Monday, June 9, 2008

Tangents from a Flickr Greeting...

This morning, Flickr greeted me in Swedish:

Got me to thinking about another way to say "hello" in Swedish: "Hejsan!"

And "hejsan" (pronounced kind of like "hay-son") has always made me think of Japan and the Japanese tradition of adding "san" to someone's name as a sign of respect.

And that reminds me of a couple of other (generalized) similarities between the two cultures. . .

Such as, both have traditions of removing outdoor shoes before entering someone's home.

Both countries are also known for producing quiet, reserved personalities.

I believe I had at one time noted other similarities, but I must've forgotten them. . .

Aha! Here's a link to a "presentation" of the similarities between the Swedish and Japanese cultures / national identity or mentality. It's based on (or taken directly from-- not sure which) a book I've read before-- Åke Daun's Swedish Mentality.

Note: Swedes may not agree with this calculation of their cultural characteristics. (g)