Alla hjärtans dag: Valentine's Day in Sweden

Valentine's Day in Swedish is Alla hjärtans dag, literally translated "All Hearts Day". Here in Sweden Valentine's Day is celebrated similarly to how we do it in the US but Valentine's Day is still a fairly new holiday here in Sweden. Around town many florist were selling bouquets and almost every candy shop, bakery and retail store was having a Valentine's Day blowout sale. I went to the train station to buy some tickets for my upcoming trip to Copenhagen and the desk agent even gave me some candy hearts. My favorite Valentine's Day gift, however, came from someone who doesn't even live in Sweden. Yes indeed, my wonderful boyfriend Randy, sent me a package filled with goodies (a self portrait, a puppy and a card) and believe it or not, it arrived EXACTLY on Valentine's Day. How sweet is that?

On Valentine's Day Eve the mayor of Växjö invited the international students to the castle for a reception and fika. We were able to walk all over the castle on a self-guided tour and they gave us free tickets to an upcoming symphony and break dancing competition at the Växjö Konserthus. Stay tuned, I can't wait to see Swedish break dancers and I'll give you all the updates!