
''Lördagsgodis'' (Swedish) or ''lørdagsgodis'' and ''lørdagsgodteri'' (Norwegian), ( or "Saturday candy") is a Norwegian and
Swedish tradition of children eating
candy
Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...
or sweets mainly or only on Saturdays.
The tradition started as a health recommendation in 1959 following the government-funded
Vipeholm experiments, where patients of
Vipeholm Hospital for the
intellectually disabled
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...
in
Lund
Lund (, ;["Lund"](_blank)
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...
, Sweden, were unknowingly fed large amounts of sweets to see whether a high-sugar diet would cause
tooth decay
Tooth decay, also known as caries,The word 'caries' is a mass noun, and is not a plural of 'carie'.'' is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The resulting cavities may be a number of different colors, from yellow to black ...
.
Over time, what was once a recommendation has turned into a routine for both children and adults to eat candy on Saturdays, as an event to look forward to during the week. It is common for Swedes to buy ''lördagsgodis'' by weight from
candy walls in grocery stores. Candy consumption started increasing in
1980s
File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 335px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist Party of ...
and by
2010s
File:2010s collage v22.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was Death of Muammar Gad ...
, Sweden had the highest per capita candy consumption in the world. , the Swedish government, facing high candy consumption and in effort to improve public health was considering enforcing Saturday candy. Such deliberations were being met with criticism from groups who instead supported a cap on consumption.
References
{{reflist
Culture of Sweden
Saturday
Candy