Royals Celebrating the Sami National Day in Finnmark

The Sami Flag.

On Thursday Feb. 5, 2009 Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit visited Kautokeino.

This was the the start of their official tour of Finnmark in northern Norway. The temperature hit minus 25 degrees centigrade (minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit), but the royals had dressed properly with sami costumes to keep out the cold.

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess visited Kautokeino and Karasjok on the occation of the Sami National Day, which is celebrated Feb. 6.

This date marks the the first Sami congress that was held in Trondheim, Norway in 1917. This was the first time that Norwegian and Swedish Sami came together across their national borders to work together to find solutions for common problems. The resolution for celebrating on February 6 was passed, at the 15th Sami congress in Helsinki, Finland in 1992. Since 1993 Norway, Sweden and Finland have recognized February 6 as Sami National Day.

The Sami National Day is a day celebrated with traditional music, good food – and lasso throwing in the local communities of the Sámis.

View pictures and video from Finnmark on Dagbladet.no