Independence Day in Sweden is celebrated annually on June 6. This national holiday is also called Swedish Flag Day and has a long history, and two reasons for the date. The date is based on the coronation of the first Swedish king nearly five centuries ago and the adoption of the country’s constitution in 1809.
History of flag day
Swedes celebrate Flag Day (similar to “Independence Day”) in memory of the founding of the kingdom of Sweden by the coronation ceremony of Gustav Vasa on June 6, 1523 and the adoption of the nation’s constitution. on June 6, 1809. The day has been celebrated as Swedish Flag Day since 1916 “when national-romantic winds were blowing through the country and folklore societies and local history museums were established,” the website notes. , Sweden – Sverige , which is the name of the country in Swedish.
Although the day was observed across the country throughout the 20th century, the government did not officially recognize the National Day until 1983. Even then, the date did not become a national holiday until 2005, when the country first marked Easter Day. Independence / Flag Day as a national holiday, with schools, banks and public institutions closing for the occasion.
Low-key celebration
Local SE, a website that presents Swedish news in English, notes that the few Swedes really care about the holiday, probably because it was ‘artificially created’ and in fact replaced an existing holiday that had been celebrated at the same time. .
Still, Swedes make an effort to celebrate the holiday, as Scandinavian Perspectives explain:
“Every year the King and Queen of Sweden participate in a ceremony at Skansen, Stockholm’s open-air museum, where the yellow and blue Swedish flag is raised on the flagpole, and children in traditional peasant costumes present to The royal couple with bouquets of flowers. summer flowers «.
TheCulturalTrip.com agrees that Swedes have a laid-back view of the holidays, but are still ready to celebrate:
“On June 6, many Swedes stock up on alcoholic beverages, meet up with friends and celebrate having an extra day off. It’s not that they don’t have national pride; actually, it’s only in the nature of Swedes to do things a little more relaxed.
Holiday vacation
In fact, although the King and Queen of Sweden generally celebrate National Day at Skansen, the well-known museum in the nation’s capital, in 2017, they took a vacation from the holiday. Oh, they were still celebrating Flag Day, but not at home: they were on vacation.
They celebrated National Day in the small Swedish town of Växjö, where the royal couple were guests of honor and enjoyed the music of Joakim Larsson, a member of the Småland Opera. Don’t be afraid though: once the royals left, the music and fun of Flag Day continued, with plenty of activities for the kids and food and drink for the adults.
Although they may not be as patriotic to observe their independence day as American citizens, who reverently mark the 4th of July, for example, Swedes still like to celebrate, and National / Flag Day gives them a chance to do it.
