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Post by mandene on Nov 16, 2015 9:15:01 GMT -5
How cold is cold? And how do you protect yourself from a Swedish winter? Find out some of the tricks Swedes have developed over the centuries to stay warm and happy despite the cold and the darkness of winter.
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Post by lucid on Nov 16, 2015 9:30:12 GMT -5
A friend of mine spent a year abroad in Finland. During the winter break, he stayed in Helsinki, but his various dorm-mates returned to their homes.
Now, the entire country is above the arctic circle, but this one fine Finnish fellow lived waaaaay up in the north, near both Norway and Sweden. During the break, there was a record-setting cold snap, and news reached my pal that the region this Finn lived in had been plunged to -60. That's cold enough that when you spit, it bounces. Somewhat concerned for his friend, my pal called him up on the phone.
Pal: "Hey man, you guys okay up there?" Finn: "Sure, what's up?" Pal: "Oh...well I heard it was like, super cold up there. What's the temperature where you are?" Finn: "Hmmm...looks like -10." Pal: "...wait, what? The news said it was like sixty below!" Finn: "....oh, you mean outside?"
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Post by demolicious on Nov 17, 2015 5:33:53 GMT -5
As another finn, I do have to admit that I personally consider that you're only allowed to call it cold once outside hits -40 C (also -40 F). And then we have those who complain of cold when temperature hits +10 C (50 F)'
Ofcourse, here is proper explanation on how winter is handled here
Finnish weather explained
+60°C / 140°F This temperature does not exist naturally. You're in sauna and all finns are complaining how cold it is in there.
+15°C / 59°F This is as warm as it gets in Finland, so we'll start here. People in Spain wears winter-coats and gloves. The Finns are out in the sun, getting a tan.
+10°C / 50°F The French are trying in vain to start their central heating. The Finns plant flowers in their gardens.
+5°C / 41°F Italian cars won't start. The Finns are cruising in cabriolets.
0°C / 32°F Distilled water freezes. The water in the Vanda river (in Finland) gets a little thicker.
-5°C / 23°F People in California freeze to death. The Finns have their final barbecue before winter.
-10°C / 14°F The Brits start the heat in their houses. The Finns start using long sleeves.
-20°C / -4°F The Aussies flee from Mallorca. The Finns end their Midsummer celebrations. Autumn is here.
-30°C / -22°F People in Greece die. The Finns start drying their laundry indoors.
-40°C / -40°F Paris start cracking in the cold. The Finns stand in line at the "grilli-kioski".
-50°C / -58°F Polar bears start evacuating the North Pole. The Finnish army postpones their winter survival training awaiting real winter weather.
-60°C / -76°F The Finnish army goes out on winter survival training.
-183°C / -297.4°F Microbes in food don't survive. Finnish cows complain that the farmers' hands are cold.
-273°C / -459.4°F All atom-based movent halts. Finns say "Perkele, it's cold outside today."
-300°C / -508°F Hell freezes over. Finland announces a tax reduction.
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Post by mandene on Nov 17, 2015 14:18:59 GMT -5
Speaking of Sauna! The only 2 true acceptable forms of cooling after the heat are: 1) IF! and only IF! there's no water nearby 2) Showers are for sissies
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Post by DM Grizwald on Nov 17, 2015 15:21:07 GMT -5
This is how we get around back home. My whip and my onezie!
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Post by mandene on Nov 17, 2015 15:23:38 GMT -5
This is how we get around back home. My whip and my onezie! Monday at McDonald's in Piteå!
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Post by DM Grizwald on Nov 17, 2015 15:25:00 GMT -5
Monday at McDonald's in Piteå! That's awesome!
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Post by mandene on Nov 17, 2015 17:09:40 GMT -5
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Post by mandene on Nov 27, 2015 8:35:46 GMT -5
Burn down the Gävle Goat (or just bet on when it's going to burn down). Every year, the town of Gävle, Sweden, erects a giant goat called the Gävlebocken. And most years that goat burns to the ground, even though the local officials are struggling to keep the Goat alive.. In fact, in the 47 years that the town has erected Gävlebocken, it's been set on fire 26 times. Today, you can even bet on if it's going to survive, or if it's going to burn and when. A popular belief today is that it's the betters that burn it down. It's also not unusual that toursits do it. One year the arrested tourists were surprised that it wasn't allowed 2 Goats are erected in Gävle each year. The one called Gävlebocken is the bigger one of the two. Erecting it takes 2 days and it's always inagurated on the 1st Sunday of Advent (which this year is November 29th.) The last 5 years: 2010 On the night of 2 December, arsonists made an unsuccessful attempt to burn the Natural Science Club's goat. On 17 December, a Swedish news site reported that one of the guards tasked with protecting the Southern Merchants' goat had been offered payment to leave his post so that the goat could be stolen via helicopter and transported to Stockholm. Both goats survived and were dismantled and returned to storage in early January 2011. 2011 The inauguration of the goat took place on 27 November. The fire-fighters of Gävle sprayed the goat with water to create a coating of ice in the hope of protecting it from arson. However mild weather melted the ice and the goat was burnt down in the early morning of 2 December. 2012 The inauguration of the goat took place on 2 December. It was burnt just ten days later in the hours before midnight of 12 December, one day before Lucia. 2013 As in 2006 and 2007, the straw used to build the goat has been soaked in anti-flammable liquid to prevent it from burning in the event of an arson attack. The inauguration ceremony took place on 1 December. On 21 December the goat was burned down. 2014 At least three attempts of arson were made, but the goat survived, and was dismantled on 29 December. Gävlebocken is a giant version of a traditional Scandinavian Yule/Christmass Goat figure made of straw. Yule Goat is an old, pagan Yle and later a Christmass tradition. A popular theory is that the celebration of the goat is connected to worship of the Norse god Thor, who rode the sky in a chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr. It used to be the goat that came with the presents, and then later Father Christmass was riding on it. It could be where the idea of Santa's raindeers comes from. This is a traditional Yule Goat made of straw. Today it's just a popular Chritmas Ornament: Santa riding on a goat. This is the Gävlebocken (note the tiny fire extinguishers nearby). The burning Goat! Follow Gävlabocken on Twitter! twitter.com/Gavlebocken
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Post by maeglhachel on Nov 27, 2015 11:44:02 GMT -5
Kinda torn between thinking leave the thing be and having to admit how it's created a new kind of tradition. Do you know how the locals feel about it?
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Post by maeglhachel on Nov 27, 2015 12:04:03 GMT -5
Also, it reminds me of this: de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FeuerradOf course, the fire, here, has been a central part of rolling the wheels of straw down the hill for at least the 1000 years they have written records about them. Some people also suspect a connection to even older Yul traditions. In my more immediate vicinity, it's more a thing of late winter or early spring, although some places do them around Xmas.
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Post by mandene on Nov 27, 2015 13:42:40 GMT -5
The local's view of this is divided. The actual burning of it has become a gimmick, at least in Sweden, and The Goat's fate is followed on the news.
Many in Gävle believe that the goat, and torching of it, has "put the town on the map", as the Swedish saying goes - which means that it's become a known place/place of interest. The Straw Goat is the largest straw goat in the world, and has landed in the Guinness Book of Records for the first time in 1985. So people consider it "World's Famous". Especially since people from all over come to see it, make pictures with it, and hope to see it burn. The Goat is considered a celebrity, and has it's own blog, facebook, twitter and instagram accounts.
The act of torching The Goat is against the law. It's considered sabotage and arson. The town officials have done many things to keep the goat safe, from drenching it in flame retardants, actual guards, and nowedays having webcams around it.
The initiator of Gävlebocken, Stig Gavlén, is so tired of the torching, that he has actually asked the town to cease with the tradition of erecting it in 2015, unless they can get the fires under control. The Goat is erected though, and waiting for the inauguration on Sunday at 3 pm.
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Post by DM Grizwald on Nov 27, 2015 19:38:06 GMT -5
Found this on reddit and thought it was appropriate:
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Post by maeglhachel on Nov 28, 2015 6:01:40 GMT -5
Found this on reddit and thought it was appropriate: ... Heh, I especially like the clapping
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Post by mandene on Nov 28, 2015 15:45:53 GMT -5
Found this on reddit and thought it was appropriate: This is great! I'm such a "nice" person that I'd probably fall off while laughing.
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Post by Hellwalker on Nov 29, 2015 11:28:01 GMT -5
How cold is cold? And how do you protect yourself from a Swedish winter? Find out some of the tricks Swedes have developed over the centuries to stay warm and happy despite the cold and the darkness of winter. What works for me is being locked in a room with semi-functional AC/Ventilation and 44 people programming for 16 hours a day. Go figure!
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Post by mandene on Dec 3, 2015 15:35:32 GMT -5
Celebrate Christmas with dinner\party with your coworkers.
Prepare by not eating anything since breakfast. Get tipsy after the first glass of champagne. Make sure you only eat the most expensive stuff. Have a strategy for any scandals. Compete who can drink the most schnapps. Kiss Santa and argue with your boss about a raise.
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Post by DM Grizwald on Dec 3, 2015 19:00:46 GMT -5
Celebrate Christmas with dinner\party with your coworkers. Prepare by not eating anything since breakfast. Get tipsy after the first glass of champagne. Make sure you only eat the most expensive stuff. Have a strategy for any scandals. Compete who can drink the most schnapps. Kiss Santa and argue with your boss about a raise. After laying off half of our staff....our CEO decided to cancel the office Christmas party. Things are pretty gloomy this year. *holy frioles* recession.
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Post by mandene on Dec 4, 2015 9:24:15 GMT -5
Celebrate Christmas with dinner\party with your coworkers. Prepare by not eating anything since breakfast. Get tipsy after the first glass of champagne. Make sure you only eat the most expensive stuff. Have a strategy for any scandals. Compete who can drink the most schnapps. Kiss Santa and argue with your boss about a raise. After laying off half of our staff....our CEO decided to cancel the office Christmas party. Things are pretty gloomy this year. *holy frioles* recession. The one time my previous company decided they couldn't afford it, they made the participants pay admission. So those who wanted to celebrate still could, but they had to pay for their food and drink. And the Goat still stands.
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Post by mandene on Dec 4, 2015 9:26:29 GMT -5
How cold is cold? And how do you protect yourself from a Swedish winter? Find out some of the tricks Swedes have developed over the centuries to stay warm and happy despite the cold and the darkness of winter. What works for me is being locked in a room with semi-functional AC/Ventilation and 44 people programming for 16 hours a day. Go figure! You know they say, that it's why we are so technologically advanced. What else is there to do, except for work overtime, or play video games?
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Post by demolicious on Dec 4, 2015 12:08:13 GMT -5
For translation: "Aurinko nousee" means "sun rises". It's from newspaper listing at what time of day sun rises over here in Finland at different cities during winter. It's going from Helsinki all the way down south, Oulu in middle and Utsjoki all the way up north. For me here, bit south from Oulu, sun sets around 15.00.
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Post by mandene on Dec 4, 2015 12:48:39 GMT -5
For translation: "Aurinko nousee" means "sun rises". It's from newspaper listing at what time of day sun rises over here in Finland at different cities during winter. It's going from Helsinki all the way down south, Oulu in middle and Utsjoki all the way up north. For me here, bit south from Oulu, sun sets around 15.00. You're living farther north than me. For me tomorrow the sun will go up at 8.32 am and will go down at 2.55 pm
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Post by Pithirendar on Dec 5, 2015 6:33:15 GMT -5
Meanwhile, in Australia ...
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Post by hellscream123 on Dec 5, 2015 18:38:53 GMT -5
Yup. As pictured above down here we get the sun trying to fry us into crispy bacon for Christmas. On the upside it means you can have Christmas then go to a beach!
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Post by darinder on Dec 5, 2015 23:55:55 GMT -5
Best christmas ever in my family was held at an aquatic centre (my brother-in-law was the manager so we had the place to ourselves). BBQ lunch with plenty of salads instead of the traditional roast pork, turkey, etc. I admit it, I'm most definitely a cold-weather person. The way I look at it, there's plenty of ways to keep warm (albeit, I'd rather not share a stuffy room with 44 other programmers) - put on more clothes, consume hot food/drink, sit by a fire or (if you're lucky enough to have somebody) snuggle up with somebody. In hot weather, you can only remove so much clothing, spend so much time in water (before looking like a prune) ... and snuggling can be less-than-comfortable.
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Post by ladyphoenix on Dec 6, 2015 12:09:04 GMT -5
Okay, so Finland is like Minnesota and Sweden is like Chicago based on what I see above.
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Post by mandene on Dec 6, 2015 13:32:07 GMT -5
Okay, so Finland is like Minnesota and Sweden is like Chicago based on what I see above. it's not. It's all about where you live in both countries. The southernmost Finland is farther north than southernmost Sweden, and the northernmost part is a little farther north. I live in a southern part of Sweden (but not the southermost). My latitude is relative to Anchorage Alaska (and also to the southernost Finland). Otherwise, Minnesota climate was popular among emigrating Swedes. I believe Chicago was more popular among Poles - Poland being just south of Sweden, across the Baltic sea.
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Post by mandene on Dec 8, 2015 13:37:10 GMT -5
This week I'm going to post THREE things! Wow!
First up is "Complain about the Weather"
I mean... seriously, WTF?!!?
We've been having this incredibly weird weather. Warm Fall, and so far Warm Winter. It's been almost summer weather here! In fact, we're breaking all fricken weather records. It's been only 1 day with any serious below 0 (Celcius) temperatures. This weekend was HOTTER than the midsummer!! HOTTER!!! WTF?!
It's been blowing for over a week, too (named stormes, that destroy property). The poor Britts are being washed away, southern Sweden to smaller degree. But people are without power, stranded at train stations, and what not....I've been only on the edges of the windy weathers, so we haven't suffered that much, except for the weirdly warm weather. I guess the only positive side is that this weekend, because of the "Storm Helga" (just days after Hurricane Gorm) the power produced by wind was around 30% of all the electric power produced, as opposed to the usual 7-10%. I guess Global Warming is good for something...
I guess people are too preoccupied with the weather and the "Hallandsås Rail Tunnel" to care about the Gävle Goat...
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Post by mandene on Dec 9, 2015 16:39:28 GMT -5
Feel Educated and Cultured
Follow all the fuss connected to the Noble Prize and it's winners. Watch all the interviews and documentaries about all the contributions they made to humanity.
December 10th watch the whole Shebang on TV.
If you are an Elderly Swedish Woman, prepare last year's Nobel Prize Dinner menu (this year's is a "secret", but then they actually release the recipes). Serve it on your old Nobel Prize - style plates from 1965. and watch tv while eating your dinner when they eat theirs.
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Post by iangallowglas on Dec 9, 2015 17:18:52 GMT -5
In Minnesota, we don't survive winter, we dominate it!
Come on winter, let's see what you got!
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