are you waiting for? Have fun learning a bit about Nordic foul language!

The nature of Nordic swearing

As in other parts of the world, swearing in the Nordic countries is often done to let off steam. For instance, when you鈥檙e angry with someone, you want to express annoyance at something, or you seek to (mentally) relieve the pain of stubbing your toe (we鈥檝e all been there!).

Just like swearing in other languages, swearwords in the Nordic languages reference things that are taboo in the local culture. However, swearing in the Nordic countries does seem to differ from swearing in the UK or the US, for example, in two particular areas: the perceived offensiveness of swearing and the themes of the swearwords.

Perceived offensiveness of swearing in the Nordic countries

Studies on the perceived offensiveness of swearing in English-speaking countries as well as the Nordic countries have been conducted and compared. The results suggest that Nordic people swear more freely than their English-speaking counterparts.

In general, Nordic people have a laissez-faire attitude towards swearing, and to many, swearing is an integral part of their everyday language. Whilst many in the UK share the same attitude, Nordic people often go further, swearing in contexts even Brits would find unacceptable.

To many Nordic people, swearing is an integral part of everyday language.

This laid-back relationship with bad words is evident when watching TV for instance. Even when guests on Nordic TV shows are instructed not to swear while on air, some just can鈥檛 help doing so 鈥� and the swearwords themselves aren鈥檛 censored or bleeped out.

Although Nordic people tend to swear more freely, swearing is not considered good form. Given that swearing is a rather informal use of language, there are of course certain situations in which it would be inappropriate to do so.

At a job interview, for example, you鈥檇 probably be better off keeping the swearing to a minimum 鈥� or just refrain from doing it at all. That way you don鈥檛 risk coming across as unprofessional.

However, if your potential employer is blown away by your wit, skills and vision, you might just get the job anyway.

Themes of Nordic swearwords

Some of the themes present in English-language swearing also exist in the Nordic languages.

Religion as a theme, or the incorporation of God, the devil or hell when swearing, is a prime example of this. In Sweden, for instance, many people use the swear word fan, which literally means 鈥榯he devil鈥�, as an exclamation for when something goes wrong.

You can also swear by 鈥榟ell鈥� in all five Nordic languages. In Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, you would exclaim Helvetti!, 贬别濒惫铆迟颈!, Helvete! and Helvete!, respectively, whilst you would say For helvede! in Danish.

One theme that is not present in English-language swearing today is that of diseases. In Danish, this theme contains swearwords with reference to serious illnesses such as cancer.

Kraftedeme is an example of this as it is a contraction of Kr忙ften 忙de mig, which translates into 鈥榤ay cancer eat me鈥�. This swearword acts as an oath: a curse that is used to strengthen a statement and underline the seriousness of the speaker. For example, Det er kraftedeme ikke i orden!, means 鈥楾his is not okay 鈥� may cancer eat me if it is okay!鈥�.

Another theme that is exclusive to the Nordic languages as compared to English is numbers. In Sweden, you can exclaim Sjutton! or Attans! when something doesn鈥檛 go according to plan. Meaning 鈥榮eventeen鈥� and 鈥榚ighteen鈥� respectively, these words are technically classified as euphemisms in Swedish, which makes them very unloaded and safe to use in any situation.

Danish has a similar euphemism 鈥� For syv sytten!, literally meaning 鈥楩or seven seventeen!鈥� 鈥� which is used in a similar way to its Swedish counterparts.

The influence of English on Nordic swearing

Like other societies, the Nordic countries are heavily influenced by American culture in the form of TV, films, music and, as a consequence of this, language use.

In Denmark, code-switching (the act of alternating between languages in the same conversation) is not unheard of, especially within the younger generations. The occasional 鈥榣iterally鈥�, 鈥榟onestly鈥�, 鈥榮orry鈥� or even typical English syntax often enter the conversation.

This English-inspired language use has also found its way into swearing across the Nordic languages.

The Nordic countries and their swearing are heavily influenced by American culture and English-language use.

Apart from swearwords originating from Nordic languages, the use of 鈥榝uck鈥� and 鈥榝ucking鈥� can be heard and seen in each of the Nordic countries 鈥� 鈥榮hit鈥� has also been adopted by many Nordic people. Both four-letter words are used in much the same way as they are in the English-speaking countries, i.e. when something goes wrong.

In Danish, for instance, you could say Fuck, jeg har glemt mine n酶gler!, meaning 鈥楩uck, I forgot my keys!鈥�. You could easily use 鈥榮hit鈥� instead of 鈥榝uck鈥� in this example 鈥� the swearwords are interchangeable in most situations.

Just like in English, the swearword 鈥榝ucking鈥� is used descriptively to emphasise a negative attitude the speaker has towards someone or something. In Danish, Han er en fucking idiot! means 鈥楬e is a fucking idiot!鈥�.

The perceived offensiveness of English swearwords amongst Nordic people compared to Americans or Brits has been debated, as it seems that the aforementioned four-letter specimens don鈥檛 have the same impact when used in the Nordic countries.

It could be that the theme of sex is just not as taboo as in the English-speaking countries鈥� or maybe swearing in a foreign language doesn鈥檛 feel as bad as in your mother tongue.

In any case, 鈥榝uck鈥� and 鈥榮hit鈥� have become an integral part of the Nordic vocabulary of swearwords. So much so that certain countries have developed their own spellings of 鈥榝uck鈥� and 鈥榝ucking鈥�. Icelanders, for instance, spell the words fokk and fokking, respectively, whilst the Norwegians often spell 鈥榝uck鈥� either fakk or 蹿酶办办.

Swearwords from each Nordic country

Are you curious to learn some bad language from each of the Nordic countries? Below is a list of the most common or remarkable swearwords from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Denmark

Finland

Iceland

Norway

Sweden

Now that you know more about the controversial linguistic practice of swearing in the Nordic languages, you鈥檒l be able to show off what you鈥檝e learnt. Nordic people tend to have a great sense of humour and they鈥檒l probably enjoy hearing a foreigner swear like a native!

Just remember to keep the swearing to informal situations 鈥� Sandberg takes no responsibility for any lost job opportunities due to foul language!

Christina Bjerggaard is a Danish translator at Sandberg. She wrote her master鈥檚 thesis on the translation of swearwords from English to Danish and, with her additional research for this article, is now our in-house profanity expert!

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As a multinational translation and localisation company, Sandberg fully understands that localisation is more than just words: it鈥檚 cultural interaction. In this article, four of our Nordic translators (a Dane, a Finn, a Norwegian and a Swede), who all have experience of working both within their own countries and elsewhere, discuss some of the cultural differences that they鈥檝e encountered.

We鈥檝e condensed these experiences into three valuable rules of thumb to make your interactions with your Scandinavian business partners and clients as straightforward as possible.

1st rule of thumb: politeness (or lack thereof)

Scandinavians generally aren鈥檛 rude; they can just seem rude. Finnish translator Antti, who has over a decade鈥檚 experience of living in Britain and Ireland, can testify to this:

鈥淏rits are a lot more roundabout and polite when they want something from you. This can be misunderstood by a Finn, to the point of not really being sure if the Brit in question actually wants you to do something or not. Are they just asking a question or are they asking me to do something? Finns, on the other hand, tend to get straight to the point, which can be seen as blunt or even rude, although this is by no means the intention.鈥�

Antti also points out that after moving back to Finland, he鈥檚 noticed something he never thought about before.

鈥淭he British and Irish will always, always hold the door open for you if they see you coming in behind them. In Finland, however, people will let the door close right in your face, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that there鈥檚 a person coming in the same door right after them.鈥�

Norwegian translator William says that in Norway people do hold doors, but don鈥檛 necessarily expect to be thanked for it.听鈥淲hoever is in the position to hold the door will do so. And it鈥檚 sort of taken for granted that the other person appreciates this, so they don鈥檛 need to express gratitude. Again, the silence is not rudeness, just a quiet, shared understanding 鈥� sometimes expressed with a quick nod.鈥�

Danish translator Amila agrees and points out another thing:听鈥淭here鈥檚 no one-word equivalent for 鈥榩lease鈥� in Danish. You have to use constructions such as kunne du 鈥榗ould you鈥�, kan jeg f氓 dig til at鈥� 鈥榗ould I get you to鈥︹��, m氓 jeg bede om 鈥榗ould I ask for鈥� and so on. That鈥檚 really weird compared to English where 鈥榩lease鈥� is a major component in all sorts of communication.鈥�

鈥淲ell, there is of course vennligst (literally 鈥榝riendliest鈥�),鈥� William points out, 鈥渂ut in Norway it鈥檚 often seen as a bit passive-aggressive 鈥� as if you鈥檙e being overly polite to make a point that the other person isn鈥檛.鈥�

Amila laughs. 鈥淭rue. We do also have venligst in Danish, but it鈥檚 regarded as quite formal so no one really says it. You may see it in some written communication, such as from the authorities.鈥�

Swedish translator Lena adds that she finds it strange how the British very often insist on using honorifics, such as Mr, Mrs and Miss. They鈥檙e almost never used in Scandinavia, even in formal communications.

鈥淭hank goodness for Ms,鈥� she laughs. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 promise that I鈥檒l be able to resist the temptation to state my title as Captain or Lord 鈥榖y mistake鈥� in one or two future forms.鈥�

William agrees. 鈥淭he use of Herr (for Mr) or Fru (for Mrs) would be regarded as extremely archaic. There鈥檚 also no equivalent to Sir and Madam. In most formal communication, rather than Kj忙re herr Smith 鈥楧ear Mr Smith鈥�, it would simply say Til John Smith 鈥楾o John Smith鈥�. In less formal communication, Hei, John 鈥楬i John鈥� is fine. To a Norwegian, it would matter a lot more that the letter or email came on time, 听than whether or not it used a certain greeting.鈥�

鈥淥ne more thing,鈥� Antti says with a resigned smile, 鈥渨e Finns also make the mistake of confusing politeness coming from a Brit as an indication that they like us. You can imagine how awkward this can be for the Brit in question.鈥�

? First rule of thumb: Scandinavians don鈥檛 use language as their primary way of conveying goodwill in the same way that English speakers do. They鈥檙e polite but in their own way: formal courtesies matter less, but the underlying intent of kindness, consideration and respect matters a lot.

2nd rule of thumb: the law of Jante (no bragging please, we鈥檙e Nordic)

The 10 fictional commandments known collectively as or the 鈥淟aw of Jante鈥� appeared in a novel by the Danish-Norwegian author Aksel Sandemose to express the enforced conformity of a small-town environment. But there are undercurrents in these precepts that resonate with every Scandinavian, and not always in a negative way.

Where the fourth commandment of the Jante Law says, 鈥榊ou must not think yourself better than us鈥�, the flip-side is 鈥榃e don鈥檛 think we are better than you.鈥� This is perhaps the broader Jante culture: seeing one another as having equal worth, regardless of position, success or wealth. It also corresponds to the relatively flat organisational structure that Scandinavian businesses and organisations have.

Lena says that it was quite a culture shock when she first started working in Britain as a waitress.

鈥淭here were more managers in this one tiny caf茅 than I could count. It was strange to me that there was a manager for the fridges, for example, and yet another one for the tills, etc.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 my experience as well that the British take a more hierarchical approach and that titles matter a lot more than they do in Norway,鈥� William adds.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 true,鈥� Lena says. 鈥淎 friend of mine moved back to Sweden and found that, whilst in Britain the hierarchy was very obvious, at her present job in Sweden everyone except for department managers has the same title and the level of responsibility is reflected in the salary.鈥�

鈥淭he work culture in Denmark is also not very formal,鈥� Amila remarks. 鈥淲e use first names and there isn鈥檛 a strict dress code at work, and this is something that starts as early as school. I never wore a school uniform and we called our teachers by their first names.鈥�

鈥淥h yes,鈥� our Swedish translator confirms, 鈥渋n Sweden as well it almost goes without saying that there is no dress code or at least fairly informal clothing 鈥� unless a uniform is required, naturally.鈥�

But Amila also points out an aspect of the Jante Law that can be a pitfall for a non-Scandinavian:

鈥淭here鈥檚 a bit of an assumption in Denmark that the way things are done there is the best way. Friends of mine, some of whom are from bigger countries and used to very diverse input, told me that there wasn鈥檛 much interest in how they used to do things elsewhere, even simple things like work methods. Qualifications from abroad are not always trusted and it鈥檚 not unusual for people to have to take exams to get a Danish certificate to prove their skills.鈥�

She adds a word of caution: 鈥淭read lightly at first if you鈥檙e suggesting changes or improvements in Denmark, otherwise it could cause offence.鈥�

鈥淥h yes,鈥� William nods. 鈥淭here鈥檚 almost a degree of chauvinism in that we Scandis do like to think we鈥檝e got things just right and we prefer it if foreigners acknowledge this, at least before they start criticising,鈥� he laughs.

?听 Second rule of thumb: Jante culture means a preference for flat structures, low levels of formality and equality of worth but also a certain suspicion towards what can be seen as showing off or thinking one knows better. Generally, you can expect a Nordic person to be more knowledgeable and capable than they say they are.

3rd rule of thumb: the workplace (keyword: balance)

For anyone planning to work in the Nordics or with people from the region, it鈥檚 worth noting that in addition to being flatter and less formal, Nordic workplaces also tend to be organised differently. Quite literally.

鈥淚 think one difference is that most people in Denmark are unionised,鈥� Amila points out, 鈥渁lthough the number is falling. This probably affects how people view work and behave at work. Unions have a natural role in our perception of work and I get the sense that people are (or were, when I still lived in Denmark) less open to unreasonable demands, like being available to their employer on the phone at all times, than you read about in some countries.鈥�

鈥淭his is true in Norway as well,鈥� William says. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 actually have a general minimum salary set by law in Norway, however, because the national labour union and the national employers鈥� union have negotiated it, a minimum level has been agreed and is respected. Some industries have had minimum salaries set fairly recently so as to stop cheap un-unionised labour from abroad competing with Norwegian workers. This is the actual reasoning given by the ,鈥� William chuckles.

Lena points out that whilst unionisation is strong and widespread in Sweden as well, 鈥淭here鈥檚 this parallel job market in Sweden 鈥� as everywhere 鈥� of unsafe employment, such as agency work, temporary jobs and hourly work, where many of the things that Sweden often prides itself on (collective agreements ensuring certain standards for workers, unemployment pay, statutory stick pay, etc.) don鈥檛 apply.鈥�

On the other hand, it鈥檚 also Lena鈥檚 impression that there鈥檚 quite a big focus on sustainability and health and wellbeing in Swedish businesses.

鈥淭here are loads of initiatives regarding mental and physical health 鈥� vulnerability has increasingly started to be seen as a natural part of the leadership style among managers and CEOs.鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 an ambition to place health before achievement, financial support is often offered to employees for physical activities and time is set aside during work hours to exercise or meetings are held whilst going for a walk (鈥榳alk and talk鈥�). In addition, generous time for 鈥榝ika鈥� [the Swedish word for a short break 鈥� often involving coffee and cinnamon buns], socialising and going out for fresh air are all seen as important.鈥�

鈥淵es,鈥� Amila interjects, 鈥渋n Denmark too, the work-life balance is very important and prioritised.鈥�

Our Norwegian translator chuckles. 鈥淚 do remember working for an employer in London who expected me to be ready to respond at any hour, day or night, whereas an employer I had back in Norway apologised profusely for once calling me on my day off to deal with a client situation. The expectations can be a little different, although of course it depends on the individual company culture as well,鈥� William remarks.

鈥淥ne thing I did find easier when I was looking for a job in the UK,鈥� our Swedish translator points out, 鈥渨as that the salary was mentioned in almost every job ad. I found this transparency surprising given that salary is almost never mentioned in Swedish job ads.鈥�

鈥淵es, although in Britain one does not discuss how much money one makes,鈥� William laughs.

鈥淭rue,鈥� the Swedish translator replies, 鈥淚 find that talking about money and salary seems a lot more awkward in Britain than in Sweden. Perhaps because when it comes to state-governed organisations, information about salary and taxation are required by law to be published for everyone to see.鈥�

William nods in recognition. 鈥淚n Norway, all taxable income and taxes paid are made public by the tax authorities so everyone can see how much you earn, what your assets are and how much tax you paid. Many people from other countries would find that a massive intrusion of their privacy and even some Norwegians think that. But it certainly means that any attempt at keeping your income a secret is in vain and some feel it contributes to openness, helping to reduce corruption.鈥�

Our Swedish translator nods, 鈥淕enerally I would say that trust is important for Swedes in the workplace: trust and transparency as well as managers having an advisory and supportive role rather than authoritarian. Controlling measures are considered a bit old school, whereas trust is the modern way.鈥�

? Third rule of thumb: Scandinavians have a high unionisation rate and they value their work-life balance 鈥� don鈥檛 take it for granted that they鈥檒l answer your phone call at 6pm or at the weekend. Management and business transparency is expected. Yet the workplace is seen as a place for cooperation, not conflict, and Nordic countries have some of the in Europe.

And finally, if you want to impress a Dane, learn how to correctly pronounce . Although Nordic people like to show off how good they are at English, they tend to be very impressed with any foreigner who has gone to the effort of learning a phrase or two in their respective languages. Lykke til! (Good luck).

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During Lent, which traditionally lasts for 40 days, eating fatty foods and meat was not allowed, and historically Fastelavn served as a ritual-based feast to prepare for this period of abstinence. Today, however, Lent is not widely practised among Nordic people, so Fastelavn has largely become a fun-focused children鈥檚 festival featuring merry and distinctive traditions 鈥� some of which are in fact based on rather dark rituals of the past.

This year, Fastelavn falls on Sunday 14 February in Denmark and Norway and Tuesday 16 in Sweden and Finland, whilst the Icelanders will be celebrating from Monday 15 to Wednesday 18 February. Even though the Nordic countries are tightly knit in many ways, each nation has its own distinct way of celebrating, and each unique Fastelavn tradition is worth experiencing. If you鈥檙e not in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden to experience Fastelavn for yourself, read on and learn more about this special tradition.

Cover image: A girl 鈥渂eats the cat out of the barrel鈥� at Fastelavn in Denmark.

? Fastelavn parades

In Denmark and Norway, Fastelavn is first and foremost a carnival. Children at pre-school and primary-school age (and some cheery parents) dress up in costumes ranging from the highly popular princess or superhero, to more creative and quite funny takes, such as a bucket of popcorn, a whoopie cushion or their favourite celebrity.

On the Monday after the Fastelavn Sunday in Denmark and Norway, children go to school in their costumes and take part in a special parade for the school鈥檚 older pupils, teachers and (occasionally) parents to behold. Marching around various school buildings, the children sing the traditional and cheerful song 鈥淔astelavn er mit navn鈥� (literally 鈥淔astelavn is my name鈥�) 鈥� the central message of which is the singers鈥� demand for the special holiday pastry fastelavnsboller听(鈥淔astelavn buns鈥�) by threat of shenanigans if this demand isn鈥檛 met.

In Iceland, children dress up on Ash Wednesday, called 脰蝉办耻诲补驳耻谤, to tour the streets of their town centre. Whilst unquestionably a sight to behold, Icelandic children don鈥檛 just show off their costumes for the sole purpose of pleasing their spectators 鈥� they鈥檙e in it for the sweets! On this day, shops and businesses are stocked up with sweets and the merrily clad children go from shop to shop to collect their bounty by singing to the cashiers.

? 鈥淏eating the cat out of the barrel鈥�

Fastelavn is an important event, especially in Denmark, and as a result, the Danes have certain traditions that are practised more or less exclusively in their country. One of these is the tradition of sl氓 katten af t酶nden (鈥渂eating the cat out of the barrel鈥�), now a lovely party game for children, but once a gruesome religious ritual.

It was once believed that cats were witches鈥� companions and therefore symbolised evil. To protect themselves from these wicked forces, people locked a cat in a barrel, strung it up and started beating it with clubs until the barrel broke. The terrified cat would then jump out and run away 鈥� if it wasn鈥檛 mutilated 鈥� which was interpreted as a metaphor for evil leaving the town.

Today, actual cats are fortunately nowhere to be found in Fastelavn barrels. Instead, they often contain a drawing of a cat, but most importantly, they are now filled with sweets, just like a pi帽ata. One by one, children (dressed up of course) try their luck breaking open the barrel by adding one solid hit to it with a baseball bat. As the barrel is made of wood, it鈥檚 relatively sturdy, so the children often have quite a few chances to be the one to break it open and release the sweets.

The person who beats open the barrel and makes the sweets fall out is proclaimed kattekonge (鈥渒ing of cats鈥�) and coronated with a shiny paper crown. The game continues until somebody knocks down the last board of the barrel. This person will then receive a smaller crown and the title of kattedronning (鈥渜ueen of cats鈥�). The sweets are then shared out amongst the children.

? Trick or treasure

Another Fastelavn tradition exclusive to Denmark is 鈥渞attling鈥� (at rasle), where children walk around their neighbourhoods collecting money, very similar to trick-or-treating on Halloween. On Fastelavn Sunday, children put on their costumes, grab a collection box or small plastic container and walk from door to door to sing to their neighbours in the hope of receiving a coin or two to spend themselves. Whilst singing, the children shake their collection boxes so they rattle, or rasler.

In some regions, children receive a Fastelavn bun instead of money and as a result, children can choose between two different songs when going 鈥渞attling鈥�. If requesting buns, the children will sing the aforementioned 鈥淔astelavn er mit navn鈥�, in which the lyrics say to give the singer some fastelavnsboller, or else they鈥檒l make trouble. If requesting coins, the children sing a slightly adapted version of 鈥淔astelavn er mit navn鈥�, namely 鈥淧enge op, penge ned鈥� (literally 鈥淢oney up, money down鈥�), which gives the neighbour the option of giving the children some change or falling victim to a trick. It鈥檚 all good fun, and most people are more than happy to open their doors to hear and see the dressed-up children sing.

Arguably, the practice is not as popular today as it was a decade ago, but there鈥檚 still a good chance of 鈥渢rick-or-treasurers鈥� knocking at your door if you live in an area largely inhabited by families with children in the primary-school age 鈥� in which case you better have some change ready!

? Fastelavnsris 鈥� a colourful decoration

For Fastelavn in Denmark and Norway, families decorate their homes with colourful birch twigs known as fastelavnsris (pictured right,听). These twigs are adorned with multi-coloured feathers and paper ornaments and sometimes also sweets, and they鈥檙e often arranged in vases around the home to symbolise the transition from the long, cold winter to the vibrant and fruitful spring.

Originally, the twigs were used to flog young, childless women to make them fertile. There was a pagan superstition that birch twigs possessed the power of fertility, and as a result, young men were allowed to flog young women passing by.

Traditionally, children also used these twigs to (gently) thwack their parents to wake them up on the morning of Fastelavn Sunday. The reward for this thwacking was always a bun, which gave birth to the tradition of the delicious pastry fastelavnsboller.

? Traditional Fastelavn foods

No Nordic tradition is complete without food 鈥� Fastelavn is of course no exception. In fact, fastelavnsboller, or in English 鈥淔astelavn buns鈥�, might be the only traditional aspect that is represented across all the Nordic countries鈥� distinctive Fastelavn celebrations to this day. Each country has their own take on this sweet holiday treat, but what characterises all of them is their round shape, puffy texture and delicious filling (which varies by country).

In Sweden, Fastelavn is known as Fettisdagen (Fat Tuesday) and is largely celebrated with baking and eating semlor听(pictured below), the Swedish version of the fastelavnsboller. The semla (singular form of semlor) contains a sweet filling of whipped cream and almond paste similar to marzipan, whilst the bun itself often contains aromatic cardamom and is sprinkled with icing sugar.

Danish fastelavnsboller are a bit different as they typically contain a thick, sweet cream and are topped with icing, whilst the Norwegian version is filled with jam, whipped cream or an almond filling. Across the Nordic countries, fastelavnsboller are highly popular and are sold from shortly after Christmas to well into March.

In Finland and Iceland, a traditional evening meal is part of the festivities on Shrove Tuesday, traditionally the day before Lent. On this day, called Laskiainen in Finland, the Finnish take their sledge out for a fun day in the snow and then return home for a hot meal of pea soup and their version of the Fastelavn bun, the delicious laskiaispulla, which is much like the semla.

Icelanders typically eat a dish of split pea soup accompanied by salted lamb on this day, but of course the bun is also part of the celebrations 鈥� in fact so much so that Iceland has a whole day devoted to the pastry, namely Bolludagur or 鈥淏un Day鈥�, on the day before Shrove Tuesday.

I hope you鈥檝e enjoyed this tour of Fastelavn traditions across the Nordic countries. Even if you can鈥檛 be there in person to witness them or take part, you鈥檝e probably learnt something new about this unusual and lesser-known Lent celebration. Gl忙delig fastelavn!

The post Fastelavn 鈥� the Nordic tradition you鈥檝e probably never heard of appeared first on sa国际传媒.

1. Rockin鈥� around the Christmas tree ?

A much-loved staple of Christmas in Norway centres around the Christmas tree, or juletre in Norwegian. Families gather to hold hands and sing traditional carols, all while circling the decorated pine. It鈥檚 a favourite tradition of Norwegian Translator William, who explains: 鈥淭raditionalists in Norway will not decorate the tree until 23 December, or 鈥榣ittle Christmas eve鈥�, in readiness for the actual Christmas eve (julaften) on the twenty-fourth. Across Scandinavia, this is the big day of the feast, when presents are opened. The revolving procession and hand-linked singing of Silent Night and other classics therefore marks a grand and special opening of the twelve days of Christmas.鈥�

In years gone by, a more public expression of this tradition has been a common sight up and down the country. Communities host Christmas tree parties for locals to celebrate together, often forming several rings, one outside the other, around a large public tree. While this practice may not be possible this year, William hopes 鈥渢hat it may be in for a revival after the current pandemic, when people realise how valuable it is to hold another person鈥檚 hand and join in the joyful singing of silly ditties and solemn carols.鈥�

2. Feasting in odd numbers ?

The night before Christmas (Badni vecher) is very important in Bulgaria, as it is when the main festivities take place. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the time when the whole family unites and prepares the holiday dinner,鈥� explains Business Administration Advisor, Radostina. 鈥淭here are seven or nine dishes, but they have to be meatless. We prepare a traditional bread with a coin hidden inside before the bread is baked. It鈥檚 believed that the person who gets the chunk with the coin will be the richest in the coming year.鈥� It鈥檚 not clear where the importance of the odd number of dishes originates from, but it鈥檚 said to bring good luck.

3. Taking the (polar) plunge ?‍

There鈥檚 nothing like wading into ice-cold water to shake off that festive over-indulgence, and it is a tradition that continues to grow in popularity around UK shores. Buoyed by the yuletide spirit, thousands take to the sea each year, braving water temperatures that average a biting 6鈥�10 掳C. 鈥淎 Christmas Day, Boxing Day (26 December) or New Year鈥檚 Day swim is becoming a new tradition for me,鈥� says Production Manager and keen swimmer, Amy听(pictured right). 鈥淭he day usually depends on my location and how much mulled wine was consumed the night before!鈥�

A New Year鈥檚 Day dip is also a favourite ritual of Swedish Translator Lena, who now lives in the UK. 鈥淚t is something I do every New Year if I am spending it in Malm枚, where I go with a friend to a kallbadhus [a type of bathing house with direct access to the sea], which we have loads of around Sweden. This is one of the things I most miss in the UK, and I鈥檓 now being forced to learn how to swim in the sea without having a sauna before or after!鈥�

4. Decorating with candles ?

Many of us will soon be adding some sparkle to our homes and trees with fairy lights, but for some of our Nordic colleagues, using real candles on their tree is still the way to go. Finnish Account Linguist Aino, explains: 鈥淢y family, to the horror of my English husband, still use real candles on the Christmas tree. My parents鈥� house is wooden, but over all these decades, there have been no accidents…!鈥�

It is a family custom that is also close to translator William鈥檚 heart. In his house they use candle holders passed down from his grandmother. 鈥淓very Christmas Eve, we turn off all the lights, so all you can see is the real candles on the tree,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t makes for a magical atmosphere.鈥�

5. Stepping into the new year ?

New Year鈥檚 Eve brings with it a whole host of global traditions and celebrations, and just one of those practised by some of our UK colleagues is the ritual of 鈥渇irst footing鈥�. This is an ancient Gaelic custom which places great importance on the first person to cross the threshold of your house at the beginning of the new year, often bearing gifts for the household and receiving food and drink in return. It is thought that this tradition dates back to the time of the Viking invasions and it is for this reason that it鈥檚 considered very unlucky for a fair- or red-haired person to be the first footer!

鈥淢y dad insists on first footing at New Year,鈥� says English Account Linguist Mary-Anna. 鈥淣owadays he leaves and comes back in, although when he lived in Glasgow he used to either first foot all of the neighbours or essentially do a party crawl and first foot all of his friends… A very efficient way to get a few free drinks!鈥�

And no British New Year鈥檚 Eve party would be complete without a rendition of Auld Lang Syne, written by famous Scots poet Robert Burns. 鈥淎t midnight on New Year鈥檚 Eve we always gather with the family or neighbours in a circle (sometimes in the middle of the road), cross and hold hands, and sing Auld Lang Syne,鈥� says HR Advisor Melissa. 鈥淭hen we open the front and back doors to let the old year out the front door, and the new year in through the back.鈥�

6. Watching a Christmas classic ?

And finally, for some of us, curling up on the sofa in front our favourite festive film is about as Christmassy as it gets. Cue blankets, hot chocolate… a crackling fire if we鈥檙e lucky! And while many may opt for a heartfelt drama or a cheesy rom-com to get them in the Christmas mood, for Norwegians, the main draw of their favourite holiday movie might have less to do with the film itself, and more to do with the questionable voiceover. Norwegian Account Linguist Ingrid, explains: 鈥淥ne of my very favourite Christmas traditions is watching the film (Three Wishes for Cinderella) at 11am on Christmas Eve. It鈥檚 dubbed into Norwegian with just one man doing all the voices. If that sounds ridiculous, that鈥檚 because it is! But I and a good chunk of the Norwegian population watch it and make the same jokes about it every single year.鈥�

Hopefully we have introduced you to some new festive traditions, one or two of which you might even want to try out yourselves. However you choose to celebrate this year, we at Sandberg wish you a safe and happy festive season and a prosperous new year to come!

The post A Sandberg Christmas: 6 of our favourite festive traditions appeared first on sa国际传媒.

Four members of the Sandberg team have signed up to compete in our 2020 challenge:听Bake-Off for Translators without Borders. Each of the participants will have to bake a traditional Nordic Christmas recipe, and as we hit our donation targets of 拢150, 拢300, 拢500 and 拢750,听we鈥檒l post each baker鈥檚 recipe here, along with pictures of the final result!

We know it鈥檚 been a tough year for everyone, but it鈥檚 been even harder for those without access to basic health information in their language. Please consider donating to help us reach our overall target 鈥� it鈥檚 quick and easy to .

? 拢150 鈥� Christina鈥檚听vaniljekranse

First up is Christina, with her classic听vaniljekranse听or 鈥渧anilla wreaths鈥�. These all-butter biscuits are a hallmark of Danish Christmas tradition, and their distinctive shape is recognisable to many around the world. What鈥檚 more, they鈥檙e easy to make with only six ingredients! The only special tool you need is a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle, which you can pick up cheaply and easily online.

We think they turned out pretty great, and Christina certainly seems happy with the result!

Recipe for vaniljekranse (Denmark)

This recipe is adapted from .

Ingredients

Makes approx. 35 biscuits

200g softened butter
陆听vanilla pod
180g sugar
1 large egg
250g flour
75g ground almonds

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220掳C/200掳C fan. Take the butter out of the fridge well in advance so it鈥檚 reached room temperature by the time you start.
2. Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds out with a paring knife. To separate the seeds, mash them together with a pinch of sugar on the chopping board using the knife.
3. In a bowl, mix your homemade vanilla sugar with the sugar and soft butter. Beat in the egg. Mix the flour and ground almonds thoroughly and knead it into the dough.
4. Transfer the dough into a piping bag with star-shaped nozzle (10 mm) and immediately pipe into wreaths approximately 5 cm in diameter on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Leave a gap between each biscuit so they don鈥檛 bake into one another in the oven.
5. Bake the biscuits in the oven for 10鈥�12 minutes or until they are light golden brown. Allow the biscuits to cool on a cooling rack and store them in an airtight container.

?? 拢300 鈥� Line鈥檚听pepperkaker

Next we have Line, with her take on pepperkaker, literally 鈥減epper cakes鈥�. Whilst these ginger snaps are popular all over the Nordic countries, they play a special part in a kicking off the Christmas preparations in Norway. Pepperkaker are one of seven types of biscuits Norwegians traditionally make before Christmas, and both young and old enjoy baking (and eating) them.

A lot of children will know the Pepperkakebakesangen听(literally 鈥淭he pepper cake baking song鈥�) by beloved Norwegian writer and illustrator . In the song, the unfortunate baker mixes up the amount of sugar and pepper (just a liiiiiiittle bit of sugar and A LOT of pepper). This might be where our idea of pepper being a central ingredient for these cookies come from. Line says, 鈥淯pon looking for recipes for my own batch, I came across a fair few that didn鈥檛 actually use any pepper at all, but to live up to its name, the recipe below does contain a bit of pepper.鈥�

In addition to being a lovely snack, a lot of people may also fashion decorations out of pepperkaker. By making a hole at the top, you can thread a red ribbon through to hang the cookies either on your Christmas tree or in your kitchen windows. The lovely smell of ginger and cloves is an added bonus.

Line says, 鈥淐ookie cutting will hereby go down as a special skill in my books. Making the dough was fairly easy and can be done in about 30鈥�45 minutes. Cutting the cookies the next day was another case entirely. If I were to put my creations up in the windows, they might not draw the right kind of attention. My stars all came out a bit wobbly, looking more like a dancing Patrick Star (from SpongeBob) than any Star of Bethlehem. And my Christmas trees cakes might make the neighbours wonder why I have put poo emojis up in my windows!鈥�

Recipe for pepperkaker听(Norway)

Ingredients

Makes approx. 40 biscuits

100g butter
75ml golden syrup
125g brown sugar
75ml single cream
陆 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
鈪� tsp ground cloves
鈪� tsp ground black pepper
1陆 tsp baking powder
240g plain flour

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the golden syrup and stir. Allow the mixture to cool until lukewarm and pour into a large bowl.
2. Add the sugar, cream and spices. Mix well. Add the baking powder with a little of the flour.
3. Add the rest of the flour. The dough should be slightly loose. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge overnight.
4. The next day, knead the dough on a floured surface and roll it straight onto baking paper to avoid having to transfer the biscuits to a different tray. Roll the dough out until about 2 mm thick. Cut into shapes using cookie cutters, removing the excess dough. Add the excess to your remaining dough and keep cutting until you have used all the dough.
5. Bake the biscuits in the middle of the oven at 200掳C/180掳C fan for about 10鈥�12 minutes until they are darkish brown in colour.
6. Once baked, allow the biscuits to cool slightly on the tray before transferring them to a cooling rack.

??? 拢500 鈥� Eloise鈥檚 mincemeat shortbread

Next we have Eloise, with her twist on two British classics. A staple of the Christmas table in the UK is the beloved mince pie 鈥� a small, shortcrust pastry pie filled with a mixture of spiced currants, dried peel and suet (the 鈥渕incemeat鈥�). But who says you have to stick rigidly to tradition? Most British cupboards have a forgotten old jar of mincemeat sitting somewhere near the back, so a great way to use some up is sandwiched between two layers of shortbread biscuit.

Recipe for mincemeat shortbread (UK)

Eloise uses BBC Good Food鈥檚 recipe, . Alternatively, you can follow along with her in the video below!

???? 拢750 鈥� Adam鈥檚听saffranskaka

Finally we have Adam, with his Swedish听saffranskaka听(saffron cake), which he baked for his son鈥檚 birthday. This cake is a classic Christmas treat in Sweden, but here Adam uses a gluten-free recipe. The听mandelmassa听(almond paste) can prove tough to find outside of Scandinavia, but it appears to be readily available online. For you hardcore bakers, you can make your own. In a pinch, you can substitute with marzipan, but this might change the taste of the final product.

Recipe for saffranskaka听(Sweden)

This recipe is adapted from , Swedish Bake-Off contestant and parter of one of our own translators!

Ingredients

Makes one gluten-free cake

100g butter
0.5g saffron (one sachet)
4 eggs
400g grated almond paste
1 tsp baking powder
Shredded coconut (for lining the tin)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 195掳C/175掳C fan. Melt the butter and saffron together and allow it to cool slightly.
2. Grease a 24 cm springform cake tin with butter and sprinkle the coconut around the inside of the tin.
3. Separate the eggs into two bowls. Whisk the yolks, almond paste, butter and baking powder together.
4. Whisk the whites until they form stiff peaks and fold gently into the batter.
5. Pour the batter into the tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 35 minutes.
6. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the tin. Transfer to a plate and allow to cool completely.

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The further north you go, the subtler the signs of summer grow. The trees don鈥檛 reach quite the same height as their more southerly neighbours. In southern Scandinavia, for example, the climate is hot enough for orchards of apple and pear trees, whereas north of the Arctic Circle the only obvious hints of summer鈥檚 arrival might be slightly greener grass and slightly less snow.

That鈥檚 unless you鈥檙e a bird fan, of course. In Iceland a favourite harbinger of spring (often hard to distinguish from summer in this part of the world) is the 濒贸补 or (Pluvialis apricaria). Every year it migrates south to north from as far afield as the north coast of Africa before landing in Iceland to breed. Its arrival signals the onset of lighter evenings and better weather.

An escape from the city

But how do the people themselves spend their summers? There are some commonalities to be found across all Nordic nations: abundant, aggressive barbecuing; the donning of shorts in weather deemed far too cold for this elsewhere; swimming in the lakes or sea; and the annual retreat to the summerhouse (known in Danish as a sommerhus, Swedish as a sommarstuga or fritidshus, Icelandic as a 蝉耻尘补谤丑煤蝉 or 蝉耻尘补谤产煤蝉迟补冒耻谤, Norwegian as a hytte and Finnish as a 办别蝉盲尘枚办办颈).

With international travel off the cards for most of this summer, the stage is set for a massive boom in domestic tourism in many countries where restrictions are being eased. This is perhaps somewhat more popular already in the Nordics than elsewhere due to high summerhouse ownership rates, having access to a hytte, for example. Countries like Iceland are heavily reliant on international tourism in the summer months, and a massive . The lack of tourists has also led to the country鈥檚 oldest tourist-focused magazine, Iceland Review, for the very first time since it started in 1963.

Of course, not everyone is fortunate enough to have a summerhouse at their disposal. Luckily there exists a strong tradition of wild camping in the Nordic countries. The or 鈥渆veryman鈥檚 right鈥� (Finnish: jokamiehenoikeus, Icelandic: 补濒尘补苍苍补谤茅迟迟耻谤, Norwegian: allemannsrett, Swedish: 补濒濒别尘补苍蝉谤盲迟迟别苍) entitles visitors to cross private land and in many instances pitch a tent for one or two nights. Similar rights exist in Czechia, Estonia, Scotland and some German-speaking countries. This democratic principle makes beauty spots accessible to everyone regardless of who owns the land, and means you鈥檙e not crammed into a campsite with other tourists. ?

When it鈥檚 safe and permitted to do so, we should take a leaf out of the Nordic countries鈥� book and use this summer to explore the corners of our own country that we might never have visited before. Of course, bear in mind local coronavirus-related restrictions. In some rural areas, there are concerns about influxes of domestic tourists overburdening local emergency services. Let鈥檚 travel responsibly, and only once we鈥檝e got the go-ahead from our local government.

Don鈥檛 let the barbecue go out

Perhaps unexpectedly given the climate for the majority of the year, outdoor barbecues are extremely popular in the Nordics. Many people have gas grills at home, as well as a smaller charcoal-fuelled barbecue for use on holiday or ute i naturen (鈥渙ut in the nature鈥�). Almost anything goes: veggies, frankfurters, burgers, steaks, entire racks of ribs or maybe a whole side of salmon are all fair game. Seafood is normally a safe bet as the quality is excellent (and if you鈥檙e barbecuing on the beach, it just makes sense doesn鈥檛 it?).

The main event at this time of year in many of the Nordic countries is midsummer, which marks the summer solstice (the point in the year when the days start getting shorter once again). Danes and Norwegians celebrate what they call sankthansaften (St John鈥檚 Eve) with a big bonfire on the beach on 23 June. In Finland, the same tradition takes place on听juhannus听(鈥淛ohn the Baptist鈥檚 holiday鈥�) between 20 and 26 June. In pre-Christian times, the celebration was called听Ukon juhla (鈥淯kko鈥檚 celebration鈥�), honouring the Finnish god of the sky and weather. Sweden has a slightly different take on things, with its midsommar consisting of a dance around a flower-studded maypole. This became the basis for a of the same name, released last year.

Towards the end of the summer, Swedes and Swedish-speaking Finns will often throw a 办谤盲蹿迟蝉办颈惫补 or 鈥渃rayfish party鈥�. ? Despite to promote their frozen crayfish in store, the tradition doesn鈥檛 seem to have taken off more widely. The occasion originates in an early 20^th-century Swedish law restricting crayfish harvesting to the end of August. Despite the legal restriction no longer being in place, the tradition stuck and . They鈥檙e traditionally cooked in salted brine with a whole head of dill.

For most of us, summer this year will look quite different from those of years past. In all of the Nordic countries except Sweden, which took a radically different approach to handling the pandemic, the coronavirus peak and restrictions have been relaxed, meaning the retreat en masse to the countryside will take place in much the same way as it always has, perhaps with slightly boosted numbers due to less travel abroad.

The rest of us are anxious to get out of our homes and for a change of scenery. The key to enjoying this summer will be simplicity: casual barbecues shared with family, evening bonfires on the beach with friends and appreciating the louder-than-usual birdsong before it鈥檚 once again drowned out by traffic noise. Of course, depending on where we live, we鈥檒l have to wait a bit longer before all of that is possible 鈥� but just think of those long, lazy Nordic nights as your light at the end of the tunnel. ?

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In that spirit, I asked some of my Nordic colleagues about the kind of food they traditionally cook and eat at Easter time. Below are the recipes I gathered 鈥� most of which do use eggs!

1. 惭盲尘尘颈

According to our Finnish Account Linguist Laura, this dark, gloopy, malty substance is a firm favourite of Finns at Easter time. Its resemblance to something you might flush down the toilet at first, but I have it on good authority that this is a delectable treat. 惭盲尘尘颈 is normally made in large batches due to the amount of effort required, so there鈥檚 always plenty to go around.

The basic dish is based on rye flour 鈥� malted, unmalted or both 鈥� but can be pimped up with all sorts of ingredients, from molasses to orange peel to raisins. It鈥檚 then served with cream and icing sugar on top. Most recipes I found required the pudding to be baked for 3 hours, but with a cooking time upwards of 7 hours (!).

By far the easiest to follow was 鈥� it only requires three ingredients. (US units) is slightly fancier with the addition of orange and raisins for extra flavour, so depending on what you have to hand, you can tone your 尘盲尘尘颈 up or down.听

2. Pasha

Next up is , a sweet dessert served in Finnish Translator 础颈苍辞鈥檚 family at Easter time. It resembles a pyramid with the peak chopped off, and is made with rahka (quark) or curd. The whiteness of the cheese is said to resemble the purity of Christ. Its name is derived from Pascha, the Eastern Orthodox celebration of Easter, whereas the dish itself originates in , a region which is split between Finland and Russia.

To achieve the unique pyramid shape, a special mould is needed, although in lieu of this a clean terracotta plant pot will suffice, according to the . This recipe actually calls for curd, but quark can be easily substituted for this and is available in supermarkets and Eastern European food shops in many countries, including the UK. If this is not available, cottage cheese can also work.

The other main ingredients are soured cream, eggs and sugar, along with flavourings such as lemon peel and vanilla. Dried fruits such as raisins and cherries can also be added. of the recipe includes all of these, and the author rather ingeniously recommends using a coffee filter to strain and mould the dessert.

3. Marzipan

Although Middle Eastern in origin, almonds and by extension marzipan are widely consumed in the Nordic countries. Norwegian Translator William mentioned his family Easter tradition of making their own marzipan.

There doesn鈥檛 appear to be a specifically Norwegian marzipan recipe, so I recommend going with . It calls for caster sugar, icing sugar, ground almonds, vanilla seeds, eggs and apricot jam. If the sugar and eggs are hard to get hold of at the moment, then pre-made marzipan will do for all sorts of recipes.

One of the best-known Norwegian recipes to use marzipan is the Hvit dame (鈥淲hite lady鈥�) cake, which consists of alternating layers of sponge and whipped cream topped with a layer of marzipan. If you have a lot of time on your hands this Easter and no shortage of baking ingredients, then you might wish to a go.

4. Janssons frestelse

Swedish Translator Lena mentioned that many of the same foods are eaten at Easter and Christmas time in the Nordic countries. As elsewhere, a large part of what makes a food festive is its luxury component, using ingredients that would traditionally have been very difficult or expensive to procure.

With that in mind, for the sake of variety we鈥檒l conclude this blog post with a savoury dish. Janssons frestelse听(鈥淛ansson鈥檚 temptation鈥�) is a sumptuous gratin consisting of potatoes, onions, sprats and cream topped with breadcrumbs and baked in the oven. (follow link for recipe), but it鈥檚 also commonly eaten at Easter in the country.

One linguistic point about this dish: the recipe calls for sprats, which in Swedish are known as ansjovis. Don鈥檛 get these confused with anchovies , as they鈥檒l make the dish far too salty (you can ).

Whether and however you celebrate Easter, it鈥檚 certain that over the long weekend ahead we鈥檒l all have a bit more time at home than usual. One thing we can still do to pass the time is cook, even if certain ingredients are trickier to get hold of right now. Don鈥檛 be afraid to explore substitutes where possible. Often one type of flour or sugar can be replaced with another, and many dairy products can be swapped about, although you might end up with a slightly lighter or heavier result than expected.

From everyone at STP, we wish you a relaxing and enjoyable Easter break!

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