Did You Know Sweden Has Its Own Version Of ‘Taco Tuesday’?

Sweden might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of tacos, but they’ve actually been a part of Swedish tradition for quite some time. The country’s version of Taco Tuesday is called “Fredagymys,” which translates to “Cozy Friday.” Also known as Taco Fredag (Taco Friday), Swedish families typically stay in, make Tex-Mex-style tacos, and watch TV.

Several key factors played a role in introducing Tex-Mex to Sweden and making tacos a Friday tradition. In the early 1980s, the popular American brand Old El Paso entered the Nordic market, teaching Swedes how to assemble tacos through instructional commercials aired during movie previews.

Before the deregulation of Swedish television in 1990, commercials could only be viewed in cinemas. The first televised commercial that would later become synonymous with Cozy Friday was for a chip brand called OLW. It featured a catchy jingle with the tagline, “Now it’s cozy Friday time,” and is widely credited with coining the term “Fredagsmys.” The tune became an iconic part of Swedish pop culture.

In response to the cuisine’s growing popularity, a Swedish spice company named Nordfalks, a seller of Tex-Mex products, changed its name to Santa Maria. It began airing commercials that promoted tacos as an alternative on Cozy Fridays, which previously involved smörgåsbord and potluck-style meals. The demand for Tex-Mex-style tacos subsequently grew, inspiring grocery retailers and restaurants to jump on the Cozy Friday bandwagon. School cafeterias even caught the Tex-Mex bug.

According to Atlas Obscura, Richard Tellström, a food historian and professor at Stockholm University, said, “Commercials were very important in showing how you could put together tacos because before that we didn’t have anything where you could put it together in front of the TV like that.”

Tex-Mex was embraced in Sweden, blending with the local culture and evolving into something distinctly Nordic. Variations like taco pies, taco soup, taco pizza, and taco burgers emerged. While Swedes kept traditional American taco ingredients like ground meat, soft and hard shell tortillas, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and guacamole, they also added unique elements like cucumber, peanuts, pineapple, and yogurt-based sauces. Cucumbers, in particular, are common in Sweden and are often pickled or flavored with vinegar and salt.

Fredagsmys was added to the Swedish dictionary in 2007, solidifying it as a cultural staple. Most people still prefer tacos, according to Tellström, though burgers, pizza, and processed snacks and sweets are common, too. Today, Sweden and Norway, which also observes Fredagsmys, are Europe’s biggest consumers of Mexican food per capita, based on market research. Tellström says that Cozy Friday is important because it allows Swedish families to come together, which is less common than it is in neighboring Noric countries.