There are many ways to look at the term Swedishness. A small Lindsborg group several years ago considered this term during one Hyllningsfest, and it stimulated a public panel discussion at Burnett Center on the Bethany College campus. How Swedish is Little Sweden? (Hur Svenskt är Little Sweden?)
In the group’s brief meetings, the matter of Swedishness became, ultimately, an unbounded topic, one with a lot of essence but no real limit. Here are some excerpts:
‒ “A lot of Swedishness is personal, a private matter: a grandmother’s quilt, or the best way to make lutefisk or potato sausage (barley or potatoes for filler?) … and then there is the difference between coming from a city or a farm town…”
‒ “In Lindsborg for two generations the language didn’t change much because there was not the mobility … (They spoke) a more formal, biblical version of the language because the only two books they brought with them were the Hymnal and the Bible. But think of that language as you would think of Dickens as old English; this was old Swedish…”
‒ “Where do we get the idea of the flavor and color of Sweden when ancestors first came here? We don’t have that conversation much anymore; the problem to some seems to be that this matter is exclusive rather than inclusive … but if your ancestors are German or Italian, that’s the kind of costume you should make for a celebration ‒ to celebrate that heritage, so it helps us to celebrate our heritage. What we have then, in a way, are Lindsborg costumes, not Swedish costumes.”
‒ “To some, overall, Swedishness is an anchor, an attitude…”
And this:
‒ “We are having this conversation because we care for our heritage and want to move it forward. We welcome other languages and costumes and traditions. We’re inclusive, we embrace other cultures and histories in order to understand our own..”
‒ JOHN MARSHALL
