Flag Days

On our way to church yesterday, we discovered that the city was decorated with flags. Flags were out everywhere. Places that usually have flags such as the parliament buildings had bigger flags. We learned that November 6th is an important day in the lives of the Swedish speaking population of Finland.

The Swedish calendar provides for special flag days. Flag days are in some cases official holidays or the birthdays and namedays for the Royal family and informal holidays like Gustav Adolfsdagen (Gustavus Adolphus Day, November 6).

Gustav Adolfsdagen (Swedish for Gustavus Adolphus Day) is a general flag day, celebrated in Sweden and Finland on November 6 in memory of king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (Swedish: Gustav II Adolf), who was killed on this day in 1632 at the Battle of Lützen. Gustav Adolfsdagen coincides with the Finnish Swedish Heritage Day.
The date has been celebrated since the early 19th century. It is especially popular in Gothenburg, which was founded by Gustavus Adolphus, and in Uppsala, where the king donated a lot of money to the university.

Kustaa Aadolf is the king's name in Finnish.
Who knows. Maybe Gustav was the king of Finland in 1632. Poor Finland has been shuffled back and forth between Sweden and Russia for much of its existence.