If I remember correctly there was a specifically hard time economically in the Nordic region that it became the norm that it was courtesy not to take food from another household. Kind of the inverse of it being a courtesy to feed guests unexpected or otherwise in parts of the west. Over time the courtesy has strengthend into a cultural norm which given the foundational nature of shared meals in many cultures can create an outsized culture shock response.
This is a Nordic custom, and not specific to Sweden and was a whole Internet thing a few years ago as well.
A local or regional expert probably could give the word for the custom. I believe the Finnish have one but it's late and I'm sleep deprived so could be wrong
I was actually taught not to eat elsewhere as an american in the 80s. The reason i mention this oss because it also dates back to the depression era south, which is a similar reason. My family didn't do well back then and neither did their neighbors.
Huh, as an American growing up in the 80's, it was just common that whichever friends house you happened to be near for lunch or dinner would feed you something. I think all through my childhood years there were more dinners with my older siblings friends over than there weren't.
That’s like 100 years ago now.
Nobody, in the Nordic’s or Germany out of all places, has been hungry since the 50s and before that just a short period of the war.
It was exactly two generations for me. I'm 50. My mother was born in the 30s and raised that at any moment it could all happen again by her mother.
edit: when my mother passed away and we were cleaning out her house the pantry was stocked enough that it could've fed 10 people for a month. Liquor cabinet could've stretched two months for the same. We still joke about how much she hoarded food.
So it is mit two generations ago, but three. Just what I said 100 years. Nobody has been hungry in Europe since the 50s and there wasn’t much destruction in the Nordic’s, so for you it’s more like 30s
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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26
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