Flag 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 Days. This means that the Flag of Sweden is flown on all public flag poles and buildings. Hoisting of the Swedish flag on private flag poles on these days is also strongly encouraged, but not mandatory.
Flying of the flag is permissible from sunrise to sunset. In general this means from 8 AM to 8 PM. During winter the time from sunrise to sunset is often less than 12 hours in the whole of Sweden and during this time the actual daylight hours should be observed. In the parts of Sweden north of the polar circle the sun does not rise at all for some weeks during December. One example of handling this is the practice of the Infantry Regiment in Kiruna, which during this period flies the flag for one hour each day starting at noon.
9 May is not an official Swedish flag day. It receives its status from being a European Union flag day, and the fact that Sweden is a member country of the European Union. In Sweden this is observed by flying the Swedish flag side by side with the European Union flag on public flag poles and buildings.
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 | Birthday of the King | 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 | Sveriges nationaldag | Official holiday from 2005 |
Saturday between 20 June 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 |
10 December | Alfred Nobel Day | Nobeldagen | The Nobel Awards Ceremony |
23 December | Birthday of the Queen | Drottningens födelsedag | Queen Silvia |
25 December | Christmas Day | Juldagen |