And Sweden has opened up to that. We have a much beloved show were Americans of Swedish descent get to come to Sweden and learn about their heritage in a summer camp environment. And this Christmas there was a Christmas special where they celebrated Christmas in Sweden Fun fact, you might be (kind of) Swedish since until 1905 (I think) Norway was a part of Sweden and the Norwegian harbor Is closer geographically to some provinces in Sweden. So if the only thing recorded is which harbor your ancestors left from... But it doesn't really matter since most farmers and such didn't really have a strong national identity back then. And Finland was a country that Sweden owned for a while and treated horridly. l Almost every Swede has American relatives though most are not in touch. That is one reason why I really loved being in Wisconsin, it was different but at the same time similar. The nature was like Sweden in so many ways and the culture to. It was nice to see.
Yes, from what I understand of my heritage, my ancestors actually moved from Sweden to Finland during this period, although through the ensuing generations, they took on a more Finnish identity (surname Lahti, spoke Fin, etc). So if we go back far enough, I do have Swedish blood, which I love, because my biggest sports hero is a Swede (Niklas Lidstrom).And Finland was a country that Sweden owned for a while and treated horridly.
http://www.svtplay.se/allt-for-sverige i don't know if you can watch it outside Sweden but there it is.
Aww, that is amazing. I love Nordic history, because it is really full of power-structures and wars. Fun fact - countries with most wars against each other? Sweden-Denmark.