Kunkleman 1 ‘Samuel Kunkleman Professor Raymond UWRT-1103-038 8 October 2015 History Related to My Family's Origin While the greatest portion of my ancestry traces back to Great Britain, my lineage goes back in some rather obscure way to Scandinavia, more specifically Sweden. Since Vikings are awesome and interesting to research, I have decided to learn and write about some of the history related to Sweden. ‘Sweden’s flag, a blue rectangle with an offset yellow cross, dates back to sometime in the ‘twelfth century. Each color symbolizes something different. Truth, loyalty, and justice are signified by the blue and generosity by the yellow ae Flag”). One of the most interesting things about the Swedish flag is the cross. This cross, commonly called the Nordic Cross is Gepicted on the flags of all four countries of Scandinavia, It represents the Christianization of the Scandinavian counties. Denmark was the first to convert to Christianity and there was some difficulty in converting the others but they all ultimately became Christian. Once it had its first Christian king, a king who tolerafed both ancient Norse and Christian beliefs, Sweden quickly accepted Christian beliefs (Stote). The religion was not forced onto them, Instead, the people were drawn to its teachings. ‘Sweden’s National Anthem has its own interesting story. What is considered the National Anthem was never officially named the Anthem by legislature but it has been accepted as such since the late nineteenth century. It was written to the tune of an old folk song and does not actually mention Sweden at all. The name of the song, “Sang till Norden” means Song of theKunkleman 2 4 agweder! ‘North and is directed towards all of Scandinavia (“nationalanthems.info”). Despite this, the people of Sweden were drawn to it so the song has become the unofficial National Anthem and is beloved by many. Works Cited Sone, Ryan, "The Long Goodbye to Scandinavian Paganism and the Christianization of Three Realms." Ancient Origins. Ancient Origins, 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2015. ‘. Swedes?» nationalanthems info.” nationalanthemsinfo. Ed. David Kendall, 22 Apr. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2015. . /[veish Flag." Sweden Flag,. Maps of the World, 13 Dec. 2012. Web. 7 Oct. 2015. ,