Swedish word of the day: snapsvisa
Essential for Midsummer, as well as other holidays like Christmas and Easter, make sure you brush up on your snapsvisor if you want to be able to sing along with the Swedes this Friday.
En snapsvisa (plural: snapsvisor) is a Swedish drinking song. If you can sing along to these at your next Midsummer event, you'll look like a true Swede.
The first half of the word is easy to decipher. Snaps is a Scandinavian spirit (related to German Schnapps) often drunk with a meal on special occasions, which has been made in Sweden since the Middle Ages when monks produced the alcohol for medicinal use.
It's extremely strong, served chilled and unmixed, and these days is served in a glass that looks a bit like a shot glass, but longer. It comes in several varieties – traditional aquavit is flavoured with dill and cumin seeds, and these days you'll find varieties flavoured with all kinds of berries, fruits and other herbs.
En visa meanwhile means "song". The word is linked to the verb visa (to show), and in general usage you're more likely to hear the modern variants en låt or en sång, but visa has survived in some set phrases and compound nouns like snapsvisa, which literally means "snaps song".
The snapsvisor or drinking songs are uniquely Swedish. They are thought to have originated around a century ago, probably with their roots in student drinking culture, but today are enjoyed by adults of all ages, so don't be surprised to see your grandparents-in-law singing along with the youngsters at the Midsummer feast.
In total, more than 10,000 different drinking songs have been recorded in Sweden, according to the Spritmuseum in Stockholm, which each year organises a competition for new drinking songs to help keep the tradition thriving. They are sung at all kinds of festivities that feature snaps, from Christmas to Midsummer to birthday and graduation parties.
Probably the most widely known is Helan går, which is one of many songs that celebrate the drink itself, while others poke fun at the Swedes' Nordic neighbours, celebrate other parts of Swedish culture or food, or simply describe what fun it is to drink and get drunk. Another of the popular tunes sung around Christmas, Hej tomtegubbar, is confusingly also played as a party tune for children (in fact it only became a drinking song around 100 years after it was first written).
Examples
Alla började sjunga snapsvisor vid midsommarbordet
Everyone started to sing drinking songs at the Midsummer buffet
Helan går är en klassisk snapsvisa
Helan går is a classic drinking song
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it.
It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
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En snapsvisa (plural: snapsvisor) is a Swedish drinking song. If you can sing along to these at your next Midsummer event, you'll look like a true Swede.
The first half of the word is easy to decipher. Snaps is a Scandinavian spirit (related to German Schnapps) often drunk with a meal on special occasions, which has been made in Sweden since the Middle Ages when monks produced the alcohol for medicinal use.
It's extremely strong, served chilled and unmixed, and these days is served in a glass that looks a bit like a shot glass, but longer. It comes in several varieties – traditional aquavit is flavoured with dill and cumin seeds, and these days you'll find varieties flavoured with all kinds of berries, fruits and other herbs.
En visa meanwhile means "song". The word is linked to the verb visa (to show), and in general usage you're more likely to hear the modern variants en låt or en sång, but visa has survived in some set phrases and compound nouns like snapsvisa, which literally means "snaps song".
The snapsvisor or drinking songs are uniquely Swedish. They are thought to have originated around a century ago, probably with their roots in student drinking culture, but today are enjoyed by adults of all ages, so don't be surprised to see your grandparents-in-law singing along with the youngsters at the Midsummer feast.
In total, more than 10,000 different drinking songs have been recorded in Sweden, according to the Spritmuseum in Stockholm, which each year organises a competition for new drinking songs to help keep the tradition thriving. They are sung at all kinds of festivities that feature snaps, from Christmas to Midsummer to birthday and graduation parties.
Probably the most widely known is Helan går, which is one of many songs that celebrate the drink itself, while others poke fun at the Swedes' Nordic neighbours, celebrate other parts of Swedish culture or food, or simply describe what fun it is to drink and get drunk. Another of the popular tunes sung around Christmas, Hej tomtegubbar, is confusingly also played as a party tune for children (in fact it only became a drinking song around 100 years after it was first written).
Examples
Alla började sjunga snapsvisor vid midsommarbordet
Everyone started to sing drinking songs at the Midsummer buffet
Helan går är en klassisk snapsvisa
Helan går is a classic drinking song
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it.
It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
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