Swedish Press Nov 2021 92-07

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Sjungom studentens lyckliga dag

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November 2021 Vol 92:07 $9.95

07 2021

Hats off to Students | Becoming a Haga Girl | Swedish Student Initiation

Hats off to Students

North American students are used to wearing the square, academic cap, also known as the Oxford cap, on graduation day. In the Nordic countries, however, the look is very different. Here’s your guide to the origin, design, and symbolism of the Swedish student cap.

By Kajsa Norman

T Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia

Swedish Press | November 2021 | 16

Top: Modern hats. Middle left: The earliest student cap known to have been preserved is this Uppsala cap from 1847. Middle right: A student in Lund, 1910. Bottom left: A woman with her student cap in 1890. Bottom right: A Danish, a Norwegian, and a Swedish student from 1943.

he history of the Swedish student cap, studentmössa, dates back to the 1840s when it was worn as a token of belonging to a student union. Students from Uppsala University started the tradition when they decided to adopt a common mark of recognition ahead of attending a Scandinavian student meeting in Copenhagen in 1845. Similar caps were then adopted by the students of Lund, the only other Swedish university at the time, as well as by students in Denmark, Norway, and Finland. Student Gerhard von Yhlen from the Swedish region of Östra Götaland, is widely credited as the designer of the first Swedish student cap. As his design resembled the caps donned by German students since the early 18th century, it is possible that von Yhlen drew inspiration from Germany.

Historically, it was considered unsuitable for women to don a cap, but on Walpurgis Eve of 1892, seven female students of Uppsala University staged a protest by wearing the white cap in public. Among them was Lydia Wahlström, founder of the first female

student organization. Their protest was successful and since then, the student cap has been worn by both women and men alike. Wahlström later co-founded the National Association for Women's Suffrage and became a well-known historian, author and feminist.

Uppsala vs Lund Traditional Swedish student caps come in two main variants, named after the two universities in existence at the time of their original adoption.

The Uppsala cap has a black band, blue and yellow lining, and a soft crown. The Lund cap has a dark blue band, red lining, and a stiffer crown.

The Uppsala cap was traditionally worn only in summer, from Walpurgis Eve until October 1. In Lund, the

white cap was also donned at Walpurgis and taken off in the fall, but students could exchange it for a winter variant with a dark blue crown during the rest of the year.

The student cap worn by engineering students, teknologmössa, varies from the norm through its characteristic triangular flap hanging down on the right side ending in a tassel.

The tasseled cap originated at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, where it was first introduced in 1879. It later spread to the Royal Institute of Technology and the other Swedish engineering schools.

Today, the color of the cap signals the university of origin of the student. For example, students at Chalmers University don white caps, while students at Luleå University of Technology don burgundy-colored caps.

The High School Graduation Cap While student caps were first adopted

by Swedish university students, they are currently more popular as gradu-

Top: Uppsala student cap with a black band and blue and yellow lining. Middle: The Lund cap with a dark blue band and red lining. Bottom: Teknologmössa with its characteristic triangular flap hanging down on the right side ending with a tassel.

ation attire for high school students.

Originally, the student cap could be worn by anyone who had successfully completed the university entrance exams, traditionally held at the universities. However, in 1864, the upper secondary schools begun to administrate the final exams and anyone who passed could now don the cap whether they continued to university or not.

Nowadays, the student cap is a coming-of-age symbol, worn by all who graduate from high school, regardless of whether they are graduating from a two-year vocational program or a three- or four-year academic

The modern Swedish student cap normally has a white crown, a black (or dark blue) band, and a black peak. At the front of the band is a cockade of blue and yellow, the colours of the Swedish flag.

Many students add personalized embroidery.

High school students donning their personalized caps on graduation day.

Photo: SSHL

Swedish Press | November 2021 | 17

program. Personalized embroideries, linings and different colored bands are used to differentiate between high school programs and schools.

While many high school students only wear their cap for photos and on graduation day, it is considered acceptable to wear the cap from Walpurgis Eve (April 30) onwards. Some schools even organize official “donning of the caps” ceremonies on this day.

The Donning of the Caps If you happen to find yourself in Sweden on Walpurgis Eve, attending one of these ceremonies can be an interesting cultural experience.

In Stockholm, the ceremony takes place at 3 p.m. at Skansen and is followed by student singing performances.

In Lund, the ceremony was traditionally held at midnight, but since 1965 it has taken place at 6 p.m at Tegnérsplatsen, a square by Lundagård park.

However, the student town of Uppsala is arguably the best place to be for Walpurgis celebrations. Here, the traditional donning of the caps takes place below Carolina Rediviva, the main building of the Uppsala University Library. At precisely 3 p.m., the Vice-Chancellor raises their white cap, waving from the balcony to the crowds gathered below. The members of the crowd respond by cheering and waving their white caps.

Anyone who has a studentmössa, is encouraged to wear it on Walpurgis Eve, whether they graduated recently or half a century ago. This custom is

Photo: Solliden Walpurgis evening at Skansen in Stockholm with the Stockholm Academic Male Chorus.

Students watching theWalpurgis fire.

Every April 30th the streets of Helsinki are full of people wearing student caps. Photo: Apricity

Swedish Press | November 2021 | 18

The crowd raising their student caps outside Carolina Rediviva in Uppsala. Photo: UNT

The Finnish student cap with its gold-colored lyre of Apollo. Traditionally, the lining is white and blue like the Finnish flag, but Swedishspeaking students often opt for a blue, yellow, and white lining.

more widely followed in Finland. On April 30 the streets of Helsinki resemble a sea of anemones as bobbing heads don every imaginable shade of white from bright as snow to the darker shades, turned yellow from age.

Swedish-speaking Finland The Finnish student cap, ylioppilaslakki, is similar to the Swedish model, but instead of a blue and yellow cockade, it has a metallic, gold-colored cockade depicting the lyre of Apollo.

This design dates back to the 1870s.

Nowadays, the cap is mostly worn on Walpurgis celebrations, or what the Finns call Vappen, and in academic ceremonies. As in Sweden, the cap is also worn by all Finnish high school graduates.

As Finland was once under Swedish rule, students had to learn Swedish to gain access to higher education, and Finnish was long considered by the upper classes to be a "language of peasants". In 1863, Finnish gained status as an official language on par with Swedish. However, the language strife between Swedish- and Finnishspeakers continued to divide Finnish academia. For students, the size of the cockade on one’s cap was used to signal where one stood on the language question. Swedish-speaking students donned a bigger cockade with a diameter of 22 mm, while moderate Finnish-speakers wore a 16 mm cockade, and radical Finnish-speakers a 14 mm cockade. Even nowadays, Swedish-speakers in Finland use the 22 mm cockade, while the graduates of Finnish-speaking high schools use a 16 mm cockade. The colors used in the lining of the cap are also ripe with regional symbolism and loyalties. The most common lining of Finnish student caps is white and blue, the colors of the Finnish flag. However, many Swedish-speaking students opt for linings that are blue, yellow and white.

Hemma hos

Swanadian Poutine

M

By Noelle Norman

y name is Noelle and I am a 15-year-old Swede who has mostly grown up outside of Sweden.

Throughout my childhood I’ve lived in such diverse places as Cape Town, London, Denver, and New York.

In 2019, my family and I moved to Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. As an expat Swede, I’m always looking for synergies between my Swedish culture and the culture of the nation where I happen to be living. That is how this dish came to be.

[Treats]

à la Noelle Norman

admittedly not a huge fan of poutine, the festival surpassed my expectations. I was blown away by the amount of international interpretations and unique variations that had been invented for the occasion.

There was “Thai Poutine”, “Mexican Poutine”, and even poutine with lobster.

All of these creative ideas made us want to concoct our own, Swedish, interpretation on the Canadian classic.

A week or so after the festival, we stopped by IKEA to pick up the ingredients that cannot be found at your average North American store. After some trial and error, the optimum equilibrium of Canadian and Swedish culture was found in a dish we now call “Swanadian Poutine”, a mess of french fries, meatballs, cheese curds, lingonberry sauce, and IKEA’s brown cream sauce.

During quarantine we made this recipe a number of times with my

Photos courtesy of Noelle Norman

grandfather joining all the way from his Falu-red lakehouse in Sweden via WhatsApp to critique our meatballrolling skills. It’s the perfect dish to enjoy when missing our family back in Sweden, but wanting to celebrate our life in Canada. We hope you will join us in the experience!

Swanadian Poutine

The idea of Swanadian Poutine all started when my family and I visited the Ottawa Poutine Fest, eager to try the classic Canadian dish consisting of fries, gravy, and squeaky cheese curds. I learned about the event from a friend who knew that my family was passionate about food and that I was looking to explore Canadian culture. Although I am

Swedish Press | November 2021 | 26

Ingredients: • 2 cups milk • 2 cups breadcrumbs • 500 grams minced meat (beef, turkey, or vegan beyond beef, etc) • 1 egg • ½ onion • Salt • Pepper • Lingonberry jam • Ready-made fries • Cheese curds • IKEA’s brown cream sauce or gravy

Preparation: Put the breadcrumbs in a cup, add the milk and let it sit until all the milk has been absorbed. Finely chop the onion. If the pieces are too large the meatballs will fall apart. Put the minced meat, the chopped onion and a cracked egg into a bowl. Mix everything well with your hands. Then add the milk-soaked breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to the mix.

Once everything is well-mixed, it’s time to roll your meatballs.

Wash your hands with very cold water first to avoid the meat sticking to your hands. Fry the meatballs on low heat so that they don’t just burn on the outside, but cook on the inside as well.

Cook your ready-made fries according to the instructions provided on the box. We like McCain shoestring fries cooked in our airfryer.

Prepare the IKEA cream sauce according to the instructions on the package, or prepare your own gravy.

Put the fries on a plate. Add the meatballs and the cheese curds. Pour the sauce over the dish, and add some lingonberry jam. Bon appétit!

[Culture]

Nollning Student Initiation in Sweden

By Kajsa Norman

G

rown men dressed in diapers gulping down fermented herring at remarkable speed – the visual is permanently imprinted in my memory. The mere act of opening the can and releasing the aroma of Sweden’s stinkiest food is enough to make many Swedes cringe, but we had enlisted our toughest – an engineering student from Norrland who actually liked the stuff. Mosquito, we called him, not in reference to his size, but to the mosquito infested swamps of the area from which he hailed. Still, competition was

Swedish Press | November 2021 | 20

Photo: Corren

fierce. Having finished his entire can of rotting fish in what felt like seconds, one of the competitors proceeded to drink the sauce straight from the can.

Mosquito, who finished an instant later, froze for a split second; what to do?

Eureka! Turning to face the judges, he opened his diaper and emptied the entire can on his crotch, drenching it in fermented herring juice. The crowd went wild. We had won!

Back then, there was no such thing as social distancing, but if there had been, Mosquito needn’t have worried; no girl – or boy for that matter – came

within two meters of him for several weeks. Still, I’m convinced he has no regrets. Mosquito was king of the Nollning.

Literally translated, the Swedish word Nollning means “Zeroing”. The new students are referred to as nollor, “zeroes” as they are freshmen, having yet to earn their first credit.

While the scene just described may not be everybody’s cup of tea, in Sweden, the idea of nollning doesn’t have the negative connotations commonly associated with the North American equivalent of hazing. Unlike in North America, initiation is not tied to membership in a sorority or fraternity, but open to all new students and widely accepted as a rite of passage welcoming the freshmen to their new school in general, and to their academic program in particular. Sanctioned by the schools, it is meant to be a voluntary celebration with students participating to the extent that they are comfortable. However, that wasn’t always the case.

According to Uppsala University, the academic tradition of nollning dates all the way back to the 17th century. In those days it was called “the deposition” from the Latin depositio cornuum, “taking off the horns” and was a mandatory initiation ritual.

“The prospective student was dressed up in multi-coloured clothes, given horns, donkey ears and boar

In the 17th century, student initiation involved being herded with an axe before a mocking audience, followed by a year of servitude and bullying. Credit: Uppsala University Library.

17th century deposition tools on display at Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum.

tusks, and herded with an axe before an audience who mocked him,” writes the university.

“The deposition tools” consisting of pliers, a saw, and a plane, were then used to remove the horns, ears, and tusks of the new students as these attributes symbolized the student’s bestial, unpolished nature. In closing, the leader of the ceremony would pour salt on the tongue of the new student, throw wine over his head, and declare that he was now a free student. “This was followed by a year of servitude to an older student,” writes Uppsala University. “The deposition ceremony and its subsequent year of bullying quickly spiralled out of control, and the deposition was banned in 1691.”

In modern times, bullying is of course banned. Still, every so often, there are media reports about nollning rituals involving elements of humiliation and excessive alcohol consump-

tion, at both the high school (gymnasium) and university levels.

This said, for the vast majority of students, nollning is a very positive experience – an opportunity to get to know your new classmates, make friends, have some fun, and party before classes begin in earnest.

Some join only for the daytime games and competitions, others attend the festivities day and night over many weeks, for fear of missing out. Daytime activities typically involve scavenger hunts, playing brännboll (rounders) or performing impromptu songs for passers-by. There are also plenty of team competitions between programs which help form rapid bonds amongst the new classmates.

Older students, sometimes referred to as commissionaires, award points, and typically make it known that they have no qualms about accepting bribes. Beer, jugs of moonshine, pizza or snacks are gifts commonly used to attempt to win the favor of the judges.

Each university program typically has its own studentoverall, a boilersuit of a specific color representing the various programs: Engineering, Economics, Social Sciences, Law, etc.

It is customary to personalize the suits, and most students opt to decorate them with various badges, text, or gadgets. It is also common practice to swap parts of the suit (such as parts of the legs or arms) with another person, typically with a partner or a close friend. Students also trade and earn patches.

The use of overalls started at the Royal Institute of Technology in the late 1960s, spreading around Sweden and Finland during the 1970s. Since then, their popularity has grown and most student organizations now offer

A very well worn boilersuit from Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sweden (1998).

students a chance to purchase their own overalls during the freshman year.

If you visit Swedish student towns in the second half of August, you’re likely to see groups of students in colorful attire roaming the streets and parks, in pursuit of various objectives. Sometimes likened to Smurfs or Dr Seuss characters, their colors and raucousness assault your senses.

However, the nollning can also involve more sophisticated schemes like fake classmates who attend classes and events, sometimes for weeks, under assumed identities. From my own initiation at the faculty of Journalism in Sundsvall, I remember a few impostors: one pretended to be a Romanian exchange student who spoke no Swedish, another an industry professional who already knew it all, and a third dragged around a large suitcase pretending to be homeless.

Her goal was apparently to count how many people would carry her case or offer her a place to sleep. It wasn’t until Mosquito’s stench had started to fade that we finally learned their true identities.

Swedish Press | November 2021 | 21

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