Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets) • Hacker News Board

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#21

Post by cristea » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:37 AM UTC

fleebee wrote: post #17

The intention was to prevent tooth decay by regulating candy intake. But it turns out that mandating a special weekly(!) day for candy consumption had the opposite effect. Children are naturally interested in things that are forbidden from them, and so when the restrictions are lifted they tend to eat large amounts of candy. Furthermore, restrictions and rules are not a good way of teaching moderation. Practices like…

"Lørdagsgodteri" here in Norway was always restricted though. I read your comment as if kids have unlimited access to candy, which I have never heard of. The idea is that the parents give the kids the amount of candy allowed, and they only do that in saturdays.

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#22

Post by impossiblefork » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:37 AM UTC

I too used to eat this. Some of the traditional candies aren't so sweet, but they're sweet enough and these days sugar is for the loon, so you can't really eat candy.

I guess I still eat pastries though, including prinsessbakelse.

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#23

Post by vincnetas » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:40 AM UTC

4gotunameagain wrote: post #6

This is one of the things I never understood about Nordic countries. Most of the people are so considerate about what they eat, good ingredients, nice compositions, making it look pretty as well.. ..and then they proceed to shove great amounts of that chemical sugary shit down their throats !

"and then they proceed to shove great amounts of that chemical sugary shit down their throats"

Where do you get that? Is eating normal (whatever that means) amount of candies only on Saturday is triggering you to do such out of proportion comparisons?

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#24

Post by diggan » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:45 AM UTC

4gotunameagain wrote: post #6

This is one of the things I never understood about Nordic countries. Most of the people are so considerate about what they eat, good ingredients, nice compositions, making it look pretty as well.. ..and then they proceed to shove great amounts of that chemical sugary shit down their throats !

To be fair, the Swedish candy is a lot better today than when I was growing up there, most of it is made with a lot less sugar and vegan in many cases, with natural flavors.

And there seems to be no candy that is as well made as Swedish/Nordic candy, we buy a suitcase filled with candy when we go back from Sweden, because Spanish candy is so far from the same quality...

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#25

Post by mrmlz » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:48 AM UTC

brabel wrote: post #15

triyambakam wrote: post #3

Interesting how well known Sweden seems to be in the world for its population; many countries with way more people but not popular like Sweden. I learned Swedish because I think its cool. Would love to learn other languages with even more speakers but Sweden has so much media and resources it's so easy.

They’ve got good jeans! Sorry just joking. They were big proponents of Eugenics before Hitler found out about it. But let’s be honest, a land of blondes is much more likely to be given media attention. Just like a war in Ukraine is a lot more talked about than a war in Sudan or Yemen. At least in the Western world.

Or you know - the myriad of world changing inventions, Nobel prize, insane amount of popular music, musicians and producers.

But yeah keep focusing on skincolor :)

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#26

Post by scbrg » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:51 AM UTC

vincnetas wrote: post #23

4gotunameagain wrote: post #6

This is one of the things I never understood about Nordic countries. Most of the people are so considerate about what they eat, good ingredients, nice compositions, making it look pretty as well.. ..and then they proceed to shove great amounts of that chemical sugary shit down their throats !

"and then they proceed to shove great amounts of that chemical sugary shit down their throats" Where do you get that? Is eating normal (whatever that means) amount of candies only on Saturday is triggering you to do such out of proportion comparisons?

> Where do you get that?

TFA: Candy consumption started increasing in 1980s and by 2010s, Sweden had the highest per capita candy consumption in the world.

I'd say that "highest consumption in the world" qualifies as "great amounts" :)

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#27

Post by TrackerFF » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:53 AM UTC

When I grew up (Norway), the portions were quite small. And we didn't have that big of a selection.

If you go to the super market today in Norway, you'll likely find tens to hundreds of different flavors. Same in Sweden and Denmark. Interestingly enough, I don't think this kind of candy ("smågodt", which you buy by the weight) is too popular elsewhere? At least I haven't seen it too much in convenience stores when I've been traveling or living abroad. In Norway it is ubiquitous, almost everywhere you go shopping.

Also, inflation has really hit chocolate hard here. One small bar of chocolate will easily cost 30-40 NOK, which is equivalent to around €3-€4. The big bars can cost up to €6! But he smågodt / pick'n mix prices have remained quite stable. So a lot of people will just buy chocolate off those. Much, much cheaper.

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#28

Post by imp0cat » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:55 AM UTC

Ma8ee wrote: post #19

fleebee wrote: post #17

The intention was to prevent tooth decay by regulating candy intake. But it turns out that mandating a special weekly(!) day for candy consumption had the opposite effect. Children are naturally interested in things that are forbidden from them, and so when the restrictions are lifted they tend to eat large amounts of candy. Furthermore, restrictions and rules are not a good way of teaching moderation. Practices like…

Children are naturally interested in sweets! You don't need to make them forbidden for that. And just you are allowed to eat sweets only one day of the week doesn't mean that they are allowed to unlimited amounts of it, and, in my experience, interested to overeat it. Why would it foster an unhealthy relationship with food to learn that some things are unhealthy and eaten only at special occasions? An unhealthy relat…

My limited experience seems to suggest the same thing the op wrote.

The more your hide something from kids, the more they crave it.

If there is no limit, they will eventually get bored of it.

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#29

Post by cess11 » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:56 AM UTC

web64 wrote: post #11

Here is an article in Norwegian that goes a bit deeper into the grotesque history behind the tradition of saturday sweets: https://www.nrk.no/kultur/xl/lordagsgodt-er-typisk-norsk-og-...

Here's an article in english about the experiments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipeholm_experiments

Re: Lördagsgodis (Saturday Sweets)

#30

Post by christkv » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:58 AM UTC

TrackerFF wrote: post #27

When I grew up (Norway), the portions were quite small. And we didn't have that big of a selection. If you go to the super market today in Norway, you'll likely find tens to hundreds of different flavors. Same in Sweden and Denmark. Interestingly enough, I don't think this kind of candy ("smågodt", which you buy by the weight) is too popular elsewhere? At least I haven't seen it too much in convenience stores when I'…

Super popular in Spain. We got tons of candy stores that sell by weight. You actually find less candy in super markets.