Gratulerer med dagen Norge!

It is official, I have now been to three different national celebrations.  What can I say, Canada Day and the 4th of July are always fun, but May 17th in Norway was an experience I will never forget.  The 17th of May marks the day that Norwegians celebrate that they in fact, had their own constitution.  They gained their independence from Denmark, and now it is time to celebrate.
So how do they celebrate, well it is a little.... alot different then how we do it in North America.  First of all, the big party is generally the night before on May 16th.  The party I went to was extremely fun, but I must tell it made getting up for May 17th rather difficult haha.  The alarm went off, but due to my excitement for the 17th, I rolled out of bed and was ready for the celebrations!

I started the morning off with a Norwegian breakfast, and hung out with some friends and admired the first Bunad I had ever seen in person.  Bunad is traditional dress for Norwegians, and most of the women have one, and some of the men do. The Bunad you wear is dependent on where you are from, or your family is from. It is quite common for the males to dress up in suits and ties, as the male bunad is not as common. The kids also wear traditional dress, but are not old enough for their official Bunads.  Bunads are absolutely stunning, and are also very expensive.  The cost is about 30,000 NOK, or approximately 5000-6000 USD/CAD.  Generally, they are given to the kids at their confirmation when they are about 15.  There are 2 kinds of confirmations here, a religious and a non religious confirmation, so everyone has one.



My Norwegian models Sissel and Espen showing off their outfits ready for the 17th of May!

The next part of the day was going to the kids parade, which the kids parade down to sentrum with their schools, and everyone stands on the sides of the streets and cheers them on.  Their are marching bands and cheerleaders as well.  Many parents walk with the kids, and everyone is out waving their Norwegian flags and Hip Hip Hooraying them on!  This was a really cool experience for me, as I got to see the many different Bunads, and got to celebrate National Day with all the Norwegians!

Start of the Parade

Hip Hip Hooray!

After the Parade, we then went to sentrum, to listen to the national anthem (Ja vi elsker dette landet) and some traditional music.  We hung out at sentrum, talking and just enjoying the event.  It is such a family orientated event, and it is awesome to see everyone with their friends and family, enjoying the day.  We were quite fortunate on this 17th of May, because the weather was rather nice, and it truly could be enjoyed.  My sun burn speaks well for that. Hanging out in sentrum was really fun for me, I got to see all the different Bunads, and see many of my friends and students wearing them.  It was relaxing, fun and extremely enjoyable.

Kristine me and Elisabeth!

Remi and I celebrating!

Hip Hip Hooray Ingrid! She is a great Parade Translator

Audun lookin dashing in his Male Bunad

My Praxis Supervisor Elin and I!

Yvonne(Middle) and her 2 Nieces on National Day!

May 17th, also marks the end of Russ.  As my friend said it, Imagine how they feel after 3 weeks of partying, if I felt that tired after one.  To celebrate the end of russ, they also put on a parade that is later in the day.  It is a time to celebrate, get rid of all their old Russ Cards, and maybe to get ready for those exams they have following? Haha, not sure about the last one. 

Start of the Parade

Barbeque anyone?

Disclaimer: I do not know Norwegian, so am not responsible for any bad language that may have been on those signs :).

All in all, it was an amazing day, one that I will never forget.  No matter where I am in the world, I will always remember Norway on the 17th of May.  To be honest, I hope it is because I will be in Norway for many National days!  I will leave you with some facts about the 17th of May. 

1. We celebrate the 17th May because Norway got its own constitution then. It happened at Eidsvold in 1814. This year, our Constitution is 198 years!

2. 17. May is called "children's day" because the day is celebrated with children's parades. Marchingbands and school children march together. Often there are games for children in schools after the parade. You also get to eat plenty of the best: ice cream, hot dogs and soda.

3. The author Henrik Wergeland (1808-1845) was one of the first who worked to make 17 May into a feast day. He held the first 17 May speech in 1833. He also wrote the first national song for children, "We, are a nation with."

4. Wergeland was called "the 17 May King "while he lived.

5. The real king, Harald, is on the Palace balcony 17 May and have one of his busiest days. His job is to wave to the parade, so it's no wonder he is a bit tired in the wrist at the end of the day.

6. For over 100 years, the royal family has been standing on the palace balcony 17 of May.

7. In Norway there are over 27,000 children under 15 years playing in marchingbands.

8. Playing in a marchingband is one of the major activities for children in Norway, second only to football.

9. The tradition of dressing in the traditional costume began a little over 100 years ago. To mark and celebrate the fact that Norway had become an independent country in 1905, the adults began to dress their children in costumes.

10. These costumes were inspired by folk costumes that Norwegian farmers used in the 1800s.

11. From the 1920s it became especially popular to dress the children in costumes as they danced in leikarring.

12. Rødrussen, blårussen, black and green russ are celebrating that they graduate from high school. Some have been as long as 13 years in school, and really think they deserve a party. Therefore, some of them begin to celebrate already in the fall and keep on until 17 of May. Therefore, they look a bit tired in the afternoon 17 of May.

13. Russen can be really rude. Sometimes they claim that they have no russekort, even if they have it. And they can get you and your friends to really beg for some. But do not worry about it. They think it's fun to be asked as well.

14. 17. May is the day of the year when we eat the most ice in Norway. When we eat between five and ten times as much ice as an ordinary spring day. If the sun shines on the 17 May icecream producers rejoice, because they know that they have sold a lot of extra ice.

15. For over 140 years, school children has been singing our national anthem, "Yes, we love this country." The text was written by Bjorn Bjornson in 1859. Four years later his cousin, Richard Nordraak wrote the melody.

16. During World War II it was both forbidden to go to 17 May parade and to use the flag colors on clothes.

17. On the liberationday 8 May 1945, the flag became an extra-strong symbol of Norway's freedom.