June 6th is Swedish National Day!
Before 1983, this Swedish holiday was called "Swedish Flag Day". Now, it's referred to as Swedish National Day or "Sveriges Nationaldag" (in Swedish). There are two historical events that are honoured on this day: Gustav Vasa being elected king (6 June 1523) and the adoption of a new constitution (6 June 1809). Even the Trams and buses have flags this week.
From what we've seen in Gothenburg compared to it's neighbor Norway's National Day, where Norwegians dress up in their traditional clothing, it's pretty chill over here. I'm sure in the nation's capital, Stockholm, it's a bigger deal with the Royal Palace and the Royal family. Of course, this year with the pandemic, it's probably a quiet National Day all around the country.
How should you celebrate?
- Perhaps a BBQ along with some other traditional Swedish foods like Pickled Herring and Potatoes.
- Enjoy a fika (coffeetime) outdoors in the sunshine at one of the many cafes in the city. or just at one of the beautiful gardens
- And don't forget your snacks to go with your coffee like Swedish Cinnamon buns, Strawberry cake or some delicious cupcakes (Thank you AweSum Cakes!)!
This year's Swedish National Day, is pretty special for us. Unfortunately, there aren't any official celebrations at the local city park due to the Pandemic. Why is this year, 2021 so different from other years? Well, this is the year we received our Swedish Citizenship!
It's still pretty new, so it feels strange to even say it. Sweden doesn't allow birthright ciitzenship like many other countries which meant our whole family had to apply. The application process varies by individual, but we were getting a bit disappointed every time we heard people who applied after us, receiving their citizenship only a couple months later. And here we were waiting over a year with no updates to our application status. When we eventually received it earlier this year, it was over 2 years from when we applied.
Note: There is an option to fill out a special form, "Notice to close case", to be put in the 'faster' queue. Which we ended up doing after 6 months.
The whole application process and waiting time at Migrationsverket (The Swedish Migration office) leave a lot to be desired (even pre-pandemic, wait times have been ridiculously long) and the majority can't do anything but wait. I'm so glad we don't need to worry about waiting any longer. Next step, getting our new passports and then traveling with them when it's safe again!! And maybe learning the Swedish National Anthem ;)
Happy weekend and Glad Nationaldag Sverige! If you're in Sweden, enjoy celebrating in the sunshine and remember, don't forget your snacks!
AweSum Cakes bakery
Gothenburg, Sweden
Check out AweSum Cakes website for more beautiful cupcake and cake designs.
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