Flag flying days in Sweden

By an ordinance issued by the Government of Sweden, a number of days of the calendar year are designated as official flag flying days.[1] This means that the Flag of Sweden is flown on all public flag poles and buildings. Hoisting of the Swedish flag on private flagpoles on these days is also strongly encouraged, but not mandatory.

The Swedish flag
Swedish flag flying from a flagpole

Flying of the flag is in general governed by the sun, but there are guidelines specified by military tradition. The flag is hoisted at 8 AM in the summer and 9 AM in the winter, and is lowered by sunset but never later than 9 PM. In parts of Sweden north of the Arctic Circle, the sun does not rise at all for some weeks during winter. One example of handling this is the practice of the Infantry Regiment in Kiruna, which during this period flies the flag from 9 AM to 11.50 AM.[2]

9 May is not an official Swedish flag day. It receives its status from being a flag day of the European Union of which Sweden is a member country. In Sweden, this is observed by flying the Swedish flag alongside the European Union flag on public flagpoles and buildings.

List of Official flag flying days

Date English Name Local Name Remarks
1 January New Year's Day Nyårsdagen
28 January Name day of the King Konungens namnsdag King Carl XVI Gustaf
12 March Name day of the Crown Princess Kronprinsessans namnsdag Crown Princess Victoria
First Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March Easter Sunday Påskdagen
30 April King's Birthday Konungens födelsedag King Carl XVI Gustaf
1 May May Day Första maj
29 May Veterans Day Veterandagen
Seventh Sunday after Easter Sunday Pentecost Pingstdagen 50 days after Easter
6 June National Day of Sweden and Flag Day Sveriges nationaldag, svenska flaggans dag Flag day since c. 1900, officially observed as national day since 1983, holiday since 2005
Saturday between 20 and 26 June Midsummer Day Midsommardagen
14 July Victoria Day Kronprinsessans födelsedag Crown Princess Victoria
8 August Name day of the Queen Drottningens namnsdag Queen Silvia
Second Sunday of September during election years Election Day Dag för val i hela riket till riksdagen Elections held every four years
24 October United Nations Day FN-dagen
6 November Gustavus Adolphus Day Gustav Adolfsdagen Battle of Lützen (1632)
10 December Alfred Nobel Day Nobeldagen The Nobel Awards Ceremony
23 December Queen's Birthday Drottningens födelsedag Queen Silvia
25 December Christmas Day Juldagen

See also

References

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