NORWAY´S NATIONAL DAY

         On 17 May, in commemoration of the signing of the Constitution on that date of 1814. In Norway Constitution Day is a huge celebration. In Oslo the parade is greeted by the royal family greeting the crowd.

          Ice creams and hot dogs are traditionally food foods on a not so nourishing diet during the celebration, while evening games and speeches take place in local communities.
         The Constitution of Norway was signed at Eidsvoll on 17th of May in 1814, but at the time Norway was in a union with Sweden, and for a few years in the 1820s king Karl Johan of Sweden actually banned the celebrations. On 17th May it  became a larger event when Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (the writer of the national anthem, “Ja, vi elsker dette landet”) took initiative to a children’s parade in the capital of Oslo (then: Christiania) in the 1860s. Only boys were allowed in the parade until 1899, when the authorities at last came to their senses. The dissolution of the Sweden-Norway union happened in 1905, and the day got a whole new significance when the Second world war ended  on 8th of May 1945 – just before the national day. Needless to say, the celebrations had a really special atmosphere that year.


        The day is also an opportunity for men and women to show off their “bunad”, Norway’s traditional costumes.

I chose this festival, the Norway´s National Day since Norway is one of my favorite countries in the world, its customs and culture are interesting for me, one of my wishes is to travel to this country and I edited a video to make this blog more entertaining , since editing is one of my hobbies and I enjoy it.