Finnish Swedish Heritage Day

Finnish Swedish Heritage Day (Swedish: "Svenska dagen", Finnish: "Ruotsalaisuuden päivä") is a general flag day, which is celebrated in Finland on November 6. The day celebrates the Finland-Swedish culture, and the bilinguality of Finland. [ [http://www.folktinget.fi/en/swedish_day.html Swedish Assembly of Finland: Swedish Day] ] The main celebritities are aired in the radio, and many smaller celebreties are held around Finland in schools. Usually, the song "Modersmålets sång" is sung, celebrating the mother tongue. The Finnish Swedish Heritage Day is celebrated on the same day that king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden died. He was killed at the Battle of Lützen in 1632.

The Finland Swedish Heritage Day was created in 1908, when the newly founded Swedish People's Party of Finland decided to celebrate a day for the Swedes. The intention was to strengthen the Swedish-speaking Finnish community. The reason why the day of the death of king Gustavus Adolphus was chosen was because this also was the time when the foundation of the empire of Sweden was founded. In the beginning, the celebreties largely circled around the king's persona. During the language strife of the 1930s the celebrations were overshadowed by street fights between Finnish and Swedish groups. Finnish-speaking students saw this day as a day for celebrating "aggressive imperialism". [ [http://www.sfp.fi/files/media/Historik-Historiikki.pdf Swedish People's Party: History] Read 10.3.2007.] During the Second World War, both sides stopped fighting each other and emphasized that both language groups were part of Finland, thus the celebration of the day spread outside the party politic world. Today, the day is led by Swedish Assembly of Finland. [ [http://www.yle.fi/opinportti/kouluportti/openpaja/ajankohtainen/juhlat/ruotsalaisuudenpaiva/tietoa.shtml Yle opinportti: Ruotsalaisuuden päivä, svenska dagen 6.11.] ]

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