Back in 1814, the day originally honoured the independence of Norway and her new constitution but now honours the Royal Family and is a celebration for families and children.
Children have enjoyed a special role in the celebrations for many years. Initially, the children's parade was all boys. Now, boys and girls participate and the greater part of the event is dedicated to them. The children’s parades include a whole lot of marching, waving homemade red, navy and white Norwegian flags and proudly carrying school banners.
Parades vary in size from a few dozen people in the villages to several tens of thousands of participants in Oslo. Children in Oslo pass the Royal Palace, where royal family members wave back from the balcony.
The Royal Family and ordinary folk dress in Bunads, traditional costumes of red, white, black, blue and green. Sometimes, other costumes are worn. The Norwegians love to dress up!
Each year, around 40,000 graduating high school students called “Russ” can be recognized with their Russ hats and uniforms. The traditional Russ celebration starts in spring and ends on the 17th of May. The day is marked by Russ parties, Russ buses, Russ newspapers and Russ Cards.
The colour of the uniform matches the graduate’s line of study: Red for students geared towards higher education — the most common colour — blue for those going into business, economics or management, white for medical and social studies, black for engineering and green for agricultural fields.
Amongst Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai, Nasjonaldagen or Grunnlovsdagen, although the latter is used less frequently. To help get you into the spirit of Norge, I am sharing the cold, stark and beautiful fishing village of Hamnoy in the Lofoten Islands, Norway. So, feel free to enjoy it while eating some hotdogs, ice cream and a tasty beverage today. Skal!
