National Day - May 17th

Brazilians have their carnival, the Irish Saint Patrick’s Day. Norway’s answer? On 17 May we are commemorating the signing of the constitution on that date in 1814. In Norway, Constitution Day is huge.

While many countries celebrate their national day with a military parade, Norway’s 17 May is more of a party for everyone, especially the children. Before they take to the streets, many will gather for a 17 May breakfast with friends and neighbours – with freshly baked bread, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, and for the grown-ups, Hardanger cider..

Children’s parades then take place across the country, and led by marching bands, they walk through their communities. The largest of the traditional parades attract tens of thousands of people waving flags and shouting “hurra!”. In Oslo, the parade is greeted by the royal family who are waving tirelessly to the crowds from the Royal Palace balcony.

Nationalistic? Perhaps, but the non-militaristic and generally joyous atmosphere, in addition to the children’s special place in the celebrations, makes the day a largely uncontroversial affair. The focus is mostly on eating huge amounts of ice cream and hot dogs, listening to speeches, and playing games at local schools.

The day is also an opportunity for men and women to show off their “bunad”, Norway’s traditional costumes. There are hundreds of different ones, with colours and styles indicating where in Norway the owner’s ancestry lies. Below you can see details from the Hardanger bunad, all hand crafted silver and gold plated jewellery that are passed down in generations.

This year, as the last, celebrations has had to be kept to a minimum due to the ongoing pandemic. However where there’s a will there’s a way, and the day has been filled with parades at sea. Hundreds of boats gathered with people dressed up waving their Norwegian flags.

In May you will also find the Amazing Fjords of Norway at it’s most beautiful! With the ongoing fruitbloom (Hardanger especially), cascading waterfalls (due to the snow melting) the fresh green leaves and grass and snow covered mountain tops you are sure to be spellbound!

So if you want to experience the very best of Norwegian nature and culture, choose May. Please contact us for a tailormade true Norwegian adventure!