Good hospitality is considered an important thing in most cultures around the world. People ensure their guests are comfortable and fed properly. But if you think that is the norm, you would be surprised after reading this Reddit post that has caused quite a stir on the internet. As per this post, people in Sweden don’t feed their guests. A majority of people tried to reason why someone would not offer their guests food, while others found it absolutely unreasonable.
The Reddit thread asked people, “What is the weirdest thing you had to do at someone else’s house because of their culture/religion?” A lot of people commented on the post, but most of them turned out to be reactions to the comments that summed up the experiences of two users who went to their Swedish friends’ houses and weren’t offered food. u/Wowimatard wrote, “I remember going to my Swedish friend’s house. And while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready. And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate. That s*** was f****** wild.”
Another user, u/TeaRaveler, commented, “I slept over at a friend’s house. When we woke up, he said he was going downstairs for a few minutes. After about 15 minutes, I go on the stairs to see what is happening, and they’re eating breakfast. They see me and tell me he’s almost done and will be up there soon. I still think about that s**t 25 years later.”
People were quite baffled as to why someone would do that to a guest. An X user posted the Reddit thread with the caption, “Not here to judge but I don’t understand this. How’re you going to eat without inviting your friend?” He was not alone, as others were also of the same opinion. Another user, @Wearisomepup, chimed in, “Wow.. In Taiwan, the phrase for ‘How are you?’ and also used for ‘Hello’ directly translates as ‘Have you eaten?’” @BrandyKratz wrote, “Same in Polish and Irish homes too. Food fixes everything. ‘What? You broke your nail? Here, eat this soup’. ‘Broken heart? Have a pastry’. We cook every day but there is always enough for guests and probably half the neighborhood.”
Some Swedish people also took to the comments to explain this part of their culture. X user @antonk00 wrote, ” I’m Swedish. This needs clarification. 1) This is not common nowadays – no one I know does this and kids eat at our place all the time, and my kids at friends. The whole concept was a thing in the ’90s.”
Another person, @Um_Samira, wrote, “I wish people commenting that in their culture they always ‘cook for an entire army’ took into consideration that in Northern Europe, most women work full time outside the home. You leave work at 4 pm, hurry home, and have to have dinner ready for your kids by 6 pm at the latest.” However, people found this clarification unreasonable as they stated even their parents worked till 6 or 7 pm and still managed to have something even for unannounced guests.
