Winter-picnic by the fire

Winter season, snow and cold air won’t stop Swedes from having a picnic or some fika. It’s the perfect season to enjoy a warm beverage by a crackling fire with friends!

Picnic or fika during winter? Yes!

Having a picnic outside by a fire is a classic activity for many Swedes. It’s an easy way to enjoy winter, to keep warm and spend time outdoors. Plus it doesn’t take much to have a picnic outdoors: many camping sights and open places in public forests have fire-stations for people to use. They are built to be safe and attract people to be outside. So if you’re visiting Sweden in winter, you will find many Swedes out and about in the forest, even though there’s snow and freezing temperatures – it’s an easy way to stay mentally healthy, getting fresh air and spending time with others!

What to bring for a winter-picnic

If you’re curious about heading out for a winter picnic by a fire (you don’t have to make a fire – but it’s extra cozy), there are a few easy things to keep in mind:

Always carry an extra sweater, just in case.
Pack sunglasses – no joke! – if the sun is out and bright.
You will never regret that blanket or seat cushion.
Wet-wipes, in case you need to clean your hands or utensils.

But the most important thing is of course: the fika! The most classic food to bring is sausages to heat in the open fire, bread buns and ketchup. Another one is coffee or tea and cinnamon rolls.

Family playing in the snow with their dog.

Fika for a winter-picnic

There will be no winter-picnic without something sweet and preferably warm to drink. Here’s a list of options that many Swedes bring along in their backpacks:

One thermos of hot coffee
One thermos of hot chocolate (for kids or non-coffee-drinkers)
A small bottle of cold milk (most of the time for the coffee)
Cinnamon buns (and many!)
Sweet crackers – like oat crackers with chocolate
Napkins

If you’re heading out with kids, Swedish pancakes are an easy and popular choice to bring. Make the pancakes the day before (or in the morning), roll them up with some jam and put them in a box to bring, making both kids and adults extra happy!

Picking 7 flowers for Midsummer

There’s an old tradition connected to Midsummer’s eve: if you pick 7 different flowers during the night and place them underneath your pillow, you will hopefully dream of your future love. Curious to try?

The magic of Midsummer

Back in the days, the night of Midsummer was believed to be full of magic. Since the sun never went down, this was the brightest night of the year and thought to be one of the magical as well. The border between the human world and the supernatural went blurry, and nature was filled with magical creatures, sounds and wonders – and in order to seize this magic, many girls went out to pick flowers on the meadow, to hopefully dream of their future husband.

Woman and two girls picking flowers for midsummer

Midsommardröm, Midsummer dream, Swedish sayings

Are Midsummer flowers really magical?

Hundreds of years ago, the beliefs of creatures and magic were part of everyday life, and a way to explain unexplainable things. Today, we can turn to science to understand nature. Back then, we turned to magic and religion.

So, did it work? Hard to say – maybe it worked for some girls, if they happened to dream of the neighbor boy? But the best answer would be: try it for yourself. The tradition lives on, and there are plenty of flowers to pick during Midsummer. If not for the magic, it’s a lovely way to seize the Swedish Midnight sun.

The rules for picking Midsummer flowers

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as just picking seven flowers and placing them under your pillow. To really get in touch with the magic, there are several rules to follow if you want everything to work out. One rule is to make everything backwards as much as you can. Doing things in the wrong order, backwards or upside down was believed to ”shorten the way” into the magical world – simply because it was the opposite way of the normal Christian way of living. Another rule is to not break the magic by talking – silence is key!

Try picking Midsummer flowers yourself:

The number of flowers must be uneven: three, seven or nine flowers.
All flowers must be different! It’s way too easy to pick seven of the same flower.
No talking from the start all the way to the pillow. Again: silence is key.
Preferably you must jump over a gärdesgård – an old form of fence between meadows – between every picked flower. Easy math: seven flowers = jump over seven fences between each picked flower.
To really get in touch with magic – do everything backwards. Walk backwards, jump backwards, and walk your planned route backwards.

But hey – what don’t you do for your future love?

Cross country skiing

When the snow falls, a new season for outdoor living begins – and there’s nothing like enjoying the crispy winter on a pair of cross country skis.

The classic to-do in winter

Country cross skiing – or ”turskidåkning” as it’s called in Swedish – is a lovely way to enjoy beautiful winter landscapes or frozen lakes packed with snow. They’re designed for long days of slow and enjoyable rides. No steep hills or fast and sweaty races – just silent tours in nature’s company.

Woman in knitted sweater stretches her arms to the sky

Cross country skiing takes time

The beauty of cross country skiing is the possibility to go at your own pace. Stop to enjoy the beautiful view, take a break and unpack some ’fika’ or spend the entire day capturing the sunlight. No pressure of performance, just some healing recreation and a grateful time.

Being outdoors, capturing both snow and light, has become the new way of socializing. Away from social media, TV’s and apps, we can get closer to each other and enjoy both the company and the winter season at the same time. And did you know: spending time together can reduce stress and increase your well-being?

Woman skier relaxes with face turned to the sun.

Njutbara stunder, Enjoyable moments, Swedish sayings

Bring fika when out skiing!

Actually, the fika-break is just as essential as the excursion. And no fika without something sweet. Some of the best and most classic things to bring are:

Hot chocolate: and the best one is homemade! We have a tasty and easy recipe for home made chocolate that’s guaranteed to warm the soul.
Sandwich with Polarbröd: this type of Swedish bread is a round breadcake (polarkaka) made with yeast, milk, butter and flour of rye and wheat. Lovely and fluffy cakes, perfect with butter, ham and some veggies.
Kanelbulle: the cinnamon bun is another classic fikabread, made with sweet, yeasted dough, butter, cinnamon and pearl sugar on top.

A basket of fika, coffee and cinnamon buns

The Swedish fika

Fika has become somewhat of a phenomenon – both the word and the actual activity. Here’s everything you need to know about fika.

What is fika?

The Swedish word ”fika” means ”to have something sweet to eat, and something hot to drink”. It could be coffee or tea together with a small cookie, a cinnamon roll or a bakery good. There are no rules in what you have for fika: as long as there’s something to eat and drink, that is less than a meal but more than a fruit.

The only rule that applies is: don’t say fika when you only mean a coffee. If you just want to grab a coffee with someone, simply say ”let’s have a coffee”. Otherwise, there could be a huge misunderstanding. Maybe even… some angry looks?

Table with two cups of coffee and pink Moz handbag

When to have fika

You can have fika at anytime, any day – as long as it’s not lunch time. Set a date with a friend a cozy café, show up hungry and treat yourself with a large latte and a huge cinnamon bun. Sitting down like this for a warm drink and something sweet to eat is the perfect way to spend time together.

Woman in gloves having a coffee in a Moz mug.

Make you own fika

Of course you can invite friends or family for fika at home! Nothing says ”luxury” as much as homemade goods with a huge cup of tea or coffee. If you invite people to your house for a fika, put an extra effort into the bakery goods and let the tea or coffee speak for itself. You’re not expected to pull off a latte at home: a perfectly brewed pot of coffee served with milk on the side will make any Swede happy!

What you need for fika

Here are some suggestions and inspiration if you want to invite friends to your own Swedish fika:

Invite people after lunch. That way you have some time to prepare without having to stress.
Simple and delicious is key: homemade cinnamon rolls are better than store bought cake
Make more coffee than people: the chance of ”påtår” – a second cup of coffee – is big.

Fika is not just about eating and drinking – it’s also about spending time with people you love and care about. So make sure to clear the schedule for the rest of the afternoon and enjoy the time together!

New baked cinnamon buns on stove, Moz mittens.

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Category: Stories from the north