May 17th Celebrations - Norways Independence Day

in the words of somebody else...

The 17th May is the country's Constitution Day and marks the day when Norway became a free and independent nation. The constitution was signed by the national assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814.
Having been a part of the Danish autocracy for 400 years, Norway formed a loose union with Sweden that lasted until 1905. A limited and hereditary monarchy was introduced, whereby the king would exercise his authority through a government, while Parliament (Stortinget) would allocate monies and make laws. The Norwegian constitution was the most modern in Europe at the time. The way Norwegians celebrate their national day is unique and different from any other country. On May 17th, it is the colourful processions of children with their banners, flags and bands - not military parades - that play the main role. The day is celebrated across the country, from remote mountain villages to the main cities. Another special characteristic that contributes to making this a unique day is all the beautiful bunads (national costumes) that have become increasingly popular in recent years.

have to admit to being slightly excited about the day, being my firt May 17th in Norway. Unfortunately after ensational weather of late, saturday was cold wet and miserable. it was though quite incredible to see how many people donned the national 'costume' (not national fancy dress as i mistakenly called it after a beer or two), all men who weren't in national dress had to wear a suit, this thing is taken very seriously over here, and suffer ye who did not comply... so myeslf and a few friends went in our sunday best.

the parade itself was ok, got to see king and queeny, then got thoroughly cold. the idea is to stay out all day drinking...but to be fair im not particularly good at that, and lose interest relatively quickly, so was pretty bored after a couple of hours... but was a nice day regardless

interestingly though a couple of thoughts popped into my head during the day:

1. if this was in the uk, i would not bother, not a huge fan of the royal family to be honest (heresy!), and its just something i wouldnt be interested in seeing at home

2. again, if this was in the uk, this amount of natoinalistic pride would be deemed as almost right wing fascism, we english are almost embarrassed about offending anyone by showing the slightest hint of patriatic celebration...now, i do love the uk, (separate the uk from the royal family) but we just dont feel comfortable externalising this...funny bunch that we are...anyway...