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The Old Country Newsletter – Västgötaherrarnas uppror
Your Weekly Newsletter from Sweden
Philip Hannes
April 25, 2025
Good morning!
It’s Friday, April 25.
In 1529, a group of Swedish nobles and clergy from Västergötland stood up against King Gustav Vasa in what became known as the Västgötaherrarnas uppror — a failed rebellion aimed at stopping the Lutheran Reformation. On this day, April 25, they were forced to back down and submit to the king. The revolt fizzled, but its leaders paid a heavy price: some were captured and executed, many had to pay steep fines, and some unlucky people even had to flee to … Denmark. Gustav Vasa had once again outmaneuvered his opponents — and the Protestant tide rolled on.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Philip & Hannes
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Your Weekly Swede-ish
Nils T. Granlund
Nils Granlund, born in 1890 in Ljungby Parish, Sweden, emigrated to the United States as a child and became a pioneering figure in American entertainment. He is best known as the first person to broadcast a commercial radio show in the U.S., doing so as early as the 1920s.
Granlund worked as the PR director for Loew's Theatres, the predecessor of MGM, where he introduced new ways to market films, including live shows before movie screenings – an idea that quickly spread to theaters across the country. He was also one of the first to use "trailers" to promote upcoming films.
In addition to his work in film, he produced revues and stage performances in New York, where he collaborated with some of the biggest artists and entertainers of the time. Granlund helped launch the careers of famous names such as Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker, and his shows often blended music, dance, humor, and political satire.
Statistics you didn’t ask for
Each year on April 30, Swedes celebrate Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton) with large bonfires, choral singing, and festivities that mark the arrival of spring. The tradition, with roots in both pagan rites and Christian customs, is especially popular among students in university towns like Uppsala and Lund. In Uppsala alone, the celebrations attract over 100,000 visitors annually.
The following day, May 1, is International Workers’ Day, a public holiday in Sweden since 1939. It is often marked by political demonstrations, particularly by labor unions and left-wing parties. Participation has declined in recent years, but in 2019, before the pandemic, nearly 50,000 people across the country took part in May Day marches.
Could Sweden’s Cardinal Arborelius Be the Next Pope?
Attribution: Centro Televisivo Vaticano, via Wikimedia Commons
After the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, speculation has begun about who might succeed him. Among the names mentioned is Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius, a surprising but noteworthy candidate.
Raised in Lund, Sweden, Arborelius converted to Catholicism in 1969 and later became a Carmelite monk. In 1998, he was appointed bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm, and in 2017, he became Sweden’s first cardinal.
International outlets like Le Figaro and The New York Times have noted his potential as a papal candidate. His experience leading the Catholic Church in a highly secular country like Sweden, along with his calm demeanor and spiritual focus, are seen as assets.
Despite this attention, Arborelius himself considers it unlikely he would be chosen. He has expressed a desire to step away from high office and return to monastic life in southern Sweden, saying, “I think it’s very unlikely.”
Church historian Joel Halldorf suggests that Arborelius’s low-profile, faithful approach might appeal to cardinals looking for stability after years of reform under Francis. Still, other prominent figures are also in the running, such as Italy’s Pietro Parolin, the Philippines’ Luis Antonio Tagle, and Ghana’s Peter Turkson.
Former Vatican ambassador Ulla Gudmundson sees Arborelius more as a compromise candidate rather than a frontrunner, due to his relatively low visibility among the global cardinal community.
While Arborelius’s name is in the mix, most observers—including Arborelius himself—remain skeptical that a Swede will become the next pope. Nonetheless, his inclusion in the conversation marks a historic moment for Sweden and reflects the Catholic Church’s increasingly global outlook.
In other news
⛷️ Due to a severe lack of snow, ski-resort company, Skistar, is offering full refunds for ski trips this week at Sälen, Trysil, and Vemdalen under its snow guarantee policy. While the resorts remain open, warm weather may force more slope closures, prompting Skistar to activate the guarantee for only the second time in its history.
🚗 As spring approaches, many Swedes begin washing their cars, prompting the "Big Car Wash Weekend" campaign by Svenskt Vatten to encourage the use of proper car washes instead of washing on the street. Environmental inspectors warn that washing cars on the street releases harmful pollutants like oil, metals, and chemicals directly into waterways, harming aquatic life and potentially affecting human health.
📱 Bank-id, used by 8.6 million Swedes for digital identification, was hit by its most severe overload attack yet, causing a three-hour outage and raising concerns about society’s heavy reliance on a single service. Experts warn that similar attacks are likely to happen again and call for discussions on alternative solutions, including a potential state-issued e-ID to improve resilience.
Would you like to feel closer to Sweden? A perfect way to do that would be to have a look at Swedish broadcasts, either current or past. SVT Play is an online streaming service provided by Sveriges Television (SVT), the Swedish national public television broadcaster.
To watch it, one has to be in Sweden – or have access to a VPN provider that can connect to a remote server located in Sweden. Like NordVPN, which sponsors this segment of the newsletter.
By using NordVPN, you can access what SVT Play has to offer – including current news, documentaries about emigrants, live broadcasts from nature events, and much more – by simply connecting to a server in Sweden. Follow the link here to get 74 % off for your first two years and three months (!) of usage. By doing so, you also help support the distribution of this newsletter.
New Study Finds Wealth Gap in Sweden Now Comes With a 10-Year Expiration Date
Attribution: Wikimedia Commons
The richer you are in Sweden, the longer you’re likely to live—by over a decade, according to a new study that’s raising eyebrows and pressing policymakers. Researchers found that the life expectancy gap between the wealthiest and poorest Swedes has more than tripled since the 1960s.
The comprehensive study, based on population data from 1962 to 2021, shows that men with the highest incomes now live nearly 11 years longer than those with the lowest. For women, the gap has grown to almost 9 years. And it’s not just about income, the researchers say—lifestyle habits and access to health knowledge play a big role, too.
“Economic hardship makes it harder to make healthy choices,” said Fatuma Mohamed, a public health expert in Stockholm. She works directly with underserved communities, where expensive gym memberships and organic groceries aren’t exactly top of mind. “They want to know how to get a job, not how to eat kale.”
Even during Sweden’s welfare expansion in the 1960s–1980s, life expectancy gaps widened. The researchers argue that closing health divides requires more than redistributing income—it demands better communication, deeper understanding, and tailored support.
Word of the week
TRO [TROH]
Swedish Religious History – From Paganism to Secularism
Attribution: Pouazity3, via Wikimedia Commons
Sweden’s religious history spans more than a thousand years and is marked by profound transformations in faith, power, and national identity. From pre-Christian Norse beliefs to a Lutheran state church and, eventually, a secular and religiously diverse society, the role of religion in Sweden has undergone significant change.
Before the arrival of Christianity, the Swedes followed Norse paganism, worshipping gods like Odin, Thor, and Freya. Religion was closely tied to nature and everyday life, with rituals and sacrifices meant to ensure good harvests and peace. Uppsala was a major religious center, believed to host grand pagan ceremonies.
Christianity began to take hold in the 9th and 10th centuries, introduced by missionaries from both the Catholic West and the Orthodox East. King Olof Skötkonung, baptized around the year 1000, is often considered Sweden’s first Christian monarch. Over the following centuries, the Catholic Church gained a firm presence, and Sweden became part of Christendom under the Pope’s authority.
The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century marked a turning point. Under King Gustav Vasa, Sweden broke away from the Pope and adopted Lutheranism as the state religion. The Church of Sweden became a national institution under royal control. The Bible was translated into Swedish, and priests were expected to teach in the vernacular—strengthening both religious and national identity.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Sweden was a strictly Lutheran nation. Religious diversity was outlawed, and other faiths were not permitted to operate. However, the 19th century brought gradual change. Laws were passed allowing certain Christian dissenters, and eventually, the Jewish and Catholic communities gained legal recognition.
Religious freedom expanded further in the 20th century. The 1951 law on religious liberty allowed citizens to leave the Church of Sweden without joining another religion. In 2000, the Church was officially separated from the state, a clear move toward a more secular society.
Today, Sweden is one of the most secular countries in the world. While the Church of Sweden remains the largest religious body, its membership continues to decline. Meanwhile, immigration and legal protections have fostered growing religious diversity, including Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Buddhists, and others.
Sweden’s religious history is ultimately a story of transformation—from unity to diversity, from compulsion to freedom, and from religious centrality to modern secularism.