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'Ólavsøka' is a national holiday of the Faroe Islands, celebrated on July 29. It is the day when Løgting, the Faroese Parliament, opens its session.
The literal meaning is ''St. Olaf's Wake'' or ''vigilia sancti Olavi'' in Latin, from Saint Olaf's death at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 (see Olsok), but the Løgting predates this event. Like several other Faroese holidays, the ''vøka'' begins the evening before, so Ólavsøka always starts on July 28.
Ólavsøka is the day of the year when many Faroese crowd into the capital Tórshavn. There the national rowing competition finals are held, which is one of the highlights in Faroese sports. In addition, there are art exhibitions, folk music, and Faroese chaindance performances.
The salute for Ólavøka in Faroese is 'Góða Ólavsøku!'
The stamps shown on the right were issued by Postverk Føroya on 18th May 1998, and the artwork was produced by Edward Fuglø.

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See also

External links

See also

★ Olavsfestival

★ Olsok

★ Up Helly-Aa

External links

★ Faroestamps.fo - Saint Olaf & Ólavsøka