For the first time ever - the Swedish National Holiday IS a national holiday!

[Svenskaflicka]

Tomorrow is the 6th of June, the Swedish National Holiday. Up until now, this has been a day like any other monday, but this year, some clever politicians have decided to change Whit-Monday into an ordinary day, and instead make the National Holiday just that - a national HOLIDAY.

I'm against this. I've never been much for patriotism, and I think this is a really bad idea. What our country needs now is solidarity between Swedes and immigrants, not ANOTHER excuse to get drunk and feel superior because your name is Svensson and not Abdullahi.

If they'd create a National Solidarity Between Colors Day, I'd be in the front of the parade.

Tomorrow, I'll lock myself indoors and play Civilization until the day is over. Irony is a lovely thing.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Why 6th June? What happened then that makes it Swedish National Holiday?

 

[Svenskaflicka]

The king Gustav Vasa (in the 1500 or 1600, damned if I remember history class) either was born on this day, became king on this day, or died on this day. Or maybe all 3.

See? No-one remembers! No-one cares about an old king! Unlike Norway, who celebrate their independence day on their national holiday (their independence from the Swedes, ahem.. ), we have nothing to celebrate! It's just a plastic, fake holiday we've got because everyone else has one!

 

[Lauren Hynde]

LOL - OK, I see your point.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Swedish Flag Day - the elf-shaped lawn ornament of national holidays...

 

[Lauren Hynde]

The National Day of Sweden is celebrated on June 6 every year. The day was made into a national day by the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) in 1983, and was before that just known as Day of the Swedish flag. The tradition of celebrating the day began in the 1920s, in reverence of the crowning of King Gustav I of Sweden (Vasa) of Sweden in 1523, considered the foundation of modern Sweden.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

So, your national day is in celebration of you bastards having broken off the Kalmar Union. I'm not sure if that's such a great idea, so soon after the French and Dutch referenda.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

You just looked that up!!!

Well... atleast I get 2 right answers.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

You just looked that up!!!

Well... atleast I get 2 right answers.

Well, I had to look it up, but I already had an inkling. I studied your culture and history when I was learning Finnish.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

BLASPHEMY!

Swedes and Finns are not very much alike. Our languages comes from different language families (Swedish is actually more closely related to Persian than it is to Finnish), our cultures are different, our food can't be compared on the same day...

Well, atleast you didn't compare us to the Norwegians...

 

[Lauren Hynde]

BLASPHEMY!

Swedes and Finns are not very much alike. Our languages comes from different language families (Swedish is actually more closely related to Persian than it is to Finnish), our cultures are different, our food can't be compared on the same day...

Well, atleast you didn't compare us to the Norwegians...

There's no blasphemy. Finland was a part of Sweden for centuries, and Swedish is one of the official languages of Finland. When I studied Finnish culture and history, of course that a large part of it was actually Swedish history.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

My bad.

 

[Liar]

Well, atleast you didn't compare us to the Norwegians...

...who, incidentally, are more like us than any other nationality on the planet.

Anyway, I kind of like the idea of making the national day official. It doesn't have to be about brickheaded nationalism and isloationism unless we make it so. I live in a neighborhood full of "new" swedes, and they're all pretty excited about it. This is, at the end of the day, a pretty cool country. Not the least for it's growing diversity.

#L

 

[Lauren Hynde]

....they're all pretty excited about it.

Hell, it's an excuse to get drunk and party. What's there not to get excited about?

 

[Lovepotion69]

Well, I know I won't be celebrating it. I don't really care if it's a national holiday or not, but a part of me kinda agrees it should be. At the same time I don't feel very inclined to celebrate anything. Like Svenska said; majority of us Swedes hardly know what the hell happened to make 6 June our national day.

It will take a long time before Swedes will bother to celebrate it. We just don't have any attachment to the day really. In general I don't find Swedes very nationalistic, at least not so others notice. Maybe quietly nationalistic.

Maybe immigrants have a more positive attitude to celebrating 6 June as to them Sweden actually stands for something. It's their new home and they see the good stuff Sweden has to offer. The rest of us take it all for granted. Just a theory.

 

[Liar]

It will take a long time before Swedes will bother to celebrate it.

Well, it's an excuse to not go to work. Which I won't.