May 17th., Norway's constitution day.
Why do we celebrate this day in Norway, you may ask. The main thing is to celebrate the freedom we have in our country and also to make sure everyone will do their best so that we also can be an independent country in the future too. That is why it is so important that we make the children take part in this and unlike in many other countries, this is really the day were the children are in the center of the events. It is not a day for the military to make a parade, the closest one gets to that, is that in some cities, the bands of the forces play in the procession that takes place in the morning.
In 1814, Norway was liberated after a long union with Denmark and it was then important to get our own constitution. This was finalized at Eidsvoll on May the 17th. 1814. Later on we had to go into union again (with Sweden this time), but the thought of liberty lived on in our souls. It was not until 1869 that someone made a suggestion that everyone should gather on this day in May and form a procession through the streets as a reminder of the event in 1814.
In 1905, Norway was again a free country, this time without a king. It was decided on asking a Danish prince to become our new king. He accepted after the people of Norway having a majority vote on this (this was required by the prince) and he became know as King Haakon VII. He arrived in Norway on June the 7th. 1905.
He became a popular king among the people and when Norway was occupied in April 1940, he refused to surrender and left the country a little later on after having left his Palace and travelled north to avoid the German soldiers. He became a major inspiration for the Norwegian people while out of the country for 5 years.
After the liberation on May the 8th. 1945, his son, Crown Prince Olav was the first of the Royal family to arrive back in Norway and was given a VERY Royal reception when he arrived by boat in Oslo. Later, on June the 7th., King Haakon again arrived back in Norway and started the task in leading our country when rebuilding everything that had been destroyed during the war. He was our king till he died in 1957, his son then became King Olav V, and like his father, he became very popular.
When King Olav took over, he soon became a popular King an became known as "the King of the People". In the summer, he usually moved to his residence just outside the city centre. You could often see him walk around at Bygdøy accompanied by his dog, I met him several times. When there was the oil shortage at the end of the 60's, no-one was allowed to use their cars in the weekends. King Olav then behaved like anyone else in our country: He insisted on using public transport he wanted to go skiing in the winter. He even insisted on paying his ticket going there!
His son, now King Harald, tried to follow in his footsteps when King Olav died. While he was a Crown Prince, he married Sonja Haraldsen, an "ordinary" Norwegian girl. When I say "ordinary", that is not quite true as she came from a traders family with, or maybe you would call it from one of the better classes of the people.
On September the first, it was announced that their son is moving in with an even more common Norwegian girl, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby. She has a 3 year old child (has never been married to the father of her child). The father has a criminal record. One can of course argue that this is very common these days, but I believe a person that is to become a King, should behave differently? Maybe it's time to think of becoming a Republic? I do not mind if the crown prince wants to marry someone outside royalty, but then I think they should say no to the Crown as was done in England and also elsewhere.
A few photos from the celebration of May 17th.:
The photo above shows a band leading the procession in Halden, the only city mentioned in our National Anthem "Ja vi elsker" (Yes we love (this country)).
A "normal" May 17th., starts with canons saluting at 7 in the morning, then there is different activities until the processions start at 10. This may last anything between 1 hour and 3 hours. It is then normal to have a meal with friends and family.
Above you can see the most important participants, the children.
In the early afternoon, there is usually a procession by student who are in their final year at school. As an end to their obligatory years at school, they gather in hoards to try to set the town upside-down. When I was at this stage in life, we were lucky as we had finished all our exams and had no other worries (apart from waiting for the final results). Today, they usually start their exams around May the 20th.
Also little children are dressed in national costumes. Some are lucky to have a pram to relax in, the day can be very long.