One Reddit post about a Swedish family not feeding their guest caused a stir online

Apart from our beautiful beaches and other tourist attractions, one can discover the Philippines through its food. Luckily, this is also matched by Filipinos’ warm hospitality. Usually, it is hard to find a local household where a guest is not offered a meal, a snack, or a drink to help themselves as they spend time in one's place. In fact, this welcoming gesture is also done in other Asian nations. That is why many Asians are surprised upon learning about a Swedish dining culture where a family didn't feed their young guest.

A Redditt post with its question “What is the weirdest thing you had to do at someone else’s house because of their culture/religion?” trended online as one responded with a childhood memory of going to a house of a Swedish friend to play and being told “to wait in his room while they ate.” Another user shared the same sentiment and claimed that he or she wasn’t asked to join the family for breakfast during a sleepover. This post eventually went viral with the #Swedengate hashtag, causing many to call the practice “weird” and even “rude.”

Not here to judge but I don’t understand this. How’re you going to eat without inviting your friend? pic.twitter.com/bFEgoLiuDB

— Seeker (@SamQari) May 26, 2022

In a story by Independent, reporter Linda Johansson, who grew up in Gothenburg, found the online debate funny and that it wasn’t a big deal. She further explained that things would be different when people are formally invited to come.

“The Swedish thinking goes like this: the other child (or the other family) may have plans for another kind of dinner, and you wouldn’t want to ruin the routine or preparations,” Linda wrote. “I don’t think it is anything to do with not wanting to feed the other child or because it costs money or anything like that, it’s more to do with tradition and wanting to eat with your own family.”

Reports also state that this custom also is also practiced in other countries such as Finland and the Netherlands. While this is an unusual thing to do, especially in an Asian household, Lotte Holm, a sociology professor at the University of Copenhagen, told The New York Times that “it is about respect for the family unit.”

Being married to a Swedish husband, Filipino fashion blogger Bryan Boy also shared his view on the Swedish tradition through a series of tweets.

“You can’t compare Sweden vs brown/black culture where food is the glue that people together. The first thing an Asian person will ask you if you visit them is: have you eaten yet?” If you say yes, they will force-feed you,” he tweeted.

"Everyone needs to understand where Swedes come from. They are wired differently than others. Their brains are programmed so that everyone is independent and they all have to fend for themselves and only themselves. There’s no sense of consciously caring for others," Bryan added.

How about you? What do you think of the #Swedengate?

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