This National Day sounds like a time of rejoicing, a day on which Swedes celebrate with age-old traditional rituals, probably involving raw fish and copious amounts of akvavit?

No, not really. 'Den sjätte juni' is hardly a date that trips off a Swedish tongue in the way that Quatorze Juillet does in French. Born on the Sixth of June will never have quite the same patriotic ring as Born on the Fourth of July.

In fact, Swedes didn't even get a day off for it until 2005. For most people, it's just a welcome day off in the early summer. Oh, unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

But what exactly is it supposed to celebrate?

A more difficult question to answer than you might expect. Unlike other countries, which have anniversaries of independence or revolutions to commemorate, Sweden has never been occupied and has never got rid of its monarchy.

If you ask a Swede, they'll probably mumble something vague about Gustav Vasa.

The day does indeed coincide with the anniversary of Gustav Vasa's election as Sweden's king in 1523, marking the end of the union with Denmark and the start of a new period of closer unity within Sweden. This day was celebrated from the 19th century as a national day of commemoration.

June 6th was also the day in 1809 on which Sweden adopted a new constitution, something it did again on the same date in 1974. From the 1890s, the Skansen open air museum in Stockholm started organizing patriotic celebrations on June 6th. In 1916, the day became The Swedish Flag Day.

Who decided to make it into Sweden's National Day?

National Day was first recognized officially by the government in 1983, but it only became a public holiday in 2005, after years of debate. The official hope was that it would be a day of unity for the Swedish people. Others saw it as a sop to industry, who would now be able to squeeze more working days out of the masses in the name of patriotism.

I want to join in the celebrations - how should I do this in a typically Swedish way?

As Sweden's only really had two National Day holidays so far, there isn't much of a precedent. Dancing round Maypoles and eating raw fish is really reserved for Midsummer, later this month. Until it became a public holiday, the only visible signs of National Day were the flags flying in people's gardens and from buses and trams.

These days, the royals celebrate the day by taking a carriage procession from the Royal Palace in Stockholm to Skansen. The Swedish flag is raised and bouquets are given to the Queen and princesses.
Don't like the sound of that - what should I do instead?
Do what an SVT survey found that 81 percent of Swedes do - nothing at all. You, like them, can use the day to assemble Ikea furniture, lounge about in the sun or catch up on much-needed sleep. Let the celebrations begin!

They're here: Cicadas resurface after 17-year hibernation

So the "buzz" is that the cicadas are back... perfect timing for me to miss this once and a 17 year phenomenon! Prepare for the famine of 2007 as the "locusts" swarm and destroy everything in their paths like Swedes in a ship. Anticipate six weeks of constant buzzing as 1.5 million cicadas per acre emerge from their 17 year slumber.

I have prepared a recipe for those that survive the rapture:

Cicada Stir-Fry:

• minced onion, coriander (cilantro), fresh gingerroot
• sliced carrots, chopped cauliflower and/or broccoli
• water chestnuts and/or other vegetables of your choice
• bean sprouts and snow peas
• blanched, teneral cicadas

In a wok or other suitable pan, heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add ingredients in the order listed above when those in the most recent addition are partially cooked. Serve over whole-grain (“brown”) rice and add soy sauce to taste.

Swedes (not) in America

From June 2 - 10, there will be one less Swede in America. None other than The Swede in America's Sister will be joining her Swedish brother for a week of Scandinavian adventure. The trip will inevitably include a second (first for some) pilgrimage to Sweden.

Ben's Swedes
(left to right: Sister Swede (Rachel), Swede in America (Ben), Mother Swede (Vicki), not picutured: O'Father (irish)

Another Swede Returns Home...

On Saturday, April 28, another Swede returned home... My grandpa, John Hallberg, passed away in his sleep after enjoying his last cookie time.

I'm going "home..."

This is Murtorpet. My Great-Great Grandfather, Carl August Johansson was born and raised on this farm. At the Age of 24, he packed up his things and Emigrated with his family to America in 1890.

Tomorrow I begin my pilgrimage back to my homeland. This is probably the most exciting trip of my life... I hope I will be able to see the farm, and meet some of my relatives that did not emigrate to America.

Updates over the next two weeks may be sparatic, but look forward to some awesome pictures and a general GREAT time!

Calling all sheep...

Kulning: "Kulning is an archaic style of singing/cattle call, traditionally employed outdoors in the grazing pastures of Scandinavia from the Middle Ages to this day. It consists of shepherdess's tunes, calls and tones of enticement, mainly used to keep contact with, and to call the cattle, but also to communicate with other people over long distances". Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Polar Bear

I participated in my first "polar bear" today. Air temperature at the time of the frigid plunge was a balmy 42 degrees, water temperature 34.1 degrees. I think I will be participating in a few of these in Denmark, home of the Polar Bear tradition.

Food for Thought

Here is my plate from Christmas eve dinner:

Two pounds of Lutfisk wasn't close to enough. I can't wait to eat like this EVERY DAY for the next six months... nothing says good morning like a herring for breakfast! Smörgåsbord here I come...

Make Love, Lutefisk, NOT War

This evening, the 21st traditional Swedish Christmas Eve Lutefisk dinner will occur. For those of you unsure of what this delicious feast is:

"A common food dish of Sweden, made from whitefish, usually cod, soaked in water and lye (caustic soda) prior to cooking, using a process referred to a "luting" which served to dry the filet so it could be preserved. During earlier times, potash was used instead of lye. The whole or cut pieces of the cod were placed in a tub filled with cold water changed daily and allowed to remain in a cold area for approximately a week. After a week, lye was added to the water and again the fish was kept in the solution for 4 days, during which time it began to swell in size as half the protein in the fish is removed. At this point the meat of the fish is poisonous and cannot be eaten, so it is then washed with cold water and placed in a bath containing only water for another 4 to 5 days to remove the lye. The steeping and bathing of the fish fillets as well as the loss of protein, which continues as the fillets are washed prior to preparing, results in a clear, gelatin-like appearance and texture to the cod meat. It is the lye which contains an alkali solution that causes the reaction to occur so the meat of the fish takes on a clear, translucent, Jell-O consistency.

If delicious comes to mind, you might be a Swede! I'll save leftovers (if I don't eat it all) for anyone interested...