The Internet is meant for what? Information, social media, entertainment and viral things, of course! Talking of viral stuff, have you come across the latest hashtag #Swedengate? A harmless question on a social media platform snowballed into a big issue and communities from all over the world are pointing fingers at Sweden, and also other Nordic countries.
Why? Looks like the countries have a custom of not serving food to house guests. The internet has been known for incidents like this, and Sweden is not the only country to have come into focus for customs that it follows. However, every custom has a reason behind it, doesn’t it? But when the reason is omitted, the custom may appear weird. Let’s give it a thought. And to aid this, we will be looking at it all in today’s #WhatTheFAQ.
What is it about the #Swedengate?
#Swedengate is a hashtag trending on social media, especially on Twitter. The hashtag has been accompanying posts which are accusing Sweden for its weird custom of not serving food to its house guests. It all started with a question posted by a Reddit user called NSFW, which read, "What's the weirdest thing you had to do at someone else's house because of their culture/religion?" And one answer to this post read, "I remember going to my Swedish friend's house. And while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready. And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate”.
The screenshot of this question and answer was shared on almost every social media platform, and it went viral. More people eventually shared similar experiences in Swedish households, and this invited posts that criticised the custom. People also started accusing the nation, and other Nordic countries, of having people-unfriendly customs. There were allegations that Swedes name their snacks after racial slurs. So, the issue even got augmented so as to invite allegations of racism against Sweden.
What are the citizens of the World Wide Web saying?
The internet has been abuzz with posts and tweets relating to the #Swedengate issue. “As I trailed behind my friend heading for the dinner table, the mom sternly told me I was allowed to wait and play with the toys in my friends room until dinner was done let me just say The swedes are not well at all (sic)” reads a tweet from an author and Tedx speaker from Sweden, Lovette (@lovettejallow).
“One thing about stingy people. They don't mind indulging themselves. They are never too embarrassed to accept your gifts and support, drink your drink, eat any offered food and even take goody bag but to reciprocate is a problem. Very weird #Swedengate (sic)” reads another tweet from Supermalt Minister (@Icequeen_E16), a girl from Nigeria. “Most Swedes don't want to admit that racism exists and are completely oblivious to it. They unironically believe in reverse racism. And gaslight you to hell, like an entire room of people will tell you that you are wrong for being offended, its crazy, #Swedengate (sic),” i-rina (@irh1na), another twitter user whose bio doesn’t mention anything about him posted.
There are also tweets defending Sweden. "As a swede, media has been Nothing but talks about racism the past two-three decades or so. Not sure what this systemet is based on but people accuse eachother of racism all the time over here. Trying to future out what this whole swedengate thing is about anyway (sic)” writes a Swedish citizen on Twitter, Lasselelle (@Lasselelle).
So, why is this custom followed in Sweden?
People from Sweden have replied to the criticisms aptly, and have explained the reasons behind this “weird” custom of not feeding house guests. It has been stated in an article by the Independent that Swedish people don’t serve food to guests, particularly to other children who are playing at their house, so as to not mess up any dinner plans their family might have instead. So, it is more out of respect for the child’s parents. It has also been mentioned by Swedes that since people usually arrive at their houses on short notice, there is mostly no time to prepare anything and invite them to meals.
What are other such peculiar customs from around the world?
There is a custom in Egypt that prevents guests from asking for salt at a host's place. Asking for salt during meals is considered an offence to the host and his food. Rome has a tradition in which dead people are nourished with wine, honey and other foods. The graves have pipes attached to them, through which, the food items are poured or sent down. In Scotland, a pre-wedding ritual called "blackening the bride" is followed where, the bride-to-be is paraded around the town with all nasty things thrown at her, including eggs and spoilt milk.
Now, moving to the east, in China, it is believed that if a husband carries his pregnant wife over burning coal with bare feet, the woman will have an easy delivery. Girls from Thailand's Karen tribe start wearing rings around their necks from an early age to have long necks, which is considered a symbol of beauty among them.
While many more such customs exist in almost every country, which will appear weird to the rest of the world, they are actually rooted in beliefs and usually have some good reason behind their practice.
