A Swedish Disney Christmas

Real Scandinavia is on hiatus over the holidays, but here's a great article from Slate about one of Sweden's more surprising Christmas traditions: the annual Disney special that captivates much of country for an hour every Christmas Eve. The author is right on the mark in his description and analysis of the Swedish love affair with Kalle Anka (Donald Duck). This is just how I remember it from my childhood - and from more recent Christmases in Sweden, too.

Nordic Quack

Sweden's bizarre tradition of watching Donald Duck cartoons on Christmas Eve.

by Jeremy Stahl, Slate

Three years ago, I went to Sweden with my then-girlfriend (now-wife), to meet her family and celebrate my first Christmas. As an only partially lapsed Jew, I was not well-versed in Christmas traditions, and I was completely ignorant of Swedish customs and culture. So I was prepared for surprises. I was not prepared for this: Every year on Dec. 24 at 3 p.m., half of Sweden sits down in front of the television for a family viewing of the 1958 Walt Disney Presents Christmas special, "From All of Us to All of You." Or as it is known in Sverige, Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul: "Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas."

Read the rest of this article at Slate

Here are some video clips from the annual Disney special:

St. Lucia traditions in Sweden

Today, December 13, is one of the most famous of all Swedish celebrations: St. Lucia Day, a festival of light in the long dark Scandinavian winter. Traditionally the oldest girl in a family rises at dawn on St. Lucia Day - not necessarily as early as it sounds, given the few hours of daylight! Dressed in a white gown with a red sash around her waist and a wreath of candles on her head - these days electric crowns are often used, especially for small children - she goes from room to room singing carols and bearing her tray of lussekatter (saffron buns), gingerbread cookies, coffee, and glögg (hot spiced mulled wine).

Although St. Lucia day has developed into a uniquely Swedish tradition, the original Lucia was actually a Sicilian martyr who was killed for her Christian faith in the early fourth century. There are various versions of the legend, but the most common says that Lucia fed and cared for the poor at a time when Christians were being persecuted. In order to be able to carry more supplies, she strapped candles to her head to keep her hands free.

Continue reading at Seattle International Travel Examiner

In the footsteps of Nobel laureates: Locations and attractions associated with the Nobel Prizes

In my last post I wrote about the Nobel Prizes, which were awarded to President Obama and the other laureates at ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo yesterday. If, like most of us, you’re unlikely ever to win a Nobel Prize of your own, you can still act like a winner and visit the various sites associated with the prizes.

Most of the Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Alfred Nobel’s hometown. The Swedish Academy, which awards the literature prize, announces the laureates each year from its headquarters at Börshuset, the old Stock Exchange Building, at Stortorget in Gamla Stan (the Old Town). Börshuset is also home to the Nobel Library and the small but well-presented Nobel Museum, which opened in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prizes. The museum tells the story of Alfred Nobel’s life and legacy, including a history of the prizes he established. It also explores the work of Nobel laureates from the first winners in 1901 to the present.

The first 25 years of Nobel Prize ceremonies were held at Nybrokajen 11, on the south side of the Nybroviken inlet. Formerly part of the Royal Academy of Music, Nybrokajen 11 is now a concert hall specializing in chamber music. There’s also a world and folk music stage known as Stallet (the Barn).

For most of their history, the Nobel Prizes have been awarded at Stockholm’s concert hall, Konserthuset, located on the east side of the Hötorget square. Built in the 1920s, this blue building has been the home of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra since its opening and hosts an extensive program of classical music concerts throughout the year.

The banquet following the Nobel Prize ceremony is held in the enormous Blue Hall at Stadshuset, Stockholm’s instantly recognizable red-brick City Hall with the 350-foot tower offering a stunning view of central Stockholm. The three golden crowns on top of the tower have been a symbol of Sweden since the 1300s. If you're not invited to the party you can still dine like a winner at the Stadshuskällaren restaurant, which serves a menu of dishes from the previous year’s Nobel banquet.

Following the banquet, guests proceed upstairs to Stadshuset's Golden Hall for the annual Nobel ball. The walls of the Golden Hall are decorated with gold-leaf mosaics, the most famous of which is the enormous Mälardrottningen (the Queen of Lake Mälaren) by Einar Forseth, who also did the floor mosaics in the main foyer and entrance hall of Konserthuset.

Every December since the prizes were established, Nobel Prize winners have stayed at at the Grand Hôtel during their Nobel Week visit to Stockholm. The city’s most famous hotel, Grand Hôtel has been a Stockholm landmark for more than 130 years. For three decades the Nobel banquets were held here as well, although they ultimately grew too large for the space. Currently, about 1,300 guests attend the Nobel banquets at Stadshuset.

Grand Hôtel is known for its spectacular French Renaissance interior, including a stunning Hall of Mirrors modeled after the one at Versailles. The hotel is also known for its award-winning restaurants, including the elegant Verandan, which serves a traditional (but pricey) Swedish smorgasbord and has lovely views of the Strömmen inlet and the Royal Palace.

Three days after the awards ceremonies, Grand Hôtel gives Nobel Prize winners a personal taste of the Swedish St. Lucia traditions.  On December 13, the laureates are awakened by a Lucia girl and her entourage singing traditional songs and serving coffee and saffron buns. Originally this was done as a surprise, but the unexpected sight of white-clad people with candles on their heads came as a shock to some half-awake winners, so nowadays laureates are asked in advance if they would like to be woken up.

In Norway, Nobel Peace Prize winners stay at Oslo’s Grand Hôtel, where a banquet is held following the awards ceremony at the Oslo City Hall.

Photo of Stockholm City Hall by Noemi Pal, www.imagebank.sweden.se

All about the Nobel Prize: History and trivia

Every year on December 10, I think of my grandfather, who would have been 94 on this day this year. For most of the world, however, December 10 is significant for a different reason: it’s the day the Nobel Prizes have been awarded since 1901. In celebration of this year’s awards, here is a brief history of the most prestigious prizes in the world.

The Founder

Alfred Nobel was a Swedish industrialist who designated most of his estate to establish the prestigious prizes that bear his name. Nobel was born in Stockholm in 1833 and spent his childhood there and in St. Petersburg, Russia, where his father had established several business ventures. By the time he was a young man, Alfred spoke several languages fluently and had spent time in various European countries, as well as the United States. As an adult, Nobel became the inventor of dynamite and other chemically based creations such as synthetic rubber and leather. A succesful businessman with factories throughout Europe, Nobel was also keenly interested in literature and social issues.

Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896, in San Remo, Italy. Although his will left numerous bequests to relatives and friends, it specified that the bulk of his fortune should be used to establish a fund, “the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”

The Prizes

The five original Nobel Prizes – physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace – were all specifically designated in Alfred Nobel’s will. A sixth prize, in economics, was established in 1968 by Sveriges Riksbank (the Swedish central bank) and is more properly known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

Most of the Nobels are awarded by Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm, Alfred Nobel’s hometown. Nobel’s will specifically identified the various organizations that he wanted to be responsible for selecting the winners. Winners of the Literature Prize are selected by the Swedish Academy, while the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences chooses the laureates in chemistry and physics. The Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded by Karolinska Institutet, the leading medical university. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences also awards the Economics Prize on behalf of Sveriges Riksbank.

The only one of the awards not presented in Stockholm is the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo by the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, with Norway’s King Harald V in attendance. Peace Prize laureates are selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee appointment by the Norwegian Parliament. No one really knows why Alfred Nobel wanted the Peace Prize given out in Norway, but one theory is that it was related to the fact that Norway and Sweden were in union at the time. The union was not dissolved until 1905, four years after the first awards were given.

The Stockholm ceremony is held at the Stockholm Concert Hall, Konserthuset, and is followed by a banquet and ball at City Hall. The Peace Prize ceremony is held in Oslo’s City Hall, followed by a banquet at Oslo’s Grand Hotel. Prize winners also deliver lectures during their time in Scandinavia. In Stockholm, the lectures take place in the days preceding the awards ceremony, while in Oslo, the Peace Prize laureates deliver their lectures as part of the ceremony itself.

Nobel Trivia

According to the official Nobel Prize website, the Nobel Prizes, including the Prize in Economic Sciences, have been awarded 537 times, to 806 individuals and 23 organizations (through 2009). There have been a few years, notably during World War II, when no prizes were awarded, and other years in which only some of the prizes were given out. Prizes have often been divided between two or three laureates in the same category, but Nobel Foundation statutes prohibit splitting the prize between more than three people.

Far more men have received the Nobel Prize than women. Including the economics prize, there have been 40 female winners (one of them twice) and 762 male winners (three of them twice).

The people and organizations who have received more than one Nobel Prize are:

• John Bardeen – Physics, 1956 and 1972
• Marie Curie – Physics, 1903, and Chemistry, 1911
• Linus Pauling – Physics, 1954, and Peace, 1962 (the only person to win multiple unshared prizes)
• Frederick Sanger – Chemistry, 1958 and 1980
• International Committee of the Red Cross – Peace, 1917, 1944, and 1963 (in addition, founder Henry Dunant won the first Peace Prize, in 1901)
• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – Peace, 1954 and 1981
  

The youngest Nobel laureate is Lawrence Bragg, who won the Physics Prize in 1915 together with his father. He was 25. The oldest laureate is Leonid Hurwicz, who won the Economics Prize in 2007 at the age of 90.

'Tis the season for Scandinavian book awards

This time of year brings with it a slew of book award announcements from all over Scandinavia. Here's the latest news from the world of Nordic literature. (Note: English translations of the original titles are given in quotation marks where no official English title exists.)

Svenska Deckarakadmin, the Swedish crime writers' organization, announced on Monday that its award for the best Swedish mystery novel of 2009 goes to Anders Roslund and Björn Hellström for their fifth book, Tre sekunder ("Three seconds").
The award for best debut (crime) novel went to Olle Lönnaeus for Det som ska sonas ("That which shall be atoned for").

On November 23, Sweden's prestigious August Prize (named for the author August Strindberg), was awarded in a gala at Stockholm's Concert Hall, where the Nobel Prizes will be given out just over a week from now. This year's August Prize winners were:

• Best fiction book: De fattiga i Lódz ("The destitutes of Lódz") by Steve Sem-Sandberg
• Best nonfiction book: Att överleva dagen ("To live through the day") by Brutus Östling and Susanne Åkesson
• Best children's or young adult book: Skriva om och om igen ("Write over and over again") by Ylva Karlsson, Katarina Kuick, Sara Lundberg, and Lilian Bäckman

Earlier this fall, the Nordic Council Literature Prize for 2009 was presented to Norwegian author Per Pettersen for his novel Jeg forbanner tidens elv, which also won the Norwegian Brage Prize for 2008. Pettersen was previously nominated for the award in 1997 for his novel Til Siberien. His 2003 release, Ut å stjæle hester was a bestseller in English under the name Out Stealing Horses.

The Nordic Council also recently released the nominations for the 2010 Literature Prize. The winner will be selected in March, and the prize will be awarded in early November 2010.

This year's Brage Prize was awarded late last month to Karl Ove Knausgård, a Norwegian author living in Malmö, Sweden, for his third novel, the largely autobiographical Min kamp. Første bok ("My struggle, Book 1"). The book is the first of six volumes, all of which are scheduled for release within the next six months.

Also released recently are the finalists for Finland's top literary award, the Finlandia Prize. The award is given in three categories: fiction, children's books, and nonfiction.

Helsinki named World Design Capital for 2012

The International Council of Societies of Industries Design (Icsid) announced last week that it has designated Helsinki the World Design Capital (WDC) for the year 2012. The Finnish capital is the third city to receive the designation, which is given out every other year. It has previously been awarded to Turin (Torino), Italy, for 2008, and Seoul, South Korea, for 2010.

According to a press release on the Icsid website, the WDC designation is "[a]ppointed to cities based on their accomplishments and commitment to design as an effective tool for social, cultural and economic development."

Finland is well-known for its design, ranging from traditional furniture and decor to modern technology, architecture, and interior design. This proud tradition includes individuals such as Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto and brands such as Marimekko and Nokia.

In the Icsid press release, Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen stated: "The decision to designate Helsinki as WDC 2012 brings great responsibility and we accept this title with an open mind and with great enthusiasm. It is an important accomplishment for the metropolitan region, as well as for Finland and will be celebrated with the consortium of municipalities and partners that supported our bid."

He added, "The WDC designation allows cities to demonstrate that design can be a catalyst for change. Helsinki is ready to be one of those cities and is eager to become a global role model in 2012."

For more on Helsinki design, visit the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 website 

Photo by Niklas Sjöblom / taivasalla.net: Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Finland remembers the Winter War of 1939-1940

Today Finland marked the 70th anniversary of the start of the Winter War, during which the country fought to hold of the massive force of Stalin's Red Army, which attacked Finland on November 30, 1939. The conflict lasted for 105 days, claiming the lives of approximately 27,000 Finns and wounding 43,000 more during a winter that was so cold it caused hallucinations. Soviet losses were reported to be as high as 217,000 killed or wounded, according to an article in the Associated Press.

Although the March 1940 peace treaty forced Finland to cede large parts of Karelia, the strength of the country's resistance surprised the Soviets and preserved Finland's independence. According to the Finnish news site YLE, a survey released last week found that a majority of Finns consider the Winter War to be a pivotal moment in "saving the nation from tyranny."

Memorial services were held throughout Finland to mark the anniversary.