Ólavsøka is the biggest summer festival in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, and by most Faroese considered as the national holiday of the Faroes along with Flag Day on 25 April. Ólavsøka is celebrated over two days, from the 28th to the 29th of July, the second of which is the day when the Faroese Parliament ('' Løgting'') opens its session. Ólavsøka is a cultural and sports festival with boat races, football matches and other events. The 28 July, which is the day where the finals of the rowing competitions take place, is half working day for the members of some of the labour unions while Saint Olaf's Day (''Ólavsøkudagur'') on 29 July is full holiday for members of most of the unions. The literal meaning is "Olaf's vigil" (''vigilia sancti Olavi'' in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

), from

Saint Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title '' Rex Per ...

's death at the

Battle of Stiklestad The Battle of Stiklestad ( no, Slaget på Stiklestad, non, Stiklarstaðir) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway () was killed. During the pontificate of Pope Alexander III, ...

in 1030 (see Olsok). Vøka comes from Old Norse Vaka, which was a religious celebration that always lasted for two days. Like several other Faroese holidays, the ''vøka'' begins the evening before, so Ólavsøka always starts on 28 July with an opening ceremony. Some events start even before that; there has been a Ólavsøka Concert held on 27 July for several years. Ólavsøka is the day of the year when many Faroese crowd into the capital

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

. There are held the national

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

competition finals, which is one of the highlights in Faroese sports. In addition, there are art exhibitions, folk music, and Faroese chain dancing. The chain dance is for everyone; normally it is held in Sjónleikarhúsið, which is a theatre in Tórshavn. The salute for ólavsøka in Faroese is ''Góða ólavsøku!'' (Good Olaf's Wake!). The stamps shown on the right were issued by

Postverk Føroya Posta is the postal service of the Faroe Islands and was founded on 1 April 1976 under the Home Rule of the Faroe Islands. On 16 December 2005, it became a public joint stock company under the name P/F Postverk Føroya (retroactive from 1 Januar ...

on 18 May 1998, and the artwork was produced by Edward Fuglø.

Concert, 27 July

Some of the festivities start some days before, depending on which day in the week Ólavsøka falls. There is usually also an Ólavsøka concert in Tórshavn on 27 July in the evening. In recent years, however, the concert has not been held. Instead, the one-day festival Tórsfest has been held in Tórshavn the weekend before ólavsøka.

Procession and opening, 28 July

Normally the opening of Ólavsøka starts with a procession of sports people from Tórshavn, city council members, a brass band and people riding on horses. They walk in procession from the public school (''Kommunuskúlin'') down to the centre of town to Tinghúsvøllur on Vaglið, where people are waiting for the procession to arrive. The people who walk in procession then gather on the triangle-shaped Tinghúsvøllur in front of the parliament building (''Løgtingshúsið og Tinghúsið''), there will be a speech by someone who is appointed, and this person will officially open the Ólavsøka. A brass band normally plays at the opening.

Boat race, 28 July

Olavsoka 2010 Boat Race Women 6-oar rowing boats

The Ólavsøka Boat Race is always held on the eve of ólavsøka on 28 July. Before the Ólavsøka festival there have been several other village festivals around the islands, called stevnur, where the Faroese boat race has been going on, starting at the Norðoyastevna in

Klaksvík Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The first ...

, which is either in the beginning of June or in the end of May. In the end of June there is an island festival in Suðuroy which is called Jóansøka. This festival is celebrated every second year it; is held in

Tvøroyri Tvøroyri is a village on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy island in the Faroe Islands. Together with Froðba, Trongisvágur, Líðin and Øravík it forms Tvøroyri Municipality. The village is considered ...

(odd years) and every second years in Vágur (even years). The rowing competition on Jóansøka is always held on a Saturday. The Faroese boat race is in several parts, divided into groups of children, boys, girls, men and women. The boat races are also grouped by the size of the boats. All the boats are wooden rowing boats, the rowing people are sitting together two and two, and one person is steering the boat in the back of the boat. In Faroese the boats are called 5-mannafør, 6-mannafør, 8-mannafør and 10-mannafør. The boats who win the ólavsøka Boat Race win a trophy and the boats who become Faroese Champions also win another trophy. Sometimes the same boat is the winner of both trophies. The rowing people who win also get medals. The distance which the boats are rowing is 1,000 meters at the ólavsøka Boat Race, except for the children who row a shorter distance. In some places the larger boats row longer distances. The 8-mannafør row 1,500 meters and the 10-mannafør row 2,000 meters. But this is not possible in

Procession and cantata, 29 July

Sunleif Rasmussen A Faroese Composer The Olavsoka Cantata 2009

On 29 July the Faroese Løgting will open again after the summer holiday. The Faroese Prime Minister (''Løgmaður'') will give his speech, and the politicians will have the opportunity to comment on it the following days. But before the opening of the Løgting, there is a ceremony, which starts just before 11:00 in the morning, where the Faroese priests, the members of the Faroese Parliament, the head of the Police, some Danish officials and some other important people will walk in procession to Tórshavn Cathedral (''Dómkirkjan'', earlier called ''Havnar Kirkja''). After the service in the church these people will walk in procession to the House of Parliament (''Tinghúsið''). They will line up just outside the Tinghús facing the crowd of people who are standing around the Tinghúsvøllur. And then it is time for some classical music and choir music, the Olavsoka Cantata, which starts at 12:00 or just after. 2009 was the 100th year birthday of the Municipality of Tórshavn. One of the most famous Faroese composers

Sunnleif Rasmussen Sunleif Rasmussen (born March 19, 1961 in Sandur (Faroe Islands), Sandur in the Faroe Islands) is the foremost Faroese people, Faroese composer of classical music. Biography Rasmussen studied in Norway, then returned to Tórshavn in the Faroes as ...

composed and directed the Ólavsøka Cantata, which was based on the history of Faroese music, back to folk songs and

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

Thomas Kingo Thomas Hansen Kingo (15 December 1634 – 14 October 1703 Odense) was a Danish bishop, poet and hymn-writer born at Slangerup, near Copenhagen. His work marked the high point of Danish baroque poetry. His father was a weaver of modest mean ...

up to the present time with modern music.

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