So who says Swedes are cold, unfriendly and unkind? Well, you’re wrong if you do.
I know that for those who understand they’re not, I’m preaching to the choir. But for those of you screaming, “Hell yeah, I do,” I’ll never convince you otherwise…so the following little anecdote might be just another a feel-good story for the attentive choir.
Christmas feel-good stories are always in season, so bah humbug to the rest of you 
Bengt, a friend in a remote suburb of Stockholm, was desperately looking for a Santa suit for his son. On Monday and Tuesday most schools will celebrate Lucia, a celebration of light during the dark days of December. Children dress up as little santas, gingerbread men and tiny Lucia characters.
He had tried all the usual places and everything was sold out. So he put out the call on Facebook. (He did get an offer from some American friends to lend him one but the commute was a bit of a hassle.)
In the end, by phone, Bengt found ONE suit in the right size in a shop even further away from Stockholm. So he asked the salesman if he could put the suit on hold. The man offered to help out one (maybe several) better.
He BOUGHT the suit with his own money and drove it to Bengt’s house saying that it was on his way home anyway (although in truth it was a 20-minute detour.) Bengt gratefully both rounded up very generously but also threw in a bottle of glögg (seasonal, Swedish mulled wine) all the while thanking him.
The man tried hard to refuse the wine and after reluctantly accepting it parted saying “Thank YOU for letting me do you this act of kindness.”
So many think I’m crazy when insist that Swedes are kind and generous. But they are. They really are.
Very nice story, in these trying times it is nice to hear about people that still care about their fellow human beings.
Report abuse »
so nice story
Report abuse »
It’s not very convincing when you tell the story about one nice Swede and you say [all] Swedes are kind. I have met many wonderful Swedes and also some bad Swedes. Anyway I think Swedes are generally good, and hope that there will be more kind people like the one in your story.
Report abuse »
@Monica. It’s always worthwhile to be reminded that despite the ills of the world today, people are good.
@Tutut. It is a nice story. Christmas is about nice stories.
@Tra. I’m not really trying to establish forensic evidence. I will still maintain that Swedes are generally good, much as I believe all of humanity is generally good. Many newcomers to Sweden haven’t yet cracked the cultural code and misinterpret Swedes and make a flawed assessment that Swedes are not kind, generous and considerate.
BB
Report abuse »