SWEDISH TRADITIONS: Celebrating 'Semledagen'!

Sweden isn't known for being particularly nationalistic - actually quite the opposite. The national anthem has been changed and banned several times and many swedes don't even know when the national day is.
But what Swedes lack in engagement for the calendrial holidays, they more than make up for with their excitement for the.. The calendrial sweetdays.

One Swedish tradition in particular is celebrted with banners and fanfares - and with good reason: 

SEMLEDAGEN

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Semledagen, the day of the Semla, is also called Fettisdagen in urban mouth, which can be translated to "the fatty day".  This tradition dates back to the 17th century, although it was quite different then. Back then, the tradition of the semla was to fatten one self up before the fast. The word Semla is said to descend from latin's simila which means 'the best flour'. (All of this is learned here)

So, what is this marvelous Semla-thingy?
Well, it's basically a wheat bun with the top chopped of. The bottom half gets a layer of almond paste, and then whipped cream is spritzed on before the "hat" of the bun is put back on.
This is the traditional semla, at least for our region, but semlor is varied to infinity throughout the county. Another one quite popular is the Vanilla Semla, with a spread of vanilla curd instead of almond paste. In schools, were nuts are prohibited due to allergies, it's common to go with apricot jam instead.

Everyone get it so far?

*

For me personally, Semledagen has always been... difficult. Seven years ago, it was the huge trauma-like experience I got from trying to celebrate this fun day with my family, like we always had, that made me realize that I had a real problem with food and my thoughts around it.

To make a long sad story short, every year since, I've tried to make myself  'celebrate' fettisdagen as it is supposed to be celebrated - casual, just the dust of extra glitter everyday life needs - as an indicator on how far I've come from my food demons. Previous years, something has always come up (I have always found a reason not to; 'I already ate so much yesterday', 'I don't really like semlor that much so it's not worth it...' etc.), but this year I finally did it.

I asked our favorite correspondents to join me in a Semle-extravaganza at Brogyllen Café. I remember reading in the local newspaper some years ago that they are supposed to have the best Semlor in Gothenburg, so we just had to try if the rumour had it or not.

When we arrived, the counter was overflowing with Semlor - they even had one for Julia, who isn't very fond of almond paste. Luckily for her, the cashier could give her one with vanilla curd instead and disaster was averted  - or I just didn't have to eat my semla alone...

We sat down by a table next to the window, waiting for Jonas to finish his seminary so he could join us and the semlor could find their rightful place in our bellies. I was also eager to take my new camera for its first real task: to justify the perfect creaminess on picture.

...Also, I wanted to try out the selfie-mode.

So yeah as you can see, Jonas came and the feast could start...

...a party where I, apparently, was the third wheel. 

That did not bother me much as Jonathan entered the café just minutes later, but what did bother me was my inability to take lightness-accurate pictures. 

OH WELL OH WELL. Next time maybe. 

The afternoon was embed in a positive atmosphere as Julia and I looked for cheap and quick getaways that we could actually afford, and found some. 

Barcelona, here we come? Hopefully. 

Definitely. 

Maybe. 

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DID BROGYLLEN HAVE GOTHENBURG'S BEST SEMLA THEN? 

Well. Semla is semla. They are all good. This one got an A for effort as they hade homemade almond paste where they've grinded the almonds groundly.

"That's why it cost 43 SEK" Jonas said wisely and dove in to the last pieces of my semla after he had finished his.

When we left by 6 pm, the previously filled counter was now empty, except for a handwritten post-it saying
"Sorry, Semlor is out for today. Come back tomorrow".

Remember when I said people take Semledagen seriously? Well, we met people in the doorway who took a quick glance at the note, turned and walked away.

Semlor is religion.