Yet another phenomenon where children can enjoy their sweets only once a week.
I first learned about "Lördagsgodis" when I was with my Swedish ex-boyfriend. He has two young children then. One Saturday he took us to the supermarket and the kiddos just went nuts over at the plockgodis (Pick 'n' Mix) section. He then explained that Swedish children can only have their sweets once a week as they are not allowed to have any during the weekdays. Hmm...I thought it was interesting. It sounds like my Cheat Day.
Apparently, sweets (or candy) is a huge deal in Sweden. That explains why I noticed a rather big section of sweets in every supermarket, convenience store even at gas stations.
History of Lördagsgodis
Lördagsgodis started in the late 1950s in Sweden as part of a government project to prevent children from getting cavities according to realsimple.com . So did it really work? Who knows because godisar are just too irresistible even for an adult like me! Whether it really works or not, it is certainly a good motivation to look forward to Saturdays and curb that temptation to consume sweets on weekdays.
Let's break it down
The Swedes has this tendency of combining two or three words together to make a long, single word which I find it useful at times whereas quite confusing and challenging at other times. Imagine when you have to do a spelling test!! This makes the language unique and fun to learn. No pun intended here!
Lördag is Swedish for 'Saturday' which derived from the Old Norse word laugardagr which means 'bathing day' (Laug means 'pool' or 'lake' and dagr means 'day').
Godis means 'sweet' or 'candy'. It comes from the word 'godsaker' which literally means 'good things' or 'tasty things'.
'Godis' as a countable noun in modern Swedish
Singular: en godis (one sweet/candy)
Plural: flera godisar (many sweets/candies)
So, lördagsgodis means 'Saturday sweets/candy', a Swedish tradition of stock piling sweets on Saturdays.
If you prefer a healthier choice, you can opt for naturgodis (natural candy) such as dried fruits, nuts and seeds.
More yummy glossary:
Godsaker - good things or tasty things
Godisvägg - wall of candy/sweets
Plockgodis - candy/sweets for plucking
lösgodis - loose candy/sweets
naturgodis - natural candy/sweets e.g. nuts, dried fruits, seeds
smågodis - small candy/sweets
godispåse - candy/sweet bag
lagom - not too much, not too little; just right
Now that you know this, are you going to adapt this Swedish tradition in your household? Do you think it's a good idea? Leave us your thoughts and comments below.