Engelska

The book tells the story of how the main building of the Nordic Museum came to be and also about selected architectural details and qualities. The publication is a new edition of the chapter Museibygget in the book Nordiska museet under 125 år from 1998.

Lucia celebrations on 13 December bring a gleam of light in the winter darkness. When there is hardly any daylight at all in the northern hemisphere, Lucia comes with hope of brighter times. The stately procession with a white-clad Lucia accompanied by her maids, star boys, and sometimes elves became common in the 1950s. But the feast of Lucia goes back much further in history, and it is one of the most varied traditions in Sweden. The celebrations can be traced back to several periods, places, and religions, and over the years it has been both simple and sumptuous, humorous and serious, innocent and indecent, sacred and profane, popular and aristocratic, private and public. Lucia provokes debate when many people claim to know how it should be celebrated, who should take part, and in what roles. This book spreads new light on a familiar tradition and invites further discussion. LENA KÄTTSTRÖM HÖÖK is an ethnologist and curator at the Nordic Museum, with responsibility for traditions and special occasions.

<p>The New Year brings an opportunity to start again, to try to ensure that conditions will be better for the next year. This book tells about the history of New Year celebrations in Sweden but also about local and regional variations and global themes. It is only according to the Western Gregorian calendar that the new year begins on 1 January. Parallel to this there are other New Year festivals at different times in the year. Some are linked to religion, others to specific countries and regions, and others to different seasons. Some are based on lunar or solar calendars and can have movable dates in the calendar, while others are fixed. In Sweden, partly as a consequence of migration, there are New Year celebrations all year round, and the book also examines these.</p><p>Lena Kättström Höök is an ethnologist and curator at the Nordic Museum in Stockholm, specializing in the study of traditions and festivals.</p>

Ett perfekt litet häfte, på 56 sidor, som berättar om 15 typiskt svenska saker och platser. En bok för turister såväl som för utländska gäster och vänner. "Swedish Icons presents a collection of Classic symbols from Sweden, all with an interesting story to tell. Why are there so many red buildings in Sweden? Where did we get the tradition of dressing the maypole? Did the Vikings really have horns on their helmets" Ikonerna som presenteras i boken är: dalahäst, älg, ren & samer, sill & strömming, midsommar, svenska flaggan, göta kanal, glasriket, polkagris, viking, fika, falu rödfärg, stockholms stadshus och gamla stan.