National Day Sweden

National Day Sweden Facts & Quotes

• In 1893 Sweden presented Midsummer Day as a Swedish national holiday, so for a time Sweden had two days dedicated to itself. Most Swedes prefer to use Midsummer Day as a patriotic holiday, having found the top-down organisation of National Day too trite.
• In 2013, a study from GFK suggested that only 27% of Swedes celebrate National Day. 33% of respondents couldn’t say why the day is marked on June 6 either.
• National Day sometimes falls on a Saturday, meaning that Swedes do not get an extra day off, unlike Whit Monday the holiday that National Day replaced.
• At 13:15 on National Day, 50,000 yellow and blue balloons are released from Skeppsbron, below the Royal Castle.
• Sweden is the home of my ancestors, and I have reserves a special place in my heart for Sweden. - Carl Anderson, Nobel Prize winning physicist.

National Day Sweden Top Events and Things to Do

• Attend the balloon release at 13:15 from Skeppsbron, below the Royal Castle, to see 50,000 yellow and blue balloons floating through the skies of Stockholm.
• Sing the Swedish national anthem, watch out for the umwelts.
• Eat some Swedish food, have you tried lingonberries? They are used in meatballs, pancakes, porridge and black pudding. Or pickled herring, the king of Swedish cuisine.
• Read a book from one of Sweden’s highly regarded authors. Our favourites include:
  1) The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
  2) Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindquist
  3) The Road by Harry Martinson
• Watch some Swedish TV shows or films. Scandinavia has produced many Netflix and boxset hits in the last five years. Our favourites include
  1) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo 92009)
  2) Let the Right One In (2008)
  3) The Girl Who Played With Fire Bridge (2009)

National Day Sweden References and Related Sites