#Swedengate trends on Twitter. What is the hashtag all about?
Recently, a Reddit post revealed a uncommon tradition practiced in Sweden. The post began with the question,’What is the weirdest thing you had to do at someone else’s house because of their culture/religion?’ And one of the comments on the post has people on the internet shocked.
A user who goes by the name Wowimatard, replied to the question and wrote: “I remember going to my Swedish friend’s house. And while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready. And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate. That shit was f****** wild.”
The comment has currently earned 31.9K upvotes.
Another user with the name TeaRaveler wrote, “I slept over at a friend’s house. When we woke up, he said he’s going downstairs for a few minutes. After about 15 minutes I go on the stairs to see wtf is happening and they're eating breakfast. They see me and tell me he’s almost done and will be up there soon. I still think about that s*** 25 years later.”
This comment has been upvoted 14.5K times.
Both these comments have now led to the hashtag #Swedengate trending on Twitter. While many users are calling this Swedish cultural aspect ‘rude’ and cracking jokes, Sweden-based users have now begun sharing their experiences too.
Here is what some of the users shared:
1. BYOB: BRING YOUR OWN BEDSHEETS
Forget about Swedes not feeding their play date kids - what about adults having to bring their own sheets and towels when invited to spend the night? Lived there for 18 years, can confirm #swedengate
— Xtine Milrod (@XtineMilrod) May 31, 2022
2. SHARING IS CARING
I was over at my friend who lives with Swedish family, they told me to wait inside her room while she ate dinner with them , my friend felt so bad that she gave me her food and We ate in her room ? and had to hide that from Swedish family #Swedengate
— Mira (@Mirally02) May 30, 2022
3. NEIGHBOR LEFT ME
i had a good friendship with my swedish neighbor FOR SEVERAL YEARS & every time i was at her house during dinner-time she would leave me ALONE in her bedroom NOT SAYING A WORD TO ME, left me alone for about 20-30 minutes while i sit upstairs with a hungry stomach… #Swedengate
— D ◡̈ (@goingheum) May 30, 2022
4. PORK PROBLEMS
I’m Muslim & every time I went to my Swedish friend's house to play as a kid, they were always eating pork. Of course I couldn’t eat it so I had to sit in the room and wait for them to finish. Today #Swedengate made me realize that was not a coincidence. These ppl are just stingy
— ? (@anonymamana) May 30, 2022
5. TWO SIDES OF THE STORY
My contribution to #SwedenGate , yes 100% had friends who would not let me have dinner with them while on playdates as kids (what was up with that?!). But also had friends (either the sporty or the lower middle-class or working class households) who always served everyone food ??♀️
— Sara (@SaraEBergman) May 30, 2022
And here are the jokes that other users cracked:
1. IKEA REPRESENTATION
they probably have a friend sitting somewhere in the house waiting for the family to finish lunch #Swedengate pic.twitter.com/ZchranJCVL
— alina ??? (@alinaction_) May 31, 2022
2. NO DINNER?
POV you are a swede visiting your friends house#Swedengate pic.twitter.com/OKI0w5pKIa
— ?EllaGhost? (@ella_ghost) May 31, 2022
3. NOT A PART OF THE PICNIC
— ????????? ???????? (@reset_by_peer) May 31, 2022
4. SPLIT WITH A DUCK
So do Swedes feed the ducks in parks and later ask them to pay for the bread? #swedengate.
— dodobird (@dodobirdhere) May 30, 2022
5. FOOD IN MY POCKET
Gotta stay prepped if you’re gonna hang out with your Swedish friends. #Swedengate pic.twitter.com/f0ynuKmTTT
— Lexie Duck (@duck_lindsay) June 1, 2022
Not (forcibly) feeding someone when they come over to your house? Couldn’t be India