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A father and son’s traumatic Swedish Christmas party

A traumatic Swedish Christmas story

Santa pulled out a box wrapped in animal gift paper and read out a name. In front of him, my son Herman and a pack of mostly blonde-haired 3-year-olds dressed like Santa Claus and gingerbread men waved their arms. One by one, with a gift in hand, they ran to their parents who opened their eyes wide and feigned surprise. I watched from the side and began to panic.

My Swedish wife had the flu that night. So I was at my son’s Santa Lucia and Christmas party without my full-time guide who makes sure I don’t make any missteps on the slippery Swedish etiquette slopes. “Please come with me,” I begged her before I left the house.

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Welcome to Sweden: Why the new sitcom sucks

Swedish sitcom, Welcome to Sweden

Maybe you heard that Sweden’s TV4 is airing a sitcom called Welcome to Sweden about an American guy who falls in love with a hot Swedish woman and leaves his great job in NYC to move to Stockholm?

Well, that’s pretty much my story about moving to Sweden. Except that I moved from New Jersey and had no job or money when I moved here. On the other hand, my Swedish wife IS hot, so there’s one similarity.

Welcome to Sweden disappoints

In one of the opening scenes, the Swedish customs agent looks through every last inch of the American guy’s baggage and asks him a bunch of tough questions.

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The best reasons to work in Sweden: Master Guide Part 2

The best reasons to work in Sweden

I’m an expert on what it’s like to work in Sweden. I’ve lived here for nine years and have had jobs in the corporate sector and the public sector. It’s pretty amazing to work in Sweden.

1.You can tell your boss to go screw yourself without getting fired.  I haven’t tried this one yet, but I’ve been pretty close a few times.

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Eating Swedish meatballs? Don’t forget lingonberries — a new superfood that could prevent weight gain

Swedish food
Swedish lingonberries are eaten on blood pudding

Everyone knows Swedish meatballs are a hardy meal that will keep you energized in all seasons. But today, a lot of people are talking about that little red condiment that’s jammed between the meat and the potatoes — Swedish lingoberries.

Scientists at Lund University in Sweden have discovered that Swedish lingonberries can almost completely prevent the weight gain caused by a high fat diet. If you don’t know, lingonberries are like a more bitter version of cranberries — generally eaten with meatballs and other meaty Swedish food.

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5 reminders that I live in Sweden

Swedish fish
Smoked Swedish fish

1. Today I was reminded I live in Sweden because we had lunch, and my son said, “Yay, mackerel!”

2. Jimmie Ã…kesson, the leader of the anti-immigrant, right wing party, is off from politics right now because he is on paternity leave.

3. I had a two-week vacation over Christmas and New Year’s, and I have another week of vacation at the end of January. We’re going skiing.

4. My 6-month-old son is outside sleeping in his baby carriage. It’s just below freezing out there.

5. A few days ago while my in-laws were visiting they had to interrupt the visit to watch the TV — a cross-country skiing competition was on.