SWEA Minnesota

10/06/2026

10/04/2026

"Fika" (coffee break) in Sweden usually involves a cinnamon bun. We Swedes love the buns so much, that we have created a Cinnamon Bun Day celebrated October 4.

Most people in Sweden will eat a cinnamon bun on that day. Apparently seven million buns are sold in Sweden on October 4! And that doesn't include all the home baked ones.....

When are you having one??

10/01/2026

Good food, great company, and lots of singing! 🦞🎶

SWEA MN’s annual crayfish party was a massive success! We love keeping the beautiful Swedish traditions alive right here in Minnesota with wonderful friends, endless plates of kräftor, and snaps with traditional songs.
Tack to everyone who joined us for such a fun, memorable evening! 🥂✨

09/29/2026

In Sweden, Kaffets dag (Coffee Day) is celebrated annually on September 29 to honor the country's rich coffee traditions and iconic fika culture. Coffee in Sweden has an interesting history. Here is the wild history of how it became a national obsession!
• The Royal Bans (1756–1817): When coffee first arrived, paranoid Swedish kings feared coffeehouses were hotbeds for anti-monarchy conspiracies. He heavily taxed it, confiscated cups, and banned it five separate times!
• Secret Forest Brews: The bans backfired. Swedes rebelled by sneaking into forests to roast and brew coffee in secret. To dodge the law, they used the illegal code word "fika" (flipping the syllables of kaffi).
• Replacing Alcohol (Late 1800s): Before the mid-19th century, workers routinely drank brännvin (Swedish vodka) on the job. The temperance movement changed everything, and workers swapped alcohol for coffee as their daily stimulant.
• The Dark Roast Legacy: Because coffee was once a rare, smuggled luxury, Swedes developed a taste for making every bean count, cementing their modern preference for exceptionally strong, rich, dark-roasted filter coffee (bryggkaffe).

Today, Sweden is one of the top coffee-consuming nations on Earth, averaging roughly 3 to 4 cups per person daily!

09/21/2026

Tusen tack SWEA Oslo för ett fantastiskt världsmöte med fokus på global kompetens och förverkligande av världsvid vänskap. 🇳🇴🇸🇪💙💛❤️

08/23/2026

August 23 is Köttbullens Dag (Meatball Day.)

What could be more Swedish than Swedish meatballs? They are probably our most famous food.

Nobody knows where the first meatballs were made, but it has been documented that meatballs were served at king Richard II's court (around year 1000) in England. From that same period, recipes for seasoned meatballs have also been found in cookbooks from Baghdad.

In Sweden, the meatball first appeared in print in Kajsa Warg’s cookbook from 1754. Before that, the meatball was basically a "frikadell", like a boiled dumpling. But in the mid-19th century, when meat grinders and wood-burning stoves became common in Swedish homes, ordinary people started eating fried meatballs.

In Sweden, meatballs are a staple in everyday home cooking, but are also served in many holiday meals. Traditionally, Swedish meatballs are served with gravy, boiled or mashed potatoes, lingonberries, and pickled cucumber.

Mmm, doesn't this make you hungry for some meatballs.....?!

08/13/2026

It’s August, which means it’s crayfish season in Sweden, one of Sweden’s most cherished food traditions. Crayfish are called “kräftor” in Swedish and the party where you eat them is called “kräftskiva”.

Swedes have been eating crayfish since the 16th century. First only the royals enjoyed the crustaceans since regular people were suspicious of animal, but in the 1800s crayfish became popular with the middleclass. It became so popular that it became regulated by the Swedish government in the 1920s because they were afraid that crayfish would run out. Crayfish fishing was, therefore, banned between November and August 7. Although that ban no longer exists, the crayfish party season begins the first Wednesday of August.

So, what do you need for a good crayfish party? Well, of course the main dish, crayfish, which is boiled with salt, dill, and b**r and then chilled. Side dishes of cheese quiche, salad, bread and hard cheese are also served. Don’t forget the aquavit and the accompanying snaps songs (cheerful drinking songs, the sillier, the better!)

The crayfish is preferably eaten outdoors with colored paper lanterns (often in the shape of a smiling full moon) hung round the table. Put a funny little paper hat, a bib around your neck and the party can begin! Eat the crayfish from the shell with your fingers. It’s perfectly acceptable to make sucking noises!

SWEA Minnesota holds a Kräftskiva every year. Next one on September 12.

08/05/2026

Du är röstberättigad i de allmänna valen i Sverige om du:
* är svensk medborgare
* är minst 18 år gammal på eller före valdagen den 13 september
* har varit folkbokförd i Sverige

Du måste visa upp en giltig id-handling, till exempel ditt svenska pass eller ett lokalt amerikanskt id-kort/körkort.

Om du inte personligen kan rösta på ASI, kan du brevrösta från USA. Brevröstningen startade den 30 juli 2026. Material beställer du via Valmyndigheten.