Finnish Swedish Heritage Day
Finnish Swedish Heritage Day (Swedish: Svenska dagen, Finnish: Ruotsalaisuuden päivä) is a general flag day, which is celebrated in Finland on November 6. The day celebrates the Finland-Swedish culture, and the bilinguality of Finland.
The main celebrations are aired in the radio, and many smaller celebrations are held around Finland in schools. Usually, the song Modersmålets sång is sung, celebrating the mother tongue. The Finnish Swedish Heritage Day is celebrated on the same day as Gustav Adolfsdagen in Sweden, the day that king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden died. He was killed at the Battle of Lützen in 1632.
History
The reason why the day of the death of king Gustavus Adolphus was chosen was because this also was the time when the empire of Sweden was founded.In the beginning, the celebrations largely circled around the king's persona.
During the language strife of the 1930s the celebrations were overshadowed by street fights between Finnish and Swedish groups. Finnish-speaking students saw this day as a day for celebrating "aggressive imperialism". During the Second World War, both sides stopped fighting each other and emphasized that both language groups were part of Finland, thus the celebration of the day spread outside the political spectrum. Today, the day is led by Swedish Assembly of Finland.
More history (Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Fundamental Linguistic Rights
The administration of Finland is bilingual by law. All Acts are made and published in both Finnish and Swedish, and all regulations and decrees are also issued in both languages, meaning that both language versions are equal. Linguistic rights are guaranteed in the Constitution, according to which the national languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish.
As such, public authorities are required to provide for the cultural and societal needs of Finnish- and Swedish-speaking populations on an equal basis. This means that the languages are formally equal, but it also assumes that the real equality between Finnish- and Swedish-speaking populations is secured. The regulation is of particular significance when it comes to the provision of important social services, education, information or healthcare in Finnish and Swedish.
On ThisIsFinland web-pages you can read How to be Finnish in Swedish(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)