February has two big holidays in Sweden - valentine's day and the fat tuesday ('fettisdagen'). It is celebrated 47 days before Easter, which means 21 of February this year. The fat Tuesday means that you get to eat a pastry called 'semla'. However, due to rape of old traditions, it is now served all month. It's a sweet bun with an almond paste in it, and lots of whipped cream. The top of the bun is cut off, it is filled and is then given a "hat" when the top is put back on and powdered with icing sugar. Yeah, calories! There is also an online contest (
found here) on who can eat the most of these during this month. Another fun (tragic) fact is that a Swedish king, Adolf Fredrik, died after having like 14 of those...
The other day, Valentine's day, is celebrated as everywhere else, the American way. This year I will celebrate slightly different by a Free Hugs-campain at Stortorget in Malmö. Feel free to join us, the event can be found on Couchsurfing! Last year I forgot about it, since I was working on a farm in Bolivia with no connection to the rest of the world... But if someone feels like giving me a gift this year to prove they love me, this is what I would like -->
