National Day of Sweden, or the Swedish Flag's Day (Sveriges nationaldag or svenska flaggans dag) is a national holiday observed in Sweden on June 6 every year.
The day was made into a national day by Riksdagen, the Swedish parliament, in 1983, before which it was just honored as "the Swedish flag day".
The tradition of celebrating this date began in the 1910s at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, in honour of the election of King Gustav Vasa in 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 this event does signify 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 as strong of a presence in the social consciousness as does, for example, Norway's Syttende Mai (17th of may).
In 2005 it became an official Swedish public holiday, taking that honour from Whit Monday. This change led to fewer days off from work (more working-days) as the 6th of June will periodically fall on the weekend, unlike Whit Monday, which was always celebrated on a Monday. This has in turn led to complaints from some Swedish unions.
Flag of Sweden
The flag of Sweden dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to be inspired by the Coats of Arms of Sweden, which feature three yellow crowns on a blue background, and modelled on the Danish flag, the Dannebrog. King John III took the form of the current Swedish flag into use in 1569. Prior to this, a similar flag appeared in the Coat of Arms of John's duchy, which is today southwest Finland.
The Sweden Flag is one of the national symbols of Sweden . The flag of Sweden was officially adopted on June 22, 1906.
How are we going to celebrate the National Day of Sweden? Well, we will be busy in the camp because we have guests, but probably on Sunday afternoon we will go for a little sightseeing and take BuBu into a playground, of course.
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