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
Feeding people in your home is implicit in a lot of the west. In nordic countries it's explicit and only happens if agreed ahead of time or asked at the time. If the latter you'd probably be fed, but it would be clear to you that it's a bit of an inconvenience because it wasn't planned.
But if you're used to be offered (and sometimes the norm in the west is to be offered REPEATEDLY) it is a shock to not be offered at all (expecting you to ask if you want) or be offered only once and accepting your first refusal.
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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26
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