Celebration of 17th of May - Norway`s national day

Norway`s national day is the 17^th of May. Our constitution was written on the 17^th of May 1814. Men from almost all parts of Norway gathered during the spring of 1814 to write a constitution.

On the 17^th  of May everybody has the day off from work, school and kinder garden to celebrate Norway being an independent country. We wave with Norwegian flags and many people wear something called a bunad, which is a national costume. There are bunads for both men and women - boys and girls. The bunads for girls are long wool dresses with embroidery and silver jewelry. If the weather is nice it may be a little warm to wear a long wool dress in spring, but it`s okay. The men`s costumes are also made out of wool. Bunads are rather expensive, but most Norwegians do not buy more than one or two bunads in their life.  There are different bunads in the different counties in Norway. Here you can see a picture of one kind of bunad. This is from Telemark county.

In Oslo, all schoolchildren take part in a big parade, and students can take part too, if they want. The parade is through the city centre towards the royal castle, where the king and queen and their family wave at us. And the parade wave back with their Norwegian flags. People of all ages are outside enjoying the celebration and having a great time. The city is crowded with happy faces. What is special about Norway`s celebration is that the kids are walking in the parade and not the military.

After walking in the parade people usually walk around town with their family or friends to go grab something to eat or just look around. On 17^th of May the children are allowed to eat as much ice cream as they can! When the day is finished, you are tired, but you can`t wait until next year to see everyone in such a good mood again!

Written by Anna