National Day of Sweden
National Day celebrations at Kungsträdgården in Stockholm, 2008
Official nameSveriges nationaldag
Observed bySweden
TypeNational day
Date6 June
Next time6 June 2024 (2024-06-06)
Frequencyannual

The National Day of Sweden (Swedish: Sveriges nationaldag [ˈsvæ̌rjɛs natɧʊˈnɑ̂ːldɑːɡ] ⓘ) is the national day of Sweden, observed annually as a public holiday on 6 June. Prior to 1983, the day was celebrated as the Swedish Flag Day (Swedish: Svenska flaggans dag). At that time, the day was named the Swedish National Day by the parliament of Sweden.[1]

History

King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia at Skansen in 2009

The tradition of celebrating this date began in 1916 at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, in honor of the election of King Gustav Vasa on 6 June 1523, as this was considered the foundation of modern Sweden. Some question the validity of this as a national holiday, as it was not observed as a holiday until decades later. However, the event signifies the end of the Danish-ruled Kalmar Union, so in a sense it is a marking of Swedish independence, though the event occurred so long ago that it does not have a strong a presence in the social consciousness as, for example, the Norwegian Constitution Day, Syttende mai.[2] Although the national day is celebrated on 6 June[3], it is actually wrong due to the Julian calendar which was in use before 1582, when the Gregorian calendar was introduced, and which (before March 1700) was ten days behind the Gregorian calendar; the anniversary of the election of King Gustav Vasa therefore falls on 16 June.

In 2005, it became an official Swedish public holiday, replacing Whit Monday. This change led to fewer days off from work (more working-days) as 6 June will periodically fall on the weekend, unlike Whit Monday, which was always celebrated on a Monday. Among newer traditions that have emerged since National Day turned red day is an invitation from the King to the public to visit large parts of Stockholm Palace all day without the usual entry fees.[4]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Day of Sweden.
  1. ↑ "Sveriges nationaldag". nordiskamuseet.se. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  2. ↑ Klara Bové, Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson. "Fler firar den svenska nationaldagen" (PDF). SOM-institutet. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  3. ↑ Röda Dagar
  4. ↑ Bové, Klara and Ekengren Oscarsson, Henrik, "Fler firar den svenska nationaldagen" in Larmar och gör sig till : SOM-undersökningen 2016 (PDF). SOM-institutet. 28 June 2017. ISBN 978-91-89673-39-7. Retrieved 15 December 2017. "Mellan 2011 och 2016 ökade andelen som firar nationaldagen från 25 till 31 procent."
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