Sami National Day Celebrations
- Category: Arctic peoples
- Published on 06 February 2012
The 6th of February is the Sami National Day which is celebrated in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, the four countries where the indigenous Sami people live today. The Sami National Day has been celebrated since 1993. The date, February 6, was chosen to commemorate the first Sami congress which was held in Trondheim, Norway in 1917.
Today the Sami National Day is celebrated by raising the Sami flag with its bright colors of red, green, yellow and blue and the two circles which represent the sun and moon. In some countries the national flag of the country is raised alongside the Sami flag. While the flags are raised the song of the Sami people is sung in the regional Sami dialect.
Besides these formal ceremonies, many towns with a high Sami population have chosen to expand the celebrations by organizing events with a Sami theme in the days surrounding the Sami National Day. In some places the Sami celebrations last over a week with features such as concerts by Sami musicians, lectures, outdoor markets, art displays and Sami sports competitions. These events are an opportunity for the Sami people to come together and at the same time teach others about their culture and history.
Some Sami celebrations in the north:
Tromsø, Norway
Since 2005 Tromsø has hosted championships in reindeer sprint races during the days preceding the Sami National day. The races draw Sami from Norway, Sweden and Finland to compete for the title of world champion. As many as 1500 spectators flock to the main street of Tromsø to watch the reindeer racing past at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour.
In 2007 more events were added to the schedule surrounding the reindeer race and this year the celebrations spanned more than a week from January 29 to February 6 with different events going on all around town. Sami concerts, plays, films and lectures were popular highlights of the Sami week. An outdoor market was also held during the weekend of February 4 and 5. A wide selection of reindeer meat was for sale as well as other Sami delicacies and handicrafts. A large Sami tent, called a lávvu, was also set up in the market square with a warm fire burning inside to fight off the cold.
More about the Sami week in Tromsø: http://www.msm.no/index.php?language=en&cat=41450
Jokkmokk, Sweden
From Thursday February 2 to the following Sunday, Jokkmokk town hosted a lively winter market. This year's market theme was "Music on the Arctic Circle". Northern Europe's largest winter festival is a gateway to discover the Sami culture and its diverse heritage handicrafts. Every winter for more than 400 years, Jokkmokk market has attracted visitors from near and far to Swedish Lapland.
At the market place, one can find a wide variety of local products like elk and reindeer meat, Sami bread, smoked trout, and jams and berries from Norrbotten. Dog sledding, snowmobile or helicopter tours and the traditional reindeer race on the lake Talvatis are great outdoor opportunities to discover the endless landscape of mountains located above of the Arctic Circle and cradle of the Sami people.
More about the Jokkmokk market: http://www.jokkmokksmarknad.se/home/
Oulu, Finland
Since 2007 the Giellagas Institute for Saami studies at the University of Oulu has hosted a seminar on Sami issues during the week of the Sami National Day. This year's seminar will take place on Thursday February 9 and the seminar is organized in cooperation with the Sámi Siida Ealli Biras project.
The themes of the seminar this year are different layers and interpretations of a Sami landscape. Guest speakers will talk about subjects ranging from tourist ideas about the Sami landscape to various methods used to document Sami history. 
More about the Giellagas Institute: http://www.oulu.fi/giellagas/en/about_us/about_us.html
Murmansk, Russia
The Sami people living in Russia today are mostly located on the Kola Peninsula. The Sami parliament of the Kola Peninsula organized activities in Murmansk from February 4 to 6 to celebrate the Sami National Day. The program focused on Sami culture and language, and the way Sami youth and children relate to their culture. Several seminars and discussions took place during the weekend and there was also a Sami theatre performance on Saturday. Following the flag-raising on February 6 a new display on the development of Sami villages on the Kola Peninsula was opened at the Murmansk Museum of Regional Studies.
More about the Murmansk Museum of Regional Studies: http://www.russianmuseums.info/M914
