The hope for Sweden is that all be included, but like everywhere this is a struggle at times, the system doesn't always work. The history of the day (see below) suggests that it is a day that celebrates Sweden's foundation but perhaps we could also celebrate it's future - one where everyone regardless of skin tone, religious affliation, mother tongue, or political party - feels welcome. There are worrying and scary things happening across Europe, see http://www.thelocal.se/20140310/stockholm-school-hit-by-nazi-graffiti-attack for example, but in Sweden people are standing up against these trends, read this article as an example: Rally against racism. The Swedish National Day is rather new, starting in 1983 (previously it was called "Swedish Flag Day") so why not work it into something more meaningful for today? More background here, Swedish National Day
The tradition of celebrating this date began 1916 at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, in honour of the election of King Gustav Vasa in 1523, as this was considered the foundation of modern Sweden.
Some question the validity of this as a national holiday, as it was not observed as a holiday until decades later. However this event does signify the end of the Danish-ruled Kalmar Union, so in a sense it is a marking of Swedish independence, though the event occurred so long ago that it does not have as strong of a presence in the social consciousness as does, for example, Norway's Syttende Mai (17 May). - From Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment