The Sámi National Day, smn, Säämi aalmugpeivi, sms, Saaʹmi meersažpeiʹvv, sma, Saemiej åålmegebiejjie, no, Samenes nasjonaldag, sv, Samernas nationaldag, fi, Saamelaisten kansallispäivä is an ethnic national day for the Sámi (Saami) people that falls on February 6, the date when the first Sámi congress was held in 1917 in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. The congress was the first time that Norwegian and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Ru ...

came together across national borders to work on finding solutions to common problems. In 1992, at the 15th

Sámi Conference The first international Sámi Conference was officially opened in Jokkmokk, Sweden on August 31, 1953 and closed four days later on September 3. Since then, the Sámi conferences have come to be important venues for the Sámi across Norway, Sweden, ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, a resolution was passed that Sámi National Day should be celebrated on February 6 to commemorate the first Sámi congress in 1917. Sami National Day is for all Sámi, regardless of where they live and on that day the

Sámi flag The Sámi flag is the flag of Sápmi and the Sámi people, one of the indigenous people groups of the Nordic countries and the Kola Peninsula of the Russian Federation. First Sámi flag The first, unofficial Sámi flag was designed by Sa ...

should be flown and the

Sámi anthem Sámi soga lávlla (English: ''Song of the Sami Family/People'') is the anthem of the Sámi people. The text was written by Isak Saba, and Arne Sørli composed the music. Originally a poem, it was first published in the Sámi newspaper '' Saǥai ...

is sung in the local

Sámi language The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Rus ...

. The first time Sami National Day was celebrated was in 1993, when the International Year of Indigenous People was proclaimed open in

Jokkmokk Jokkmokk (; smj, Jåhkåmåhkke or ; se, Dálvvadis; fi, Jokimukka) is a locality and the seat of Jokkmokk Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden, with 2,786 inhabitants in 2010. The Lule Sami name of the place (compose ...

, Sweden by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. Since then, celebrating the day has become increasingly popular. In Norway it is compulsory for municipal administrative buildings to fly the

Norwegian flag The national flag of Norway ( nb, Norges flagg; nn, Noregs flagg; ) is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross fimbriated in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style ...

, and optionally also the Sami flag, on February 6. Particularly notable is the celebration in Norway's capital

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, where the bells in the highest tower of Oslo City Hall play the Sami national anthem as the flags go up. Some larger places have taken to arranging festivities also in the week around the Sami National Day. The National Day has been included in the

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...

s published by the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

since 2004. The Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish authorities recommend general flagging on the day. By coincidence, February 6 was also the date representatives of the Sámi of the

Kola Peninsula sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк , image_name= Kola peninsula.png , image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast , image_size= 300px , image_alt= , map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg , map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...

gathered annually to meet with Russian bureaucrats to debate and decide on issues of relevance to them. This assembly, called the Kola Sobbar, has been dubbed the "first Sámi Parliament" by the researcher Johan Albert Kalstad. However, the founding of the Kola Sobbar did not influence the choice of the date for Sámi People's Day, as the assembly existed only during the late 1800s and was largely forgotten until the early 2000s.

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Sámi peoples National days February observances Indigenous peoples days

See also

Notes

References

External links