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Flag days in Sweden

By Swedish law 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, however omitting to do so is no longer a punishable offence.

Flying of the flag is permissable 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 doesn't 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.

May 9 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.

     Official flag days  

Date English Name Local NameRemarks
January 1New Year's DayNyĺrsdagen 
January 28Namesday of the KingKonungens namnsdagH.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf
March 12Namesday of the Heir ApparentKronprinsessans namnsdagH.R.H. Princess Victoria
Moveable SundayEaster SundayPĺskdagen 
April 30Birthday of the KingKonungens födelsedagH.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf
May 1May DayFörsta maj 
May 9Europe DayEuropadagenEuropean Union flag day
Moveable SundayPentecostPingstdagen50 days after Easter
June 6National Day of SwedenSveriges NationaldagFlag day but not an official holliday
Third Saturday of JuneMidsummer DayMidsommardagen 
July 14Birthday of the Heir ApparentKronprinsessans födelsedagH.R.H. Princess Victoria
August 8Namesday of the QueenDrottningens namnsdagH.M. Queen Silvia
Third Sunday of SeptemberElection DayDag för val till riksdagenElections held every four years
October 24Day of the United NationsFN-dagen 
November 6Day of Gustavus AdolpusGustav AdolfsdagenBattle of Lützen 1632
December 10Alfred Nobel DayNobeldagenThe Nobel Awards Ceremony
December 23Birthday of the QueenDrottningens födelsedagH.M. Queen Silvia
December 25Christmas DayJuldagen 

See also: Holidays in Sweden, Namesdays in Sweden, National anthem of Sweden