Sweden Today:

Swedish Embassy in Turkey reviews security / Sweden reacts to Berlin attack / Thousands of santas / Christmas present hunt / Sleeping overnight at Ikea  

  • Almost all Swedes want to be little Santas, according to a study from Svensk handel - most Swedes prefer giving over receiving “julklappar” (Christmas presents). Two friends in Arvika, Sweden are living proof of the study.

  • Swedish Embassy in Turkey reviews security
    (World) In response to the assassination of Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov in Ankara on Dec. 19, the Swedish Embassy has ordered all staff to remain at home. Security officers will meet with security personal from other European embassies and a subsequent meeting with Turkish authorities is likely. The U.S. Embassy and the art gallery where Karlov was shot and killed is located 800 meters from the Swedish Embassy.

  • Celebrate the art of giving. Two friends in Arvika, Sweden are making someone happy every day by hiding a gift somewhere in the town center ...

  • Sweden reacts to Berlin attack
    (National) Foreign Minister Margot Wallström has condemned the Dec. 19 attack at the Christmas market in Berlin, and says it is important to be prepared. "We have had a strategy against terrorism for the last year and a half, and we are working actively against anything that may pose a threat,” she told Swedish Radio. The attack in Germany will not result in a higher threat level in Sweden, according to security agency Säpö.

  • Thousands of santas
    (Culture) Siv and Bertil Hansson have been collecting Santa figurines since the 1980s. Prior to the holiday season they are in over 70 containers, but decorating begins before the first of Advent. The Hansson home is a magical sight to behold with a vast assortment of plastic, porcelain, plaster, or fabric santas that are displayed inside and outside the house. They have been numbered, photographed and cataloged, and thus far the Hansson’s have amassed 3935 figurines, all of them different. Ho-ho-ho

  • Christmas present hunt
    (Holiday) Friends Texas Flygh Johansson and Jessica Johansson have designed a Christmas present scavenger hunt in Arvika. Wishing to make someone happy, every day the two hide a gift somewhere in the town’s center and provide clues via social media on how and where to find the present. Gifts include items the girls have purchased themselves such as candy, coffee packets, etc. Residents are pretty excited and are out looking for gifts each day. Both girls have been working with children and youth, but felt this Christmas they wanted to include something nice for adults as well.

  • Sleeping overnight at Ikea
    (Lifestyle) Two 14-year-old girls were found by security guards shortly after 6 a.m. inside Jönköping’s Ikea store on a recent Saturday. Spending the night in Ikea is becoming a trend fueled by social media but police and Ikea take the event seriously and classify it as trespassing. The Jönköping store has not pressed charges against the two girls, instead opting for a serious talk with parents. Security will be stepped up at Ikea locations across Sweden, however.