Section 1: A culture is something that defines us, makes us who we are, and what we believe in

and do. Each individual has a culture that they come from. It was a very neat experience to learn,

compare and contrast American culture with the culture this paper about, Swedish. THE people

interviewed are Eva Petersonn and her daughter, Asa, about their life in Sweden and the social issues

and how they compare to the U.S, and their musical background.

Section 2: The first part of the interview was about the life and traditions in Sweden. The

Swedish people love their coffee, and start their day with fika, which means that friends and family get

together to enjoy some coffee and light snacks with each other. They use this as a bonding, and a

getting to know you activity. A lot of the Swedish food and packaging is very different than ours. They

touched briefly on this some research was conducted, and found was the information that most of their

condiments such as mayonnaise, and mustard, etc., comes out of a tube that we Americans would look

at as our toothpaste tubes. It is also very courteous of you to remove your shoes at someones home

here in America, where as in Sweden it is almost a requirement. Swedish people are also very big on

drinking water from the tap. When this interview took place, they were offered bottled water from the

fridge, but they insisted on having glasses and filling them up at the sink. Lastly, they talked about a few

of their food items and sampled some. The first being Ligonberry, and the most common form would

be jam. It almost tastes like blackberries and it is delicious. They also sampled something like a crisp

bread, which tasted like a mix between a rice cake, and a Triscuit. They put butter and a slice of cheddar

cheese on the top. It was very delicious as well. The also talked a bit about how they loved sparkling

water, and had sparking water fountains and vending machines in the schools and offices on Sweden.

They also shared that Swedish people are quite littler than people here in the United States, due to the

food and the social norm that has been set in Sweden when it comes to healthy eating. They also talked
about how similar our Ikea is to theirs. They said upon their arrival here in the United States when they

first moved, they wanted to check out the Ikea and they loved it. It is where they get a lot of their

Swedish foods. Sweden has many festivals, one of which is called Midsommar. It takes place around

June, and is for every age, young and old. The little kids take place in what is called a reeling ring

dance. This dates back to the French Revolutionary time. Swedes have many other activities they enjoy,

one of which is planting around the yard. They take major pride in their landscaping and yard work. This

is what makes Sweden a very beautiful place.

Section 3: Religion is kind of different in Sweden. Swedish religion is very diversified and they

have taken in a few different religions. Swedish religion is Evangelical Lutheran. Sweden is the only

Nordic country that does not have a state church. Swedish people usually become members of the

church at birth, but since the separation of church and state, that is no longer the case. This has been

resulting in less members. Swedish people unite together to celebrate traditional religious Swedish

holidays, such as Lucia, even if they are not religious. Lucia is a holiday on December 13 th. One child is

chosen to be Lucia and gets to wear candles in a crown on their head. Being chosen as the Lucia is a very

big deal, and the National Lucia gets to be on a televised ceremony. There are a few other religions in

Sweden, such as the Christian church, Orthodox, and a few others. Eva and Asa are apart of the

Evangelical church. Asa has shared photos of her daughter Clara at the Midsummer celebration, where

all the flowers are in bloom, and young girls wear flowers upon their heads. To upkeep the church,

Swedish members are taxed on their membership. The tax is about 1 percent of the persons income.

That is similar to the LDS church in the United States. LDS members have to pay a tithing and it is

similar to the Swedish tax being based upon how much you make. The church is Sweden is also very

equal when it comes to priests. That is something that we do not see here in the United States in

Sweden religion, it is also acceptable to be living with your partner and to have children before being

married. It is very interesting to look at how different religions have different norms around the world,
and how what is deemed as okay in one place, may not be seen as acceptable in a different place. Eva

and Asa described religion in Sweden to be very laid back. They shared that there are obviously beliefs

in the Swedish religion, but that it is not as strict as a few of the religions here in the United States.

Section 4: Music is very popular in Sweden, and Sweden is known to have many foreign

influences on their music. Sweden is known for its Folk music. The main instrument used in Swedish Folk

music is the fiddle. Although Sweden is known for its Folk music, dance music has become very popular

in todays Swedish society. Swedish folk music stared in the 19 th century. The instruments used to play

Swedish Folk music would be the nyckelharpa, which is a key harp, an accordion, and clarinet. Sweden

has many famous stars that have come from there, such as ABBA, Roxette, Tove Lo, Zara Larrson, and

many more. The piece of music selected for this is Mamma Mia by ABBA. This piece was created by a

band that was formed in Sweden and became very popular in the U.S. The piece has very loud accents, a

fast tempo, and the time period of this piece is contemporary, with the style is pop/dance. The melody

of this piece uses a lot of steps for the movement. The form the piece is strophic, chorus and verses with

a bridge. The range goes from low to high and back again with a contour of an upwards and downward

melodic line, some parts its stays static. The meter for this piece is a quadruple meter, with simple time.

The harmony is consonance, major. The song is very bright and very good sounding. It has a very full

texture due to the percussion accompaniment. It is homorhythm with all voices moving together in the

same rhythm. The timbre would be the instruments used in the background. There is a guitar, a piano,

and drums/percussion. The overall impression is that ABBA is very popular and such a fun group to listen

to for all ages and families. The United States has made them very popular, featuring their songs in

movies and television shows. The United States has definitely been influenced by ABBA, and ABBA has

been influenced by the United States.

 In conclusion, this experience was a very fun thing to do. I found it very interesting and fun to

learn about the Swedish culture and compare it to our culture here in the United States. It was cool to

try the Swedish foods, and get to have some different tastes. These two women, Eva and Asa, were very

nice in letting me learn their culture and sharing their experiences and life in Sweden. It was interesting

to see them still adapting to the United States culture, and how they are still used to some Swedish

cultures and normal everyday things to do. One thing that stuck out to me was that Asa asked me what

we call our shelter for the elderly. She was meaning what we call our retirement homes. It was

interesting to have her ask me a few things and to be very interested in what I had to say. They have

been living here in the United States for a while now, but they say that they learn something new each

day. They played a Swedish trivia game with my family, and we each got to have one of them on our

teams, as a lot was information that we did not know. We also went to Ikea with them and they told us

which Swedish foods would be good for us to try, I tried a few Swedish chocolates, chocolate cookies,

and a few other things. I now will definitely go to Ikea more often and purchase these food items and a

few more things to try. The Swedish culture has so many exotic tastes, and taste that American food

doesnt even compare to. I am very glad that they gave me the opportunity to try these things. It was a

major learning experience and I really enjoyed it. My family has plans this next spring to go to Sweden to

check out all of the sights and places that they told us about, and see all the history behind Sweden and

the tourist sights. It will be such a neat thing to go and do, now that I have explored their culture through

this assignment. This assignment has also helped solidify what I am learning about the different cultures

and their relation to music and the elements that make music what it is.
 Bibliography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Sweden

http://www.sweden.org.za/swedish-music.html

https://sweden.se/society/10-fundamentals-of-religion-in-sweden/

https://sweden.se/culture-traditions/10-things-to-know-about-swedish-food/

https://sweden.se/society/20-things-to-know-before-moving-to-sweden/

Sweden Inside Out by: Anita Shenoi and Kakao Forlag

https://sweden.se/collection/classic-swedish-food/

https://www.last.fm/tag/swedish

http://www.economist.com/topics/swedish-politics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramlsa

https://www.thespruce.com/what-are-lingonberries-2952920