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Sweden: United Nations
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With the ongoing success of athletes such as ice hockey icon Peter Forsberg and skiing queen Anja Pärson, Sweden is a well-established winter sports nation. But the icy fun doesn’t stop there — more extreme ice activities are getting thrill seekers out of the house and into the cold.
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Sweden has an official National Day, June 6. This day did not use to be neither an official nor a de facto holiday, but after a decision in parliament it now replaces Whit Monday as official holiday starting in 2005. Some minor observances are ... denoted in the Swedish calendar, though they have not been judged worthy of either holiday or flag day status.
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The south of Sweden has been inhabited since about 6,000BC. The Swedish Vikings in AD 800-1060 sailed mainly to the east and founded the principality of Novogorod. In the mid-12th Century the Swedes in the north were united with the Goths in the south and accepted Christianity. A series of crusades from the 12th to the 14th Centuries brought Finland under Swedish rule. Sweden, Norway, and Denmark were untied under a Danish dynasty 1397-1520 (the Kalmar Union, q.v.). Gustavus Vasa was subsequently elected king of Sweden.
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In 1999, Sweden became the first nation to criminalize the buyer, not the seller, of sexual services. The law's authors noted their aim of prosecuting only those they considered the exploiters (normally men), not the exploited (normally women). The sexual liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s has been replaced by laws, attitudes, and enforcement regimes that are among the most stringent in the European Union.
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Sweden’s educational policy is based on the recognition that a multicultural student body is a resource. Competition for places is keen, but students of all nationalities may apply, given the right credentials; and degree equivalency for past studies is granted on a flexible basis.
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An unofficial national symbol, the Dala Horse (Swedish: dalahäst) is the souvenir of souvenirs to bring from Sweden. Named after their origin, the province of Dalarna, these small wooden horses have been around since the 17th century. They are normally painted orange or blue with symmetrical decorations. They are fairly expensive: expect to pay around SEK 100 for a very small one or several hundred crowns for bigger versions. The horses can be bought in souvenir shops all over Sweden. If you want to know more about how the horses are made, visit Dalarna and the municipality of Mora where the horses are carved and painted in workshops open for tourists.
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