The popular Swedish actor has died at the age of 73 after a long illness, his family has confirmed.
A few years ago, Svensson said he was in poor health and had moved into a nursing home in the Stockholm area.
– I live here permanently.I suffer from memory loss, he said.
Svensson has had a long career, including roles in Hedebyborna, Maria Wern and Hassel, but he became best known to Swedish audiences as postman and family man Gustav Svensson in the then hugely popular comedy series Svensson, Svensson.
Director Edward af Sillén has worked with Svensson on several productions and describes him as “a very fine colleague” and a self-critical perfectionist.
– Allan Svensson is forever a part of SVT’s Christmas.His portrayal of the hopeless, choleric and loving Gustav in “Svensson, Svensson” is nothing short of a classic.He also appeared in two other of SVT’s most popular TV dramas: Hedebyborna and Tre kärlekar.We miss him now, but he will always be a part of SVT’s memory, says newly appointed Swedish state television (SVT) CEO Anne Lagercrantz.
Claudia Galli Concha and Gabriel Odenhammar, who played the children Lina and Max Svensson, also publicly expressed their grief over the death.
– No, no.Not you Allan.Not now.I thought that somewhere in the future we would meet again, would laugh again, would talk again.(…) I will miss you incredibly much, writes Galli Concha on Instagram.
– It’s my other dad who dies now.My real dad died in 2016.Then I called Allan and said that now it’s just you.“Is that so, little guy” he said.I was always “little guy” to him and he always answered when I called.He was very nice, says Odenhammar.
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Despite the Swedish police raising the alarm about the growing Foxtrot gang network back in 2021, the leadership chose not to act. Today, the network is linked to over 30 murders – at least 16 of which were completely unrelated civilians.
The documentary series En gång bröder (Once Brothers) reveals that a special police investigation team identified Foxtrot four years ago as a rapidly expanding group with a high propensity for violence.
According to the head of intelligence at the police, Jale Poljarevius, the group sounded the alarm early on – but the alarm was deprioritized in favor of other gangs.
– If we could turn back time, we would have quickly redirected our efforts in this direction, Poljarevius told state broadcaster SVT, admitting that Foxtrot had long been off the police’s radar.
It was only after several high-profile murders in 2022 that Foxtrot began to come under police scrutiny. According to the documentary, the network has since been linked to over 30 murders, at least 16 of which were innocent civilians with no gang connections.
Rawa Majid is wanted internationally by Interpol. Photo: screenshot/Interpol.int
Division escalates the spiral of violence
The division within Foxtrot in September 2023 marked a new level of violence. One faction, led by the internationally wanted Rawa Majid – also known as “Jordgubben” (Strawberry) – is suspected of, among other things, the murder of Ismail Abdo’s mother, which further escalated the conflict.
During the summer of 2023, Swedish police managed to infiltrate the network using encrypted chat groups such as the Signal app. This breakthrough led to several arrests and indictments against a number of people in Foxtrot’s top echelons, including for particularly serious drug offenses.
Despite this, the violence continues. According to SVT’s information, the network has also expanded to Norway, where Swedish gang crime has become a growing problem.
At the time of writing, National Police Commissioner Anders Thornberg has declined to comment on the investigation.
A growing number of women are choosing to give birth in so-called birthing pools. Water births are now offered in almost all regions of Sweden, something that was unusual just a few years ago.
Water birth means that the pregnant woman is in a pool and thus surrounded by water, and that the baby is then born underwater. The woman lifts the baby out of the water herself once it is born.
Since 2019, when only four of Sweden’s regions offered this option, more water births have been introduced at Swedish maternity hospitals, according to a survey by the tax-funded SVT. Today, only four do not offer water births: Region Kronoberg, Region Örebro County, Region Gävleborg and Region Blekinge.
In the 17 other regions, there is, or is about to be, some form of possibility to give birth in a birthing pool. One of the latest to acquire a birthing pool is the birthing clinic in Karlstad.
– It feels absolutely fantastic, it’s a goal that we’ve been working towards for several years and haven’t had the conditions for until now, says Charlotte Stenström, head of the obstetrics department at Karlstad Central Hospital, to SVT.
Not everyone will have the opportunity, however, as there are certain criteria. In Karlstad, for example, there will be requirements that the pregnancy is within normal limits and that the baby in the womb is of normal size.
Giving birth in a birthing pool can shorten labor and give the woman a more positive experience of the process, as well as a sense of control over her birth. It can also be beneficial against pain.
– There are many benefits of water births – pain relief is one, says midwife Araceli Carranza.
Midsummer is an ancient Nordic tradition that is still very much alive today, particularly in Sweden. Throughout history, there has been a perception that this time of year holds a special kind of magic, that the veil to the supraphysical world is thinner than at other times of the year. Over the years, this special day has been celebrated in a variety of innovative ways.
Midsummer marks the definitive arrival of summer. It means exactly what it sounds like, “in the middle of summer,” and the word already existed in Old Swedish as miþsumar. The holiday is celebrated in connection with the summer solstice, which is the time of year when the sun is at its highest point in the northern hemisphere. Midsummer Eve is always celebrated on a Friday.
This article was first published on June 21, 2024.
In northern Europe, midsummer has long been celebrated in conjunction with the Christian holiday of John the Baptist, which is also the reason why Saturday has become a public holiday. In Finland this holiday is primarily called Juhannus, in reference to John the Baptist. Denmark and Norway also celebrate John the Baptist’s evening by lighting bonfires and playing games. John the Baptist’s Day is also celebrated to some extent in Germany, but generally the summer solstice celebrations in the rest of Europe are fairly limited.
Ancient roots
It is not clear for how long Midsummer has been celebrated, as it seems to date back to prehistoric times, but it is definitely known that it has been celebrated in the Nordic countries at least since the Middle Ages.
However, very little is known about how Midsummer was celebrated in the Middle Ages. There are hints that the celebration was related to fertility and some older sources that show that there was ritual beer drinking and also blot – ritual animal sacrifice – during the Viking Age.
Photo: Håkan Dahlström/CC BY 2.0
Summer cleaning and little frogs
From around the middle of the 19th century, there is more clear evidence of how the celebrations were carried out in Sweden.. One important step was to clean the entire house, then dress the house both inside and outside with flowers and leaves from birch trees, among other things. The festive locations were also decorated with leaves, as were the wagons in which people traveled. Outside the house, leaf bushes were placed, which the farmers could also sell to the townspeople.
The midsummer pole has its origins in the May Day celebrations when a so-called maypole is erected in Germany and other parts of the world. The tradition probably came from Germany to Sweden in the Middle Ages, but since the Nordic countries rarely have time to start greening during May, this tradition was moved to the Midsummer celebrations. There is a widespread belief that the midsummer pole is dedicated to fertility and thus may represent some kind of phallic symbol, although there is no confirmation of this from known historical sources.
The midsummer pole has had different designs over the years, but during the 20th century the appearance was standardized and the midsummer poles became increasingly similar all over the country. Dancing around the midsummer pole has probably existed since at least the 19th century, says Jonas Engman, curator at the Nordic Museum.
– But the dance with songs took off in the 1920s. This era saw the publication of songbooks with melodies and lyrics associated with holiday celebrations.
Perhaps the most classic Swedish midsummer song – Små grodorna (the little frogs) – has been traced to a military march from the French Revolution called La Chanson de l’Oignon, or The Onion Song. This song was turned into a taunt by English soldiers, replacing the word camarade (comrade) with grenouille (frog). It is unclear when or how the song came to Sweden, but it is known that it has existed for a long time at Nääs Castle in Västergötland in connection with courses in handicrafts and games, where The little frogs was a game taught there and printed in the singing games book Sånglekar från Nääs in 1922. The singing of The little frogs is typically associated with jumping around the midsummer pole in a frog-like manner.
Food
What people used to eat around Midsummer depended on where they were in the country. Different types of fish, but also pork and other meat have all been part of the feast in different places. White porridge, that is, porridge cooked with milk and often also with wheat flour, is a dish that was common as a festive meal in various places. A Swedish filbunke, or viili in Finnish, is a fermented milk dish similar to yogurt or kefir which also used to be a common feature of the midsummer feast.
In modern times, herring and new potatoes constitute the core of the menu, along with the classic strawberries. Spirits of various kinds are just as essential – together with a good snapsvisa, of course! A snapsvisa is a traditional Scandinavian drinking song, often with comical lyrics.
Photo: Magnus D/CC BY 2.0
Midsummer magic
It has long been thought that the boundaries to the supraphysical reality were thinner during Midsummer. Everything that grew was considered to be charged with magical powers, especially during this time. It was therefore common, for example, to tie a wreath during Midsummer and save it. For the same reason, there was also a belief that one could regain energy during the winter by placing a dried midsummer wreath in the annual Christmas bath.
Midsummer dew, in particular, was considered to have special powers and it was not uncommon to roll around naked in it, or to collect the dew in sheets, for example, because it was thought to improve health. Drinking from springs was also common during Midsummer, which was considered beneficial to the body and mind. However, all activities involving any kind of magical aspects would be done in silence, so as not to break their mystical effect.
Keeping silent at certain special places could also bring visions of the future. For example, it was common to walk the so-called årsgång (year walk), which could involve walking counter-clockwise around a church or other holy place on an empty stomach.
– If the ‘yearwalker’ completed the entire ritual, on the way home he would experience sights or sounds that told him about events in the coming year, says Tora Wall, folklorist at the Nordic Museum.
Night of love
Midsummer has long been associated primarily with love. Many young women in Sweden still pick their seven or nine flowers and put them under their pillow to find out who they are going to marry.
“The Midsummer night is not long but sets seven and seventy cradles in motion” is an old Swedish rhyme.
Another way to predict one’s future partner was to eat a dream porridge made of flour, water and a lot of salt. The person who came later in the dream and gave you a drink to quench your thirst was your future partner. The type of drink could also give a hint as to whether you would have a richer or poorer life together.
Young people often arranged mock weddings and could choose a midsummer bride and groom, often each with their own floral wreath. It was also not uncommon for girls to tie wreaths to the boys to show that they were a couple.
A de facto national day in Sweden
In Sweden, the National Day celebration on June 6, commemorating the coronation of Gustav Vasa in 1523, has traditionally not been as big a holiday as National Day is in many other countries. One of several explanations for this, in addition to the long period of peace in Sweden, is probably that the nearby Midsummer celebration has de facto been the really big and obvious holiday alongside the more quiet Christmas.
That said, we would like to wish all readers a glad midsommar!
Svenska kraftnät (the Swedish national grid operator) warns of a critical electricity shortage in southern Sweden this winter equivalent to the output of seven nuclear reactors. A new report shows that electricity area SE4, southern Götaland including Skåne, is particularly vulnerable.
The forecast points to a power shortage of 7,700 MWh/h during a normal winter in SE3 and SE4. The reason is insufficient plannable production in relation to consumption.
Malin Johansson, energy and climate manager at the industry organization IKEM, is calling for quick solutions:
– This confirms that we need to quickly build new capacity in the form of gas turbines and batteries that can even out the peaks and cope with the power demand in southern Sweden, especially during cold, windless winter days.
Imports do not offer a reliable solution either, as the electricity systems of neighboring countries are often just as strained:
“Analyses of import opportunities from neighboring countries show that most, like Sweden, are dependent on imports in strained situations. This indicates that import opportunities from our neighboring countries at these times may be limited if shortages occur simultaneously”, writes Svenska kraftnät.
– It’s no news that if there’s no wind in Denmark, there’s no wind in Skåne either. Every country must take responsibility for its own electricity system. We can’t rely on neighboring countries, says Malin Johansson.
“Must be able to produce around the clock”
Svenska kraftnät highlights consumer flexibility and storage as solutions, but Johansson is skeptical:
– Why should we create a market where industry is forced to be flexible? It’s not as if we have a high added value from selling electricity to other countries. Industry must be able to produce around the clock to promote growth and prosperity in Sweden.
The transmission capacity between SE3 and SE4 is insufficient during peak hours, which drives up electricity prices in SE4. The ERAA 2024 report confirms that margins are shrinking in southern Sweden, where demand is increasing while transmission from the north is limited. The situation requires urgent measures to secure the electricity supply.
The report points out that Europe’s electricity system is at risk of becoming increasingly vulnerable to power shortages. Despite extensive investments in wind and solar power, there is no realistic plan to replace fossil fuel-based electricity production that is being phased out for economic reasons. As a result, new capacity may not be built in time, which threatens security of supply.
