Celebrate the Swedish National Day

Since 1893, Sweden’s national day has been celebrated on June 6 to commemorate Gustav Vasa’s election as king in 1523 and the 1809 form of government. Before 1983, this day was called Swedish Flag Day and it wasn’t until 2005 that the national day became a red holiday in the calendar. This means that there are plenty of opportunities to come up with something extra fun with family and friends during the day.

To make it easy for you, we have collected some National Day tips for the perfect National Day at Djurgården here:

The Maritime museum

Start the national day early and visit the Maritime History Museum, which traditionally offers a flagotta this morning.  The ceremony starts at 08.00 with a speech and flag raising by the general secretary of the Swedish Cruiser Club, Fredrik Norén. Museum director Mats Djurberg then raises the museum’s historical flags and is also invited to sing by Stockholm’s Allmänna Sångförening.

The Royal cortege

The traditional celebration at Skansen is always attended by H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and the entire Royal Family. To get to the Sollidenscenen at Skansen, they ride the beautiful national day procession through Stockholm. They leave the Royal Palace at 17.55 to arrive at Skansen at 18:30. The cortege offers beautiful carriages, the Royal Family in Swedish folk dress and beautiful music from the Life Guards.

The National Day Gallop

A more recent tradition is the National Day Gallop. Since 2013, Gärdet has been transformed into a fast-paced folk festival with equestrian sports in focus. Here there is something for the whole family to experience, take part in exciting gallop races together with music and a hat parade. Or why not bring the children to visit the children’s area filled with children’s activities, pony races and other fun.

Skansen

Since 1893, Sweden’s National Day has been celebrated at Skansen on June 6. A day filled with lots of fun activities to take part in, for both young and old. Stop and listen to the marching band play, ride a horse and carriage, make a flag, watch folk dancing or just settle down on the grass for a picnic in the greenery.

The Solliden stage at Skansen

In addition to numerous wonderful activities throughout the day, the national day celebration continues in the evening according to tradition at the Solliden stage in the presence of the royal family and with musical entertainment. There will be a speech to Sweden by King Carl XVI Gustaf, flag raising, fan distribution and national anthem. A broad collection of artists is also on stage.

Gröna Lund

National Day in all its glory, Gröna Lund has maxed out with an epic concert at 8:00 pm with the Swedish supergroup De Vet Du! De Vet Du has since its inception in 2010 delivered a string of hit songs and viral hits. With humor, hits and party, it will be a magical evening on the big stage inside Gröna Lund. It will be a national day party that you won’t soon forget!

Celebrate in the greenery

Royal Djurgården is filled with greenery and green grass areas, perfect for a cozy picnic to celebrate National Day with friends and family. Take a detour past Konsthallen’s bakery and shop, where there is a well-selected range of bread and buns straight from their own bakery. For those who are more in the mood for breakfast or lunch, it is also offered, both to take away or to eat on site. Skroten Matbod and Deli also offer a range of dishes and snacks to take to the picnic.

For the foodies

Many of Djurgården’s restaurants offer special menus that highlight Swedish food culture during National Day. Ulla Windbladh Wärdshus presents a three-course menu where Swedish classics are in focus. Here you can enjoy Djurgården toast, grilled sirloin steak and a lemon tarte with strawberry and rhubarb compote.

Inside Skansen, you will find Sollidens Matsal, which invites you to a classic Swedish sandwich table with seating from lunch to dinner. The restaurant is right next to Sollidenscenen, perfect in combination with food and show.

At our Spirit Museum, you have the chance to celebrate national day together with Nadja and try different schnapps. Here, a traditional Swedish OP and three brand new exciting Akvavit varieties are presented. You get to come along on a journey through history, together you travel from north to south in our elongated country. In addition to the tasting “How Swedish is Swedish?”, there are also sample trays in the Spritmuseum’s restaurant where you can try Swedish classics and, of course, sing the associated snap songs!

More about our National Day

Then visit the Nordic Museum’s website where they have gathered information about all the year’s celebrations, holidays, traditions, customs and practices. Here you can read more about Sweden’s National Day.Sveriges nationaldag.

At the Nordic museum, there is also the exhibition Traditions, which tells both about traditions that return every year and about those that are a part of life. Displays show details and history of, among other things, the midsummer celebration, Christmas, Easter, the cancer disc, baptism, confirmation, wedding and funeral. Read more about Traditions at the Nordic Museum here.här.

We update the page continuously with more exciting activities to take part in during National Day!