17th of May

Norway doesn’t really have an “Independence Day,” like America does, but they come close with the 17^th of May – their Constitution Day.   It’s the day the Constitution was signed in 1905, officially giving them freedom from Sweden.  The war they fought to get that freedom happened in 1814, but as I’ve discovered from living in Norway, things just take a long time to get done.

There are a few similarities in the way both America and Norway celebrate their big national pride days.  It’s common for many Norwegian to barbeque on that day, but they call it a “grill.”   Norwegians have parades, too, but they aren’t anything like America’s.  The first year I attended a 17^th of May parade, I couldn’t believe it was for real.  There are more participants than observers.

I’m so Americanized, I expected marching bands, floats, clowns and candy flying through the air.  What a culture shock.  The parade in Norway just consisted of school children walking down the street in their finest attire, waving Norwegian flags, shouting out “Hip Hip Hoorah!”  That was it.  It lasted way too long. 

The Norwegian word for “parade” is “tog,” which, not so coincidentally, is the same word they use for “train.”  I understood perfectly.

The parade is the big event of the day.  Each town has a huge parade that lasts at least an hour.  The parade we attended one year in Bergen was so long, they had to have two parades going on simultaneously, heading in different directions on the street, just to get in all the participants.  Observers on opposite sides of the street saw completely different parades, but after a while, it all just looked the same anyway. It lasted for two hours.

Most smaller communities also hold their own parade, some hours after the big one in town has finished.  Basically, it’s just the local school district’s parade of all the kids from preschool on up.  Afterwards there are games in a local playfield, cakes and hotdogs for sale, and lots of worn out children.

The best part about 17^th of May is that everyone wears their bunads, the traditional Norwegian costume.  Each area of Norway has their own special design so all the women wear the same dress with lots of silver adornments.  The men’s bunad consists of knickers and a short style wool jacket.  It sounds weird, but looks very cool. The whole family gets decked out, even the babies.  If bunads are not worn, then suits and ties or fancy black dresses are a must. 

It’s quite the formal day and not at all what one would be wearing in America while standing around a barbeque eating hot dogs.