The tradition of Swedish Day was started by the Swedish People’s Party at the beginning of the 20th century.
Finnish flags are today in Salo, respecting Swedishness. ATTE KAJOVA
November 6th is the day of Swedishness in Finland, whose history stretches back to the 17th century. The day used to be better known as Gustav II Adolf‘s day.
He was the king of Sweden from 1611 to 1632, when Sweden slowly became a northern power with Finland joining it.
The king died on the 6th of November in a battle fought in Lützen, Germany, in connection with the Thirty Years’ War in 1632. For the first time, the day was shaped as the day of Swedishness, or as it is called svenska dagen, in 1908.
The tradition was started by the newly founded Swedish People’s Party, which wanted to bring unity among the Swedish-speaking population. Today, Swedishness Day also includes respecting Finland’s bilingualism and nurturing the Swedish language and its cultural heritage.
Swedish Nationality Day became a flag day in 1979. About five percent of Finland’s population are Finno-Swedes.
Sources: Board of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice.
The article was corrected on 6.11. 8:29 am: The Battle of Lützen was fought in 1632, not 1932, as the article erroneously stated earlier.
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