The entire nation of Sweden is being roasted online because of allegations that Swedish people don’t feed guests. Sorry but if I come to your house and there isn’t at least one snack on offer, I will not be returning.
#Swedengate began because of a Reddit thread which subsequently went viral on Twitter, as is the way of the world.
Someone posed a question in the r/AskReddit subreddit about the weirdest thing other Redditors had been subject to in other people’s houses.
Another user then weighed in with some absolute revelations regarding the housekeeping efforts of Swedes.
“I remember going to my Swedish friend’s house… and while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready,” the user wrote.
“And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate. That shit was fucking wild.”
The Reddit thread made its way onto Twitter, where it’s received well over 140,000 likes and caused an absolute shitstorm. Swedestorm?
Not here to judge but I don’t understand this. How’re you going to eat without inviting your friend? pic.twitter.com/bFEgoLiuDB
— Seeker (@SamQari) May 26, 2022
Other people joined in to debate about whether this is actually a cultural norm in Sweden.
As a Swede I wouldn’t say this is really a culture thing. It has more to do with when guests come unsuspected and there isn’t enough food for everyone. We only make enough food we think we will eat. Otherwise they eat with the family. (At least in my experience)
— ❄️Ciel❄️ (@ranbitties) May 28, 2022
https://twitter.com/luvlessmarriage/status/1530474165672845312?s=20&t=_km4rxRkSS2l_NYqJhZj3w
As a Swede i can confirm this, i would say the second case with no breakfast is very weird but the first one is very normal and i would find it weird to feed someone elses kid if they just over to play. Sleepover for sure they get food.
— Carl william (@carlwilliamkul1) May 28, 2022
Laughing at twitter finding out that Swedish people will not feed strangers 😂😂 as a kid growing up here we knew to just go home around dinner time. On the flipside my mom would feed Swedish kids though.
— Lovette🏳️🌈 (@lovettejallow) May 29, 2022
On #swedengate, when I was about seven I had lunch at my friend’s house and my grandma called her parents and tried to pay for it
— Louise Callaghan (@louiseelisabet) June 1, 2022
I am gooped, gagged and bamboozled to my core.
Then, another revelation emerged: that apparently people bring their own sheets to stay at other people’s houses too.
Forget about Swedes not feeding their play date kids – what about adults having to bring their own sheets and towels when invited to spend the night? Lived there for 18 years, can confirm #swedengate
— Xtine Irandokht Milrod (@XtineMilrod) May 31, 2022
As someone who literally never washes their sheets, the best part of staying at other people’s houses is rolling around in their crisp, clean bedlinen.
The result of this whole affair has been a thorough roasting of Sweden online.
Sweden taking Ls all week https://t.co/JNHLwZSVaK
— Lolo (@LolOverruled) June 1, 2022
most devastating PR week imaginable for Sweden. they’re now considered a rogue state thanks to one Reddit comment
— james hennessy (@jrhennessy) May 31, 2022
The highest degree of cross-cultural and religious agreement I’ve ever seen on this website is the entire world getting together to heckle Sweden for this https://t.co/9UxSIwG5aY
— Anna Merlan (@annamerlan) May 29, 2022
Good job everyone. I think we successfully bullied Sweden this weekend and their PR is in the mud. Let’s pick another European country next weekend and go again.
— Kovie Biakolo (on here less, working on this book) (@koviebiakolo) May 30, 2022
Sorry I can’t make our meeting in the morning I found out it’s weird to feed your guest dinner in Sweden so obviously I had to read 500 people discuss it until 3AM
— Maggie Mae Fish 🌈 (@MaggieMaeFish) May 29, 2022
kids in sweden when their friends are downstairs eating dinner with their family pic.twitter.com/T15UB7ENyI
— yammi (@sighyam) May 28, 2022
Not even a pandemic has united the world as strongly as we are united against sweden’s lack of hospitality 😭😭😭😭😭
— quantumfluctuations🇵🇸 (@M_of_starlight) May 29, 2022
Sweden getting roasted in real time? Classic.
Some people have also been using the #Swedengate hashtag to educate — particularly about the country’s violent imperialist, colonialist past.
Users tweeted about their experiences of racism in the country, while others raised the racism faced by the Indigenous Sami people. In 2020, a truth commission was set-up to investigate the systemic discrimination and abuse inflicted on the Sami people by Sweden.
https://twitter.com/AfroPropaganda/status/1531316523628908546?s=20&t=G-lPQiFElWG0ZZMYMqCGIg
Sweden has a lot of everyday racism, a colonial past, a neo-colonial present. There’s little public knowledge about the Swedish state’s horrible treatment of Indigenous peoples & the continued injustices faced by the Sami people today. We should talk about this more! #Swedengate
— Ellen Helker-Nygren 🐌 (@ehelkernygren) May 31, 2022
Honestly a genuine shoutout to Twitter here for taking a meme and turning into an important, powerful discussion about racism and discrimination in the Nordic countries.
And all in all, not a great PR week for Sweden.
