Celebrations of the Swedish national day become more and more popular. Nowadays, about every third Swedes celebrates their nation. Originally the June 6th was called the “Swedish flag day”, svenska flaggens dag. First in 1983 it became the national day of Sweden. Since 2005 it has officially become a public holiday.
Why do Swedes celebrate their national day?
Swedes celebrate it in memory of the election of the nations founding father, Gustav Vasa, on June 6th, 1523.
My Swedish national day experience
This year, in 2017, I went to the central park of Växjö, called Linnéparken, where the King of Sweden was invited to to hold a speech and celebrate together with the Växjöbo (citizens of Växjö). Never before I was able to see the King and Queen of Sweden in real life. Which made it even more exciting to finally see them and take pictures and videos (see below).
The weather was excellent. Swedes waved their little flags. The Swedish national anthem was sung, of course. And politicians held speeches about regional achievements. Then finally it was time for the King to step on stage.
Here is his speech (in Swedish) including the part with the Swedish national anthem.
When the king left the venue
More about …
- Swedish culture & traditions
- How to learn the Swedish language
- Traveling to Sweden
- Swedish royal family
- Swedish flag days
