The Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai (meaning May Seventeenth), Nasjonaldagen (National Day) or Grunnlovsdagen (Constitution Day), although the latter is less frequent. It has been suggested that National holiday be merged into this article or section. ...

is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Artists rendition of the Norwegian constitutional assembly in 1814 1814 was a pivotal year in Norwegian history. ... County Akershus Landscape Romerike Municipality NO-0237 Administrative centre Sundet Mayor (2005) Arild Sandahl (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 222 457 km² 385 km² 0. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1814 (MDCCCXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Historical background

17th of May 1893 by Norwegian painter Christian Krohg (1852–1925). Note that the flag does not have the Union badge of Norway and Sweden, the so called sildesalaten (Herring salad).

The Constitution of Norway was signed at Eidsvoll on May 17 in the year 1814. The constitution declared Norway to be an independent nation. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Christian Krohg (August 13, 1852 - October 16, 1925), was a Norwegian naturalist painter, author and journalist. ... The Union Badge as seen in the Norwegian flag Norway and Sweden were in a personal union from 1814 to 1905. ... The Constitution of Norway was first adopted on May 16, 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll (a small town north of the countrys capital, Christiania), then signed and dated May 17. ... Artists rendition of the Norwegian constitutional assembly in 1814 1814 was a pivotal year in Norwegian history. ... County Akershus Landscape Romerike Municipality NO-0237 Administrative centre Sundet Mayor (2005) Arild Sandahl (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 222 457 km² 385 km² 0. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1814 (MDCCCXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The celebration of this day begun spontaneously among students and others from early on, and for some years the king was reluctant to allow the celebrations. For a couple of years in the 1820s, king Carl Johan actually forbade it, as he thought the celebrations a kind of protest and disregard - even revolt. The king's attitude changed slightly after the Battle of the Square in 1829, an incident which resulted in such a commotion that the King had to allow it. It was, however, not until 1833, that anyone ventured to hold a public address on behalf of the day. That year, official celebration was initiated by the monument of the late politician Christian Krogh, known to have stopped the King from gaining too much personal power. The address was held by Henrik Wergeland, thoroughly witnessed and accounted for by a Swedish spy, sent by the King himself. Nationalistic independence helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece gains independence from the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence (1821-1827). ... King Charles XIV of Sweden, Charles III of Norway, or domestically Karl XIV Johan and Carl III Johan respectively, Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (January 26, 1763 – March 8, 1844) was born at Pau, France, the son of Henri Bernadotte (1711-1780), procurator at Pau, and Jeanne St. ... The Battle of the Square, in Norwegian Torvslaget, took place at the main square of Christiania at evening, May 17th, 1829. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1833 (MDCCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Christian Krohg (1852 - 1925) was a Norwegian painter, author and journalist. ... Henrik Wergeland Henrik Wergeland (June 17, 1808–July 12, 1845) was a Norwegian poet and prose writer, born in Kristiansand. ... SPY may refer to: SPY (spiders), ticker symbol for Standard & Poors Depository Receipts SPY (magazine), a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps SPY (Ivory Coast), airport code for San Pédro, Côte dIvoire SPY (Ship Planning Yard), a U.S. Navy acronym SPY, short for MOWAG SPY, a...

After 1864, the day became more established, and the first children's promenade was launched in Christiania, in a parade consisting only of boys. The girls had their own promenade by a different route. This initiative was taken by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, although Wergeland made the first known children's promenade at Eidsvoll around 1820. 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Depending on context, Christiania can refer to: Christiania, capital of Norway – what Oslo was called from 1624 to 1877, named after King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway; subsequently, the city was called Kristiania (q. ... Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson (December 8, 1832–April 26, 1910). ... County Akershus Landscape Romerike Municipality NO-0237 Administrative centre Sundet Mayor (2005) Arild Sandahl (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 222 457 km² 385 km² 0. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

By historical coincidence, the Second World War ended in Norway just nine days before that year's Constitution Day, on May 8, 1945, when the occupying German forces surrendered. Even if The Liberation Day is an official flag day in Norway, the day is not an official holiday and is not broadly celebrated. Instead a new and broader meaning has been added to the celebration of Norwegian independence on May 17. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The day focused originally on the Norwegian constitution, but after 1905, the focus has been directed also towards the royal family. 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Children's parades

Children's parade in front of the Royal Palace, Oslo

The kindergarten part of a Children's parade

All over Norway, children's parades with an abundance of flags form the central elements of the celebration. Each elementary school district arranges its own parade^[1] with marching bands between schools. The parade takes the children through the community, often making stops at homes of senior citizens, war memorials, etc. The longest parade is in Oslo, where some 100,000 people travel to the city centre to participate in the main festivities. This is broadcast on TV every year, with comments on costumes, banners etc, together with local reports from celebrations around the country. The massive Oslo parade includes some 100 schools, marching bands, and passes the royal palace where the royal family greet the people from the main balcony. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Royal Palace in Oslo from the front The Royal Palace in Oslo from the park The Royal Palace (no:Slottet) in Oslo was built in the first half of the 18th century as the Norwegian residence of Swedish-Norwegian king Charles III (Charles XIV of Sweden) and is used... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1086x1050, 226 KB) Children in national dress walking in a parada on the 17th of May, Norways constitution day. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1086x1050, 226 KB) Children in national dress walking in a parada on the 17th of May, Norways constitution day. ... “Flag of Norway” redirects here. ... This article is about the capital of Norway. ...

Typically a school’s children parade will consist of some senior school children carrying the schools official banner, followed by a handful of other older children carrying full size Norwegian flags, and the school’s marching band. After the band the rest of the school children follow with hand sized flags, often with the junior forms first, and often behind self made banners for each form or even individual class. Nearby kindergartens may also have been invited to join in. As the parade passes, bystanders often join in behind the official parade, and follow the parade back to the school. Depending on the community, the parade may make stops at particular sites along the route, such as a nursing home or war memorial. In Oslo the parade stops at the Royal Palace while Skaugum, the home of the crown prince, has been a traditional waypoint for parades in Asker. The Royal Palace in Oslo from the front The Royal Palace in Oslo from the park The Royal Palace (no:Slottet) in Oslo was built in the first half of the 18th century as the Norwegian residence of Swedish-Norwegian king Charles III (Charles XIV of Sweden) and is used... Skaugum is the official residence of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and of his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit. ... County District Viken Municipality NO-0220 Administrative centre Asker Mayor (2005) Morten Gunnar Strand (H) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 385 101 km² 97 km² 0. ...

During the parade a marching band will play and the children will sing lyrics about the celebration of the National Day. The parade concludes with the stationary singing of the national anthem "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (typically verses 1, 2 and 8), and the royal anthem "Kongesangen". Listen to anthem (MIDI) (audio help) //   (or: Ja, vi elsker) (In eng: Yes, we love this country) is the national anthem of Norway. ... Kongesangen is Norways Royal anthem. ...

In addition to flags, people typically wear red, white and blue ribbons. Although a long-standing tradition, it has lately become more popular for men, women, and children to wear traditional outfits, called bunad. The children also make a lot of noise shouting "Hurra!", singing, blowing whistles and shaking rattles. Mens bunad from Nord Gudbrandsdalen and womens bunad from Oppdal A bunad is a traditional Norwegian costume, typically of rural origin. ...

In addition to children's parades, there are parades for the public, where every citizen is welcome to join in. These are led by marching bands and often local boy scouts and girl guides, local choirs, etc. This takes place in the early morning or in the afternoon, before or after the school's parade.

All parades begin or end with speeches. Both grown-ups and older children are invited to speak. After the parades, there are games for the children, and often a lot of icecream, pop, sweets and pølse (hotdogs) are consumed.

Russ

The graduating class from the Norwegian equivalent of high school - known as russ - has its own celebration on May 17, staying up all night and making the rounds through the community. The russ also have their own parades, in which they parody various local and political aspects, although recently this has become less frequent. This article is about Russ, the Scandinavian cultural phenomenon. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Celebration across the country

• In Oslo, children from all the city's schools gather to parade past the Royal Palace, where they and the Royal Family exchange waves and greetings.

• In the municipality of Asker, outside Oslo, the children gather outside the residence of the throne heir at Skaugum Estate in the morning (giving the Prince and his family time to attend the parade in Oslo later in the day).

• Bergen has its own traditions for the parade, including comic troupes, various local organizations, a children's parade, and the buekorps.

• In Trondheim, children from all the city's schools parade the streets of Trondheim in the morning. Later in the afternoon, "borgertoget" starts. This is a parade where firefighters, sports teams, students associations and other associations are represented.

In addition to the children's parades the streets are filled with young and old, turning out in festive attire, and vendors selling ice cream, hot dogs, and lately, kebabs. This article is about the capital of Norway. ... The Royal Family of Norway is the family of King Harald V of Norway. ... County District Viken Municipality NO-0220 Administrative centre Asker Mayor (2005) Morten Gunnar Strand (H) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 385 101 km² 97 km² 0. ... Skaugum is the official residence of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and of his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit. ... County Hordaland District Midhordland Municipality NO-1201 Administrative centre Bergen Mayor (2004) Herman Friele (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 215 465 km² 445 km² 0. ... One of Bergens buekorps Buekorps (literally Bow Corps or Archery Brigade) are traditional marching youth organizations in Bergen, Norway. ... County District Municipality NO-1601 Administrative centre Trondheim Mayor (2003-) Rita Ottervik (AP) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 258 342 km² 322 km² 0. ...

Celebration abroad

17 May dinner in the United States.

The National Day is also celebrated in many Norwegian immigrant communities throughout the world, with traditional foods, sometimes including lutefisk. In the United States and Canada, the local lodges of the Sons of Norway organization often play a central part in organizing the festivities. One major celebration occurs in Petersburg, Alaska aka Little Norway. The town is a Norwegian settlement and strongly retains it's roots. The festival occurs the weekend closest to the 17th of May and includes a Parade, herring toss, locals selling Norwegian pastries such as Lefse and even a pack of Vikings and Valkyries (inebriated locals dressed in non-accurate "Viking-Wear"). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1465x1901, 1597 KB) Summary Photo I took 2006-05-17 of a syttende mai dinner in Rochester, Minnesota. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1465x1901, 1597 KB) Summary Photo I took 2006-05-17 of a syttende mai dinner in Rochester, Minnesota. ... Norwegian Americans or (Norwegian Norsk-Amerikaner) are an ethnic group in the United States. ... Lutefisk (on the upper left side of the plate) as served in a Norwegian restaurant, with potatoes, mashed peas, and bacon. ... Sons of Norway is a fraternal organization representing people of Norwegian heritage in the United States. ... Petersburg is a city in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska, in the United States. ... Little Norway was a Royal Norwegian Air Force training camp in Canada during World War II. The camp was opened in November 1940, located in the bay area of Toronto, on the shores of Lake Ontario. ... Lefse (pronounced lef-sa) is a traditional soft Scandinavian flatbread made out of potato, milk and flour, and cooked on a griddle. ... The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, Europe and the British Isles from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... This article is about the Valkyries, figures of Norse mythology. ...

Another occurs in the hamlet of Stoughton, Wisconsin. Festivities include canoe racing, a 20-mile run that starts in Madison, Wisconsin, and a great deal of bratwurst consumption. Stoughton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin. ... Nickname: Location of Madison in Dane County, Wisconsin Coordinates: , Municipality City Incorporated 1848 Government  - Mayor Dave Cieslewicz Area  - City 219. ...

Another major celebration occurs in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. It is bound by 65th Street on the north, Interstate 278 on the east, and the Belt Parkway-Shore Road on the west. ...

Henrik Wergeland

The poet Henrik Wergeland is credited with making Syttende mai a celebratory day for the children rather than a day of patriotic pride. Actually, the day demonstrates that the children, i.e. the country's future, are the patriotic pride, if we follow Wergeland's thought. Flags and music dominate the day, and there are few military parades. To commemorate his contribution, the russ in Oslo place an oversized hat on his statue near the Norwegian parliament; the Jewish community place a wreath on his grave in the morning as a tribute to his efforts on their behalf. Henrik Wergeland Henrik Wergeland (June 17, 1808–July 12, 1845) was a Norwegian poet and prose writer, born in Kristiansand. ... The Storting main building The Storting, or Stortinget, (the Great Assembly), is the parliament of Norway, and is located in Oslo. ... The Jews in Norway have a long history. ... A wreath is a ring made of flowers, leaves, and sometimes fruits, used as an ornament, hanging on a wall or door, or resting on a table. ...

Military parades

The only military parade is performed by the Royal Guard on the main street of the capital city, Oslo. During the parade, the Guard display their drill and music skills, rather than showing off military force. An example of an exercise performed by the Guard includes throwing their rifles over their shoulders, with bayonets attached, to another Guardsman who walks behind and catches it. The most impressive aspect about the Guard's parade is that they have learned their skills during the course of nine months, and during that time they also go through normal infantry training. Hans Majestet Kongens Garde (HMKG) (lit. ...

The marching band of the Royal Guard also attend the children's parade in central Oslo together with the schools' own marching bands.

An inclusive holiday

The former Norwegian president of parliament Jo Benkow noted that the day has increasingly become a celebration of Norway's growing ethnic diversity. Jo Benkow (born Josef Benkowitz in 1924) is a prominent Norwegian politician and writer. ...

Several factors have probably contributed to the inclusive nature of the celebration:

• The central position of the children’s parade, including all lower level school children, and therefore also their parents in the celebration.
• The celebration is focused around local schools and their children’s parade.
• The children’s parade reaches outwards, trying to cover as many roads as possible in the local community.
• The low focus on elected government during the celebration. In the capital, for example, the children’s parade passes the left side of the parliament building, and the president of parliament is allowed to wave to the passing parade from a small balcony,^[2] but the main focus of the parade is the Royal Castle and the Royal Family. In must also be noted that the office of president of parliament is mainly ceremonial and administrative, often awarded in the later part of a political career. The prime minister and the rest of the ruling government on the other hand have no official duties during the celebrations.
• The virtual lack of any military-centred celebration.

One can add, that the day should be regarded as an expression of thankfulness, on behalf of the old values freedom, equality and brotherhood, the ideological basis for the constitution, and also on behalf of the circumstances that led up to the constitution. The aspect of "thanksgiving" in the national celebrations of Norway, are easily forgotten in the long span of years from 1814. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal or level) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals from birth. ... Look up brotherhood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 1814 (MDCCCXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The fact that children parading and waving Norwegian flags is such a central part of an inclusive celebration has to a certain extent protected the Norwegian flag against being misused by fascist groups. Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ...

See also

• Constitution Day – A list of similar holidays in other countries
• Riksforsamlingen
• Constitution of Norway

Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-12-10, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Grunnlovsforsamlingen Eidsvoll 1814 - painting by Oscar Wergeland Riksforsamlingen is a Norwegian term approximately meaning The National Assembly. // The Assembly Riksforsamlingen is the name given to the 1814 Assembly of Eidsvoll, Norway. ... The Constitution of Norway was first adopted on May 16, 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll (a small town north of the countrys capital, Christiania), then signed and dated May 17. ...

Notes

1. ^ The Norwegian language has two distinct words for the English term “parade”: “Parade” which refers to a military like parade, and “tog” which refers to people walking in a predefined route just like a train moving along its track. The Norwegian word for "train", "tog", is derived from the Old Norse word for "rope" - indicating a row of people walking in a long line. The word "tog" was used of people walking in procession before the country ever got trains. In Bergen, the parade is known as a "prosesjon" (procession).
2. ^ A funny side-note showing the low focus of elected government is the balcony the president of parliament is using: In the earlier days this was a small, temporary balcony added to one of the windows of the parliament building just before the National Day and removed afterwards. Prior to the parade he must have carefully climbed out of the window and onto the balcony, while during the parade itself his mind must have switched between remembering to wave to the children parading and worrying if the balcony would fall down. Today the parliament building has a quite small, but permanent balcony that looks less likely to collapse.