6 June is the national holiday of Sweden, when we are
supposed to celebrate the ascension of Gustav Vasa to the Swedish throne (1523)
and the dissolution of the Kalmar Union. In other words, our glorious
independence from the evil Danes! Since Denmark is a friendly nation these
days, the correct patriotic feelings of righteous indignation never really
manifest themselves in our unsullied souls, making Independence Day feel a bit tepid.
At most, we complain about the terrible Danish language, and the annoying fact
that Scanians still insist on acting as if their Swedish county was really a
Danish amtskommune. As for Gustav Vasa, he was demoted from Founding Father to
Fat Tyrant long ago. But sure, I suppose things looked different back in
1523...
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