Traditions and Live Entertainment

December 16, 2016

In this blog post I want to talk about some of the holidays, celebrations, and entertainment that you can look forward to as an exchange student at Lund University.

Because Lund University is an incredibly old institution, there are some specific traditions and holidays here which lots of people look forward to. Starting at the beginning of every academic year is the Nöllning period for new Swedish students and study abroad students, which in the case of the Faculty of Engineering, is a full 4 weeks of competitions, dinners, and dances. As the semester gets on and the initial excitements starts to die down, there are a lot of festivities around Halloween and All Saints Day (the first Saturday of November) which is still a widely celebrated holiday when families remember the deceased and gather for a large meal together. One big Swedish holiday which I am very excited for is Saint Lucia’s Day, celebrated on December 13th as a way of staying cheerful and honoring the light of children during the short winter days. One last big holiday (especially for students in Lund) is the national holiday of May 1 and Walpurgis Eve the night before. As the end of the academic year closes in, students celebrate with bonfires and singing, and then the rest of the community gets together in the big city park on May Day to enjoy parades and great food.

While the holidays in Sweden are give everyone a chance to celebrate and take a break from their busy schedules, there is certainly a lot of fun to be had during the normal school week as well. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, the Student Nations at Lund University host a variety of events throughout the week, and sometimes these feature live music performances. The most popular of these is a monthly jazz club at one of the smaller nations, where students can enjoy a freshly cooked dinner and listen to jazz bands from all around Sweden play.

If you are looking for more events and concerts, you can find lots of options in Malmö or Copenhagen, which is a big advantage to living in Lund.

Jesse Morrow

Greetings! I am a Civil Engineering student in my 3rd year at Northeastern University, and my particular interest is the sustainable design of buildings and infrastructure, which it turns out Scandinavia does pretty well! After just finishing a co-op in San Francisco, working with the Building Technology group at an engineering firm called Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, my hope is to learn about sustainability and energy efficiency from the perspective of European engineers and designers. I was attracted to the exchange program at Lund University for 2 primary reasons- it is a very large research institution with many scientists and engineers working to solve any number of challenges, and the university is home to a large number of international students who are either studying abroad or completing graduate studies. As I will be living in student housing with all international students, I believe that I will be introduced to many cultures and ideas. Outside of my studies, I am a lover of the outdoors and spend much of my time hiking, skiing, biking, and rock climbing and I hope to find such adventures in the beautiful Swedish countryside.