Fat Tuesday

On February 20th, while there were beads, booze, and ballyhoo in the bayou, Sweden celebrated “semlas”. That's right, Fat Tuesday (or Fettisdagen). While the French Quarter found itself full of shenanigans and tomfoolery, Jonkoping, Sweden took a day to recognize a vintage pastry: the semla, which is made from a spiced wheat bun and whipped cream. Lisa from Sweden explained to me that the week before Semla Day, Swedes used to fast for a week, eating very little, to prepare themselves for Lent. This was back in the day with the intense religious Swedes. The practice of fasting before Fat Tuesday is all but gone now, so I'm told. Then, on Fat Tuesday—Semla Day—a great feast is prepared and indulgences are made one last time before the 40 days preceding Easter begin.


I explained to my Swedish friend, Gustav, what goes on in New Orleans during Marti Gras, and I think he may be looking into exchange programs in Louisiana. Difference in culture I guess. For Semla Day, two of the professors who teach our course decided to show some Swedish hospitality. On Tuesday night Professor Ulla invited all of us to her house for soup. Ulla lives in a classic red house with wooden floors and a winding staircase. She said she thought it was important for us international students to get a taste of home every now and then. We
love Ulla.

To top it all off, another professor, Christina, actually brought the whole class homemade semlas. While discussing the history of this fine day, a conversation of differences in religious traditions came up. It was very interesting to hear about Ramadan (where Muslims fast during the hours of sunlight) from my classmate Andeleeb from Pakistan, and Passover and the similarities and differences between Swedish Lutheran Lent and Catholic Lent. At the end of the day, with our stomachs full and our spirits high, everyone left with a greater understanding of Swedish culture and each other.