I ett reportage från tidigare i år lovordar BBC vår svenska allemansrätt och vårt nära förhållande till vår natur, något som inte minst i pandemitider blivit extra tydligt. Samtidigt får vi veta att själva uttrycket "friluftsliv" faktiskt är norskt, det sägs ha myntats och spridits av den norske författaren Henrik Ibsen på 1850-talet. Vi som känner norrmännens djupt rotade behov av att "gå på tur" blir knappast förvånade…

"During the pandemic, the value of spending time outdoors to reduce stress and enhance mental wellbeing (rather than just to keep physically fit), has become a mantra of governments and public health charities around the world. But these kinds of discussions date back centuries in Scandinavia and provide further context for Swedes’ love of nature.

A concept called friluftsliv, which translates as "open-air living", was popularised across the region in the 1850s, after the Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen advocated spending time in remote locations as a form of relaxation. "It's kind of very close to what we mean nowadays by mindfulness," Margaryan explained. "So it is a search for a deeper connection to the landscape and being in nature and going into this very self-reflexive, meditative mood."---