Swedish Culture Day in Finland (06/11)

Swedish Culture Day (Finnish. Ruotsalaisuuden päivä, Swede. Svenska dagen has been celebrated everywhere in Finland since 1908 annually on November 6, and since 1979 it has been a national holiday. This day is also called flag day (this is the name given to holidays and memorable dates in honor of which the national flag is raised in places established by law), dedicated to Sweden and Swedish culture. It is timed to coincide with the date of death of the Swedish monarch Gustav II Adolf, whose reign is considered in his homeland to be the heyday of statehood.

This is a celebration of the culture of Swedish-speaking Finns and their right to use their native Swedish language in Finland. Despite the fact that the Swedish population in Finland is only about 6% (their main place of residence is — Åland Islands), Swedish, along with Finnish, is the state language in the country.

The most famous representatives of Swedish culture are — writers. The great August Strindberg and the world famous children's writer Astrid Lindgren, author of the children's bestsellers «Peppy Longstocking» and «Baby and Carlson», Carl Michael Bellaman, little known outside the Scandinavian countries, Wilhelm Moberg, writer of the 20th century, who received a national award for his work «Immigrants and emigrants». Carl Linnaeus, an 18th-century scholar, was the first to catalog plants by assigning them Latin names.

No less famous is the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the first patron of the Nobel Institute and the founder of the international prize.

Contemporary Swedish culture attracts international attention not only in traditional fields such as literature and fine arts, but also in relatively recently recognized art forms such as design, fashion, pop music and gastronomy.

On the holiday itself, many cultural events take place in Finland, where famous Swedish figures are remembered, national songs are sung, exhibitions, concerts, literary evenings and festivals are attended.

The holiday coincides with Gustav Adolf Day celebrated at the same time in Sweden.

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