Sweden's National Day

Despite its very special position, Sweden's national day has not actually been a holiday for very long. But at the same time, it has its ancestry that stretches back several hundred years in time. How it is celebrated, on the other hand, varies greatly between different places in Sweden, and in a way its existence is still controversial.

We have taken a deep dive in Sweden's national day.

Old Sweden but modern tradition

Internationally, Sweden is one of the countries that has been united the longest. It is actually one of the oldest kingdoms in the world. But despite this, Sweden's national day is a fairly new phenomenon. It was not until the end of the 19th century that it was decided to celebrate Sweden as a united kingdom.

Today's history is interestingly closely linked to Skansen. The idea with Skansen has always been to represent a kind of living miniature of Sweden, which means that from the very beginning there was an idea to focus on Sweden as a nation state.

When it was decided in 1893 to celebrate Sweden, it was decided to give feedback to June 6, 1523 when Gusta Vasa became king and also a symbol of a united Sweden.

A fairly new holiday

Although the celebration of Sweden's national day now extends more than a hundred years back in time, it was not until 2005 that it became a public holiday. It makes the day an exciting and both new and old phenomenon.

The celebration varies greatly between different places in Sweden. But as flag day, it is a given to hoist the Swedish flag. Unlike other holidays, there is really no real template for how the national day should be celebrated. Skansen in particular continues to be a common denominator and this is also where a large part of the celebration actually takes place. Whether the day will gain greater broad popular support, however, remains unclear.

Christmas Day and Christmas Eve

Monday and Christmas Day are two very established holidays in the common Western culture. Its history is closely linked to the growth of the church but is celebrated by a very large number of people without any closer ecclesiastical connection. For many in Sweden, these days are mainly characterized by a kind of calm after the storm, where you spend time enjoying the peace after Christmas and focusing on the present.

But what are these days about? We have taken a closer look at Christmas Day and the second day of Christmas.

Christmas day

Christmas Day is originally a Christian holiday that intends to celebrate the birth of Jesus and therefore takes place on December 25 every year. In modern times, however, Christmas Day has become a symbol of the common Christmas celebration which is characterized by fir trees, candles, ornaments and general decorations.

The traditional celebration is characterized by church mass in the evening that extends beyond midnight and marks the transition of Christmas night. That is why it is also called the Christmas night fair. For many people, Christmas Day is mainly characterized by being the day after Christmas Eve and therefore marks rather a slow end to the Christmas celebration, rather than a particularly significant holiday. This also coincides with Nordic tradition where the day before Christmas was considered the most important.

Second day of Christmas

Christmas Day is the day that occurs after Christmas Day. It is often also called the second day. It occurs the day after Christmas, and is thus the second day after Jesus' birth. In many parts of the world it is a holiday, but how it is celebrated varies greatly. In Sweden, it has typically meant a rather low-key celebration that is mainly about enjoying the peace after an often hectic Christmas.

In many countries where English is spoken, the second day is called Boxing day. Boxing day is a public holiday in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, among others. In the US, it's an unofficial full day. Just as with the second day falls on December 26th.