Fika- an old tradition, new to me

One of my favorite Swedish traditions, that I will most definitely take with me where ever I am living, is Fika. Described to me by my Swedish host Ewy, fika is a coffee break with sweets or a snack to take time to stop and enjoy friends. In search of more information reguarding the history, I found:

Fika is both a Swedish verb and noun that roughly means "to drink coffee," usually accompanied by something sweet.

Fika is a social institution in Sweden; it means having a break most often a coffeebreak with one's colleagues, friends, date, or family. The word has quite ambiguous connotations and can mean anything from taking a break from work or other activities, to going on a date. This practice of taking a break, typically with a cinnamon roll or some biscuits or cookies, or sometimes a smörgås or a fruit on the side, is central to Swedish life, and is regularly enjoyed even by the government.

The term which hits home for me personally is "social institution." Fika isn't about the food or beverage choice, it is the people with which we choose to share our time. Ewy has made sure that we've had Fika every a day and even when we are out exploring different villages, cities, or the countryside of Sweden, she either had fika packed in a picnic basket with us, or we've stopped at a cafe to take a break to talk and enjoy each other's company. You can see us pictured here at the Power Big Meet, stopping to to take some coffee and a snack (including the seafood spread mentioned in the recipe post) and some music, thanks to David and his new guitar. The picnic basket, cooler, and blankets were "fetched" from the back of Ewy´s car and spread out for everyone to socialize. It is, afterall, a social institution. The picture below was taken yesterday at an old town between destinations. We especially enjoyed entering a hundreds of year old house, choosing fresh baked goodies, and either coffee or some other form of beverage. I was adventurous and tried a Swedish drink which tasted like a sweet gingerale. I especially enjoyed my coconut cream cake, too. Paul's snack was flavored with cardimum, which was a little unfamiliar for us but yummy nonetheless. Trying new things is half of the fun of visiting new places!

I treasure the moments that we've intentionally stopped to talk, simply slowing life down and enjoying the moments as they pass. Some days fika consisted of coffee and cinnamon rolls, others were more elaborate and traditional- expanding to homebaked goodies, coffee, tea, juice, and invitations for other friends and family to join us. Today Ewy showed her culinary skills once again by baking a currant pastry (locally known as red wine berries, which she picked at Farfar's house. Farfar is literally translated Dad's dad but is used to designate which grandfather you are referring to.) There was also a vanilla creme sauce to accompany the pastry and of course a plentiful supply of hot fresh coffee. Coffee doesn't get cold or stay warmed on a coffeemaker here at the Jonsson's; someone jumps up and puts on a new kettle of water to start the process of brewing the pot again. Ceramic dishes with sugar cubes, cream, and dainty coffee spoons with which you stir create a unique and special atomophere that makes coffee feel like the event of fica. Benga's brother and sister-in-law were invited, as well as everyone here (Benga, Ewy, Evelina, David, Paul, and Nikki.)

As I'm sitting here trying my best to put what fica is to me into written word, Farfar has just invited everyone to his house tomorrow for fica, of course at the traditional time of 15:00, 3pm. I am excited to experience his version of fica tomorrow. He is very traditional and, as Ewy describes him, "likes the old way."

We also had fika one afternoon with Mormor (as you can guess, Mom's mom or grandmother). Evelina made a freshbaked chocolate cake which reminded Paul of brownies as well as cinnamon rolls. That particular afternoon at fika, we enjoyed the company of Benga, Ewy, Evelina, David, Ida, Henrik, and Mormor. A great opportunity to sit down and chat with some of our new Swedish family! =) Mormor´s advice for the afternoon was to enjoy the moments that we are having now as well as the ones we are planning for the future, because when you get to be her age, you don´t know how many days you have left. Simply put, Carpe Diem.

From visiting the Nordic Museum in Stockholm, I learned that the roots of fika are in a much older Swedish tradition of hosting tea and coffee parties, where women were expected to have a minimum of seven homemade baked goods, ranging from cake, softer cakes, cookies, and biscuits, and served in a very specific order. Of course in fika today, one is not expected to fresh bake all of the goodies, or serve a minimum of seven types. As few as a couple of generations ago, however, women were held to the expectation of fresh baked treats.

Reguardless of the history, or expectations previously held, the part of fika that I will carry with us is the idea of slowing down, stopping for at least a few minutes, and spending time talking over a cup of coffee or tea. We owe it to ourselves and our friends and family deserve that much from us. We can take the time for loved ones. Viva la FIKA! =)