Tuesday, June 06, 2006

National Holiday

Today is the National Holiday of Sweden, commemorating the day when Gustavus I became king in 1523, ending the Denmark-dominated union Sweden had been a part of since the 14th century. One hundred years ago to this day, the present day Swedish flag was officially hoisted for the first time, having previously had a mark for the union with Norway of 1814-1905.

The day also commemorates the enacting of the former constitution of Sweden, which was enacted on this day in 1809. This is a bit silly, since this constitution was replaced with another about 30 years ago.

It is customary for towns and cities of Sweden to greet new Swedish citizens welcome this day. Last year, our home town Örebro would have greeted Mum in this way, had she been a human. They do not greet dogs who have become registered in the Swedish Kennel Club, though. Mum was a little disappointed, she would have loved to have been given a lot of good food in the town hall. However, she thinks she got some revenge when the Örebro County Kennel Club, a regional division of the SKC, gave her a huge prize for her Swedish Champion title this winter. After all, becoming a Swedish Champion is a much larger feat for a dog than becoming a Swedish citizen is for a human; far from all dogs are good enough to become champions.

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