The exact age of the Swedish flag cannot be ascertained. However, first historical evidence dates from the 16th century ...

The exact age of the Swedish flag cannot be ascertained. However, first historical evidence dates from the 16th century. Presumably, the Danish flag served as model for the pattern, whereas the blue and yellow colours probably can be traced back to the colours of the national coat of arms. June 6 has been celebrated as Swedish Flag Day since 1916, but it was not until 1983 that it officially became the National Day.

There are about 15 specified flag days, among them birthdays of members of the royal family, May 1, the day of the parliamentary election, UN Day on October 24, and Nobel Day on December 10.

The lyrics of the Swedish National Anthem »Du gamla, Du fria« (You ancient, you free) were written by the folklorist and ballad writer Richard Dybeck (1811-77) and set to a folk tune from the province of Västmanland ...

The lyrics of the Swedish National Anthem »Du gamla, Du fria« (You ancient, you free) were written by the folklorist and ballad writer Richard Dybeck (1811-77) and set to a folk tune from the province of Västmanland in the middle of the 19th century. At the turn of the 19th century, the song was so popular that over the course of time it came to be generally accepted as the Swedish national anthem. The song is a festive hymn which alludes to former times and is a homage to the freedom and beauty of the nature of the North.

1. Du gamla, Du fria, Du fjällhöga Nord
Du tysta, Du glädjerika sköna!       
Jag hälsar Dig, vänaste land uppå jord,      
Din sol, Din himmel, Dina ängder gröna.      

2. Du tronar på minnen från fornstora dar,
Då ärat Ditt namn flög över jorden.
Jag vet att Du är och Du blir vad du var.
Ja, jag vill leva, jag vill dö i Norden.

3. Jag städs vill dig tjäna mitt älskada land,
din trohet till döden vill jag svära.       
Din rätt, skall jag värna, med håg och med hand,     
din fana, högt den bragderika bära.

4. Med Gud skall jag kämpa, för hem och för härd,
För Sverige, den kära fosterjorden.
Jag byter Dig ej, mot allt i en värld
Nej, jag vill leva, jag vill dö i Norden.

Since 1983, National Day has been celebrated on June 6, the anniversary of the election of Gustav Vasa as King of Sweden in 1523 and the promulgation of a new constitution in 1809 ...

Since 1983, National Day is celebrated on June 6, the anniversary of the election of Gustav Vasa as King of Sweden in 1523 and the promulgation of a new constitution in 1809.

The Swedes have a somewhat reserved attitude towards the national state. They are proud of their country, but seem reluctant to demonstrate this pride. Every year, the King and Queen take part in a ceremony at Skansen, Stockholm’s open-air museum, where the yellow and blue Swedish flag is hoisted, and children in traditional folk costumes present bouquets of summer flowers to the royal couple. Also, a special ceremony welcoming new Swedish citizens is held on National Day.

Previously, June 6 was not a public holiday, and for many people the only sign that this was a special occasion was the decoration of buses with Swedish flags. In 2004, the Swedish parliament voted to make it a public holiday.

Christmas is called Jul in Swedish ...

Christmas is called Jul in Swedish.

Advent season
During the Advent season people bake pepparkakor (gingerbread cookies) and decorate the house for Christmas. Every Sunday, an additional Advent candle is lit, and each day another door of the Advent calendar is opened.

During the Advent season, glögg (a kind of hot wine punch with almonds, raisins, and spices) is a popular drink. On December 13 St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated. Prior to that there is a Lucia competition in every community. Through a newspaper photo contest, a young woman (with long, preferably blond hair!) is elected. She becomes the leading character of the procession and, wearing a crown of lighted candles, goes with her entourage to schools, homes for the elderly, or other central social institutions. Coffee and lussekatter (Lucia saffron buns) are served. At home, people celebrate early in the morning with coffee and saffron pastries.

On December 23, the uppesittarkväll (late night), people wrap presents and write short rhymes that go with the presents.

Christmas Eve
The Christmas tree is decorated with crystal balls, tinsel, and lights. The inside of the house is decorated with Christmas curtains at the windows and red table cloths, candles, straw figures, and gnomes. The most important dishes of the Christmas meal are ham, köttbullar (small meat balls), sausage, rice pudding, and herring. Julmust, a special soft drink, and Christmas beer are served as beverage along with the food. The herring is served with schnaps. After the festive buffet Jultomten (Santa Claus or Father Christmas) comes and distributes the presents.

Christmas Days
Many Swedes attend a church service early on Christmas morning. Usually this day is spent with the family, and leftovers from the bountiful Christmas Eve buffet are eaten. This is also true for the second day of Christmas.

An important day in Sweden is January 13, also called Tjugondedag Knut. People dance and the Christmas tree is taken out of the house on this day at the latest.

Easter is called påsk in Swedish ...

Easter is called påsk in Swedish.

At Easter time, birch twigs decorated with feathers in all colours of the rainbow displace the greyness of late winter at Swedish markets. Their models are the colourful »palm leaves« that have long been part of Palm Sunday celebrations in Central Europe, but they also trace back to a native custom: On the morning of Good Friday the patriarch chastened his servants with the »Easter birch« – however without feathers – to remind them of the castigation of Jesus.

Easter decorations include yellow daffodils and, of course, birch twigs decorated with coloured eggs, small hand-crafted witches and chicks, etc. To this day, the Easter eggs are dyed with onion peels, spikes, and birch leaves which – when bound around the eggs and boiled together with them – leave pretty patterns on the shell.

Foods associated with the Easter holiday include salmon, which is traditionally served on Good Friday, and Easter lamb.

Following old Easter customs, little girls paint their faces and dress up in long skirts and headscarves and go from door-to-door with a coffee pot or basket, hoping the adults will fill them with coins and sweets. The girls call themselves Easter hags or Easter witches, thereby bringing the witches to mind who, in Swedish popular belief, flew to Mount Blåkulla (the Swedish equivalent of German Brocken Mountain) together with the Devil around Easter time. To this day, fireworks explode during Easter night and Easter bonfires are lit to keep the witches at arm’s length in this tried-and-tested manner.  

At midsummer the Swedish summer is a lush green, the nights are light – and the lightest of them all is midsummer night. In the northern part of Sweden the sun never sets ...

At midsummer the Swedish summer is a lush green, the nights are light – and the lightest of them all is midsummer night. In the northern part of Sweden the sun never sets. The day before midsummer – always a Friday – is traditionally celebrated in the countryside. People start the day by picking flowers and binding wreaths for the midsummer maypole. The maypole is raised in an open spot, and traditional games and ring dances are performed around it – fun for children and adults alike. Teenagers between these two age groups tend to stay out of it and wait for the evening’s more riotous entertainment.

A typical Midsummer menu features herring, boiled new potatoes with dill and sour milk cream with chopped red onions. This is often followed by a grilled dish of some kind, such as spare rib or salmon, and for dessert the first strawberries of summer, with cream. The traditional accompaniment is a cold beer and schnaps, preferably spiced.

Midsummer is an occasion invested with a certain nostalgia. Deep inside, Swedes are all agreed on what it should look like and how it should proceed. So after dinner, many people still want to go out dancing, just like in the old days. Preferably on an outdoor dance floor surrounded by birch trees, beside a lake as the evening mist settles and the sound of the orchestra echoes back from the rocky hills on the opposite shore.

Like whitsun, midsummer is a popular time of year for weddings and christening ceremonies. Swedes still like to wed in a country church with a flower-bedecked, arched entrance and beautiful hymns. Midsummer day was originally celebrated on the 24th of June, in commemoration of John the Baptist. In 1953 the holiday was moved to the following Saturday. Excerpt from the publication »Celebrating the Swedish way – traditions and festivities« by Po Tidholm and Agneta Lilja, published by the Swedish Institute in Stockholm.

Sweden is a country with good natural conditions for sports. During the winter people go skiing and ice skating, and during the summer all water sports, such as sailing and canoeing, are practised...

Sweden is a country with good natural conditions for sports. During the winter people go skiing and ice skating, and during the summer all water sports, such as sailing and canoeing, are practised. Sweden also has the »Right of Public Access«. Approximately one third of the population is a member of one of the 22 000 sports clubs or 11 000 corporate sports clubs.

A relatively new sport in Sweden is innebandy (floorball in English or Unihockey in German). Innebandy was first played in Gothenburg in the 1980s. The aim of this indoor sport is to score as many goals as possible. Each of the two teams consists of five players and one goalkeeper. Innebandy is an excellent school sport, since there are different variations of the game and the individual prerequisites of the students can be taken into account. Furthermore, the rules are very easy to learn.

Innebandy in Sweden: www.innebandy.se