– It was incredibly strange. We sat up in the room and hung, then my friend said he should go and eat, and then he disappeared for an hour, recalls comedian Javad El Bakali. He runs the instagram account @ utlending.memes. There he has made humor out of the phenomenon. He is also the host of the podcast “My Brother”, where he talked about #swedengate. El Bakali has a background from Morocco, where the food culture is completely different. – In my culture, it is looked down upon if you have someone visiting, and have no food to offer, he explains. Javad El Bakali harasses with #swedengate. Photo: @ utlending.memes – Extremely many recognize themselves, says the comedian. He says that he has received “lots” of messages after he posted memes about #swedengate. Because it is not only the Swedes who are stingy with food. – It’s exactly like that here and there. It is not typical Norwegian culture to include spontaneous guests over, he says. Javad El Bakali says he has received several messages from young parents explaining that the reason they have not shared food with other people’s children is because they are anxious about any allergies, and that they do not know what kind of food is halal and not. While the rest of the world recently found that Norwegians and Swedes rarely offer dinner, it has long been a source of humor among immigrants. Photo: @ utlending.memes Is about cultural crash But what exactly is #swedengate? It all started with a simple question on the Reddit website. “What is the strangest thing people have experienced when they have visited someone, because of their culture or religion?” A user from Sweden told a story that has completely taken off on social media: A screenshot of the original Reddit post that became the beginning of #swedengap. Photo: Reddit – I remember when I was on a dinner visit with a friend. While we were playing in his room, his mother called him because it was time for dinner. And listen here. He asked me to WAIT in his room until they had finished eating. It did not take long before several similar stories appeared on social media. People from other countries who have never experienced it, reacted with shock. The story is shared everywhere on social media now. Thus, a new internet trend was born: #swedengate. Ida Evita de Leon is the host of the podcast «Utlendingsnemnda». She thinks #swedengate is fantastic fun, but explains that we have our own «Norwegian gate» in this country and. – I do not know how it is now, but when I was young I often had to sit in the room when I was visiting ethnic Norwegians and they ate dinner. Ida Evita de Leon is the leader of Black History Month Norway and the host of the podcast Utlendingsnemnda. Photo: Private She remembers that the food always smelled really good. – And I was really hungry, but did not get any food. Often I ended up just going home. De Leon’s mother was born in Norway and her father grew up in Trinidad and Tobago. She says that in her home when she was growing up, there was a so-called “open house policy”. Everything was shared, whether you were in the family or a guest. She does not think that it is about Swedes and Norwegians being naughty or not wanting to share their food, but that it is about a cultural crash. – Scandinavian culture is very individualistic. It is seen that in other places it is more collectivist. Javad El Bakali believes that the whole of Scandinavia shares the (un) culture. Photo: @ utlending.memes The world reacts with shock People around the world have asked themselves: do Swedes not feed their guests? The Swedish author and activist Lovette Jallow thinks it’s funny that the rest of the world has found out that some Swedes do not feed their children’s friends. She herself has experienced something similar, Jallow writes on Twitter. She was visiting a friend and when they were told that dinner was ready, she was directed to her parents’ room to wait while the family ate dinner. Grocery chain Lidl has used #swedengate to advertise sausages. Photo: Skjermbildet 03.06.2022 / Lidlsve / Instagram She was shocked. That was not how it worked at her home. Lovette Jallow says that there are great cultural differences when it comes to Gambian and Swedish homes. Photo: @lovettejallow / Twitter – In our Gambian home, everyone gets food. I wrote about this phenomenon in my book because when I came from Gambia, it was a matter of course. What a culture shock it was for me. Only immigrants in Sweden will share their food with you. Famous faces like Zara Larsson have also shared their thoughts. – Typical Swedish culture, writes the pop star. She writes in another post that this is something that only happens to children. – It is not uncommon for you to be with a friend and they left you in their room or asked you to go home to eat since you live two minutes away. That’s crazy but true. Musician and pop star Zara Larsson calls it typical Swedish culture. Photo: @zaralarsson / Twitter Various people from other countries have reacted strongly to these stories. – This could NEVER have happened in Italy, writes one user. – In Spain, I think we call the police if this happens, writes another. – I’m from the United States. This concept of deliberately not feeding a guest is literally unthinkable. The Swedes defend themselves It is not everyone who thinks it is such a big issue as people on the internet should have it. An Instagram user has made an overview of how likely it is that you will get food when you visit someone, based on which country you are in. Photo: Skjermbildet / Instagram / loverofgeography Linda Johansson from Sweden has written a comment in the British online newspaper The Independent where she defends the practice. She writes, among other things, that when she grew up in Gothenburg, it was common for her not to have dinner while visiting friends. She thinks it was more about the parents not wanting to ruin any dinner plans she might have with her own family. – I just kept playing for myself while the other family ate dinner. Still, she thinks it’s not like that anymore. – Today you will most likely get food. It’s not like it was 20, 30 or 40 years ago when I was growing up. It is not entirely certain that you will taste real Swedish meatballs the next time you visit your Swedish friends. At least if we are to believe the many stories under #swedengate. Photo: Colourbox
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