Today, June 6th, is holiday to celebrate Sweden's National Day. This day became the Swedish national day in 1983. It was previously known as Swedish flag day. The day marks the coronation of King Gustav Vasa in 1523. This king defeated the Danes and established a more centralised government as well as Lutheranism in Sweden. He is widely considered the father of modern Sweden. This day also marks the adoption of a new constitution in 1809.

The Swedish Riksdag (parliament) only designated this day a public holiday in 2005, so it's very new and many Swedes still don't quite know what to do with the day. Overt patriotism is somewhat frowned upon in Sweden as it is historically more associated with nationalism and racism and therefore to be avoided at all costs. Can you imagine being embarrassed to celebrate Australia Day? No way. But that is reality in Sweden - they are uncomfortable about the whole idea of a national day. That confuses me as how can it be considered wrong to love your own country? Perhaps the legacy of rabid nationalism across Europe over the years have left a mark on the sensetive, introspective Swedes. I hope that this changes over time and that Sweden learns to love what is good about this country.

Anyway, it also means that traditions associated with the day are still being developed. One of these is the creation of a National Day Pastry - Strawberry and Almond Tart (yum!)




It's a very easy dish to prepare.

PASTRY LAYER:
300 g almond paste, grated
150 g butter
3 eggs, slightly beaten

TOPPING:
100 g almond paste, grated
about 2 tablespoons orange liqueur (eg Grand Marnier) or fresh orange juice
1 litre punnet of strawberries
fresh lemon balm sprigs to garnish

METHOD:
* Preheat oven to 175° C [350°F].
* Line a smaller baking dish (ca. 18x24 cm) with baking paper.
* Grate the almond paste.
* Crumble the butter and almond paste in a mixing bowl.
* Add slightly beaten eggs and combine to form an even batter.
* Spread the batter over the base of the baking dish.
* Bake in the centre of the oven for 12-15 minutes.
* Allow to cool.

Topping:
* Mix grated almond paste and liqueur (or orange juice).
* Spread the mixture on top of the almond paste layer.
* Cut into squares or ovals.
* Slice the strawberries lengthwise.
* Place slices in the almond paste mixture.
* Garnish with a sprig of lemon balm and a Swedish flag.

Apart from eating delicious tarts, many immigrants associate the day with receiving recognition of their Swedish citizenship. And today, I attended a ceremony in the grounds of the local folk museum to welcome those of us in Nynäshamn who were granted citizenship in 2006. I got mine in February 2006.




So yes, I am a dual citizen and very proud of it. I really love my adopted home of Sweden, but in quite different way from the way I love my homeland Australia. Partly, I believe that some of the distinction has to do with the way I obtained citizenship in each country.

I was born in Australia, so unlike those who emigrated there, I didn't have to work at all for my Australian citizenship, nor take any tests; it was simply given to me at birth. But I actually chose to come to Sweden and in order to become a Swede, I had to put in a lot of thought and work as well as invest several years of my life. In a way, it feels like my Swedish citizenship is the one that I earned. So I was looking forward to being welcomed to Sweden officially.




We made our way to the leafy museum grounds on this warm, sunny perfect Swedish day. A small section was set aside for the 17 of us who would be welcomed that day. Being good Swedes, we were there early and nabbed the best seats in the house, close to the food proceedings and under the shade of a beautiful apple tree.



As well as the welcoming speech from Tommy Söderblom (the chairman of the local government authority), we were to receive a small gift and to have afternoon tea. The afternoon tea featured the national day pastry, Swedish princess cake and icecream for the children.




There were people from many nationalities present and it was interesting to see the mixture of people who had chosen Sweden as their new home. This blending and diversity of peoples can only enrich the country. I waited patiently and when my name was called, I went up to shake hands and be welcomed to Sweden as a citizen.




And clutching my Swedish flag, I made my way back to the smiling arms of my Swedish husband, who was sitting proudly at the table. It feels like one more small step towards making this my home. I leave you with the haunting tune to my new national anthem accompanied by some stunning images of Sweden:




Fyfan va man älskar Sverige!