Re: "Cheers" indeed

Quote
RFL
Yes, you have provided the reference. It is a standard toast used in Scandinavian countries, one originally associated with warriors.

You know, Minnesota has a very Scandinavian image, and many Swedish and Norwegian immigrants gravitated here and also to Wisconsin and the Dakotas. They were mostly farmers seeking rich soil, and the weather and topography feels like home. (Not so much in the Dakotas.)

I am 100% Swedish and have lived here in Minny since college, '72. However, I grew up in the Chicago area.

Now, the strange thing is that, in point of fact, Scandinavians are not the largest ethnic group here. Germans are. By quite a margin. And there is a lot of German heritage in various Minnesota localities. Somehow, though, Swedes and Norwegians got their image going strong here, and the state has adopted a loosely Scandinavian identity. Go figure.