May Day Description
May Day in Sweden serves both as International Workers' Day and a traditional spring celebration. Trade unions and left-wing political parties organize marches and rallies in cities, with the largest in Stockholm's Humlegården and Gothenburg's Götaplatsen. Social Democrat and Left Party leaders deliver keynote speeches. Simultaneously, it marks the arrival of spring, and many Swedes gather in parks for picnics. All government offices and banks close, and most workplaces grant the day off. It is a uniquely Swedish blend of political demonstration and seasonal revelry.
