Short answer
Fredagsmys, "cosy Friday", is the Swedish habit of marking the end of the working week with a relaxed evening at home, often with tacos or other easy food, followed by crisps, dip and candy in front of the TV. The word came into use in the 1990s and was added to the Swedish Academy's official word list in 2006. The crisp maker OLW made it even more famous with adverts and its own fredagsmys song from 2009.
What is fredagsmys?
Fredagsmys roughly means Friday cosiness: a calm, snug Friday evening at home. The week is over, nobody has to go anywhere, and the family or friends gather on the sofa. Ethnologist Charlotte Hagström of Lund University, who has studied the phenomenon, sums it up like this: tacos, pizza or takeaway, followed by popcorn and crisps on the TV sofa in front of Idol or På spåret.
There are no rules. The point is that it should be easy, a little indulgent and made for sharing. The food is quick to make, and the candy or crisps stay out all evening.
Where does the word fredagsmys come from?
The word combines fredag, Friday, and mys, being snug and cosy. According to reference works it came into use in the 1990s, probably first appearing in a newspaper text in 1994. In 2006 fredagsmys was added to the Swedish Academy's word list, SAOL.
That almost every Swede knows the word today owes a lot to advertising. In 2009 the crisp maker OLW began using fredagsmys in its marketing, together with the advertising agency Åkestam Holst. The adverts show happy people singing about the fredagsmys waiting for them. OLW itself says the films and the song quickly caught on with young and old alike.
Taco Friday: Sweden's Friday dinner
Tacos are the dinner most linked with fredagsmys, so much so that Swedish has a word for it: tacofredag, taco Friday. Swedish tacos are soft or crunchy tortillas with minced meat or a vegetarian filling, grated cheese, vegetables, sweetcorn and salsa, and everyone builds their own.
According to the newspaper Göteborgs-Posten, Tex-Mex food really reached Sweden in the late 1980s. The food company Santa Maria, which has a factory in Mölndal just south of Gothenburg, started selling vacuum-packed tortillas in 1993, and during the 1990s taco shells, taco spice and salsa became everyday supermarket items. Tacos suit Fridays for the same reasons fredagsmys exists: they are quick, everyone chooses for themselves and it is sociable.
Crisps and dip
After dinner the bowls come out. A typical fredagsmys spread looks like this:
| Part | What it is | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Crisps | Potato crisps, for example salted, barbecue or sour cream flavour | Buy two kinds and compare |
| Ostbågar | Crunchy corn snacks with cheese flavour | They colour your fingers, keep napkins close |
| Dip | Dip mix stirred into gräddfil, Swedish sour cream | Served cold |
| Candy | Pick-and-mix or bagged candy | Often shared from one big bowl |
| Drinks | Soft drinks or something else cold | Ideally a big bottle to share |
Dippmix is a sachet of dried seasoning that you mix with gräddfil. The makers suggest dipping crisps, but also finely cut vegetables, and serving the dip with food and salad.
Candy on the sofa
Fredagsmys and lördagsgodis, Saturday sweets, are two different traditions, but they often blend. Saturday sweets began as health advice in the 1950s, and today many people eat their candy on Friday evening already. Read more in our guide to Swedish candy.
The TV is part of it. In Charlotte Hagström's description it is entertainment shows such as Idol and the SVT quiz På spåret that people watch. A film or a board game works just as well.
Fredagsmys in a hotel room
You don't need a kitchen to do as the Swedes do. How to have fredagsmys as a visitor in Gothenburg:
- Pick a bag of pick-and-mix. Mix sweet, sour, salty and chocolate, and there is something for everyone.
- Choose a couple of bags of crisps and a big soft drink to share.
- Dip needs a fridge. Dip mix and gräddfil are sold in supermarkets. If your room has no fridge, go for crisps that are good on their own.
- Find a Swedish TV show, or stream a Swedish film. Tacos are often available as takeaway.
With us at Kungs Gotter, Kungsgatan 26, you'll find a wall of pick-and-mix, Swedish chocolate such as Marabou and Daim, crisps, snacks and cold soft drinks in the fridge. We are open every day. If you'd rather stay on the sofa, you can order to your door chocolate, bagged candy, crisps, snacks and drinks via Wolt within Wolt's delivery area in Gothenburg. Pick-and-mix is sold in the shop only.
Sources
- Lund University: Charlotte Hagström, Nu är det fredagsmys! Chips och gemenskap när vardag blir helg (Budkavlen 2012)
- Wikipedia (Swedish): Fredagsmys
- OLW: History (Swedish)
- Orkla via TT: Fredagsmys för alla (press release 2016)
- Göteborgs-Posten: Tacos går från fredagsmys till lyxkäk
- Estrella: Holiday Dippmix