School

Like Britain, children in Sweden have to go to school from the age of 7-16. However, if parents want their children to go to school a year earlier, they can start at 6 years old.
The school year is different from British schools. It’s divided into two terms of 20 weeks, with 12 weeks of holiday. The Autumn term lasts from the end of August to the end of December, the Spring term from the beginning of January to the beginning of June. The school day lasts for eight hours - longer than in Britain - and children spend about 180 days a year at school. Sounds like hard work, doesn’t it? How many days a year do you spend at school, less or more?

Military Service

In Sweden, ever since 1901, every man between the ages of 18 and 47 has had to do military service. This means that at the age of 18 it is decided if you are fit for military service and which branch you are going to join: the army, air force or the navy. When you are 20, you do basic training which lasts between 7 and 15 months, depending on your suitability. After the basic training you are regularly called to military courses until the age of 47.
Imagine if you had to do military service in Britain!

Smörgåsbord

What is smörgåsbord? Well, the word smörgås means "open sandwich", and bord is the Swedish word for "table". So is it a table full of sandwiches? Not quite, but nearly!

A smörgåsbord is a traditional type of Swedish food, and is made up of a number of smaller dishes which you can take your pick from. An typical smörgåsbord could contain a number of different herring (fish) dishes (sweet-pickled herring, pickled herring with onions, mustard, dill, etc.), Swedish meatballs, salmon, pies, salads, eggs, bread, boiled and fried potatoes and so on. It’s quite a selection, so there’s always something for everyone.

Smörgåsbord was served as long ago as the 18th century, but was used as a starter before the main course. Today it is seen as a meal in itself - few people ask for more after having tried everything on a smörgåsbord!

Festivals

Christmas is the most popular festival in Britain, and it’s loved in Sweden too. However, in Sweden another festival is just as popular – Midsummer’s Eve. Midsummer is an old celebration dating back to the time of the Vikings. Back then it was celebrated in the hope of a good harvest in the autumn. Today it is a national holiday, where family and friends meet, eat herring and fresh potatoes and really enjoy themselves. The actual day of the celebration is also the longest day of the year (summer solstice), exactly halfway through the summer.

Next to Christmas and Midsummer, Easter is the most important festival of the year. The Swedes celebrate Easter in a very different way to us – no Easter Eggs for a start! In the old days it was thought that all witches went away to see the devil at this time of the year. Although people don’t believe this any more, many children still dress up as witches at Easter. They put on the oldest, brightest and ugliest clothes they can find, paint their faces with bright make up and knock on people’s doors asking for sweets or money in exchange for drawings. Sounds a bit like our Halloween, doesn’t it?!

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