Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS

May 17th: A guide to how Norway celebrates its national day

Norway marks its national day on Monday May 17th but celebrations are once again slightly muted due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Here we explain how the country commemorates the day it signed its constitution in 1814.

Published: 13 May 2017 07:48 CEST
Updated: 17 May 2023 09:08 CEST
May 17th: A guide to how Norway celebrates its national day
A 1993 photo of young Norwegians celebrating May 17th. Photo: Terje Bendiksby/NTB/SCANPIX
May 17th, or constitution day, commemorates the signing of Norway’s constitution in 1814 and which declared the country as independent.
 
For the first time in three years, Norway will mark its national day of celebration, Constitution Day, without pandemic restrictions. Here’s what you need to know about the day of celebration.
 
 
Get up early
 
Celebrations kick off early for Norway’s national day, so forget about having a lie in on the day. Whether it’s the cannons being fired at dawn, the ‘buekorps’ (boys and girls brigades) enthusiastically banging their drums through the streets of Bergen or the children’s parades getting under way in Oslo and other towns and cities, expect an early start, and high noise levels throughout the day.
 
May 17th marching band.
Norway’s national day normally means getting up early. Pictured is a May17th marching band. Photo: Marie Peyre.

 
Dress appropriately
 
Norwegians like to dress casually at any other time, but on May 17th, they do smarten up. Many (women in particular) proudly don the local ‘bunad’, the traditional costume, of which there are over 200 different kinds in Norway. Those who don’t still dress smartly (this means a suit for men, or at the very least a jacket).
 
 
Sportswear and casual clothes, so popular any other time of the year, are a no-no, and although allowances are made for foreigners, it is worth making an effort to blend in. 
 
Norwegians will be wearing Bunads on May 17th. Pictured is a children’s parade. Photo: Marie Peyre.
 
Fly the flag
 
On 17 May Norwegians paint the town red… and white, and blue. The flag is indeed a big part of the celebrations, and your party kit is not complete without one. Thankfully cheap flags can be bought pretty much everywhere in the days before the event, from local supermarkets to discount shops and many other places, so just get one and join in. 
 
Norwegian scouts carrying Norway's flags.
Norwegian scouts carrying Norway’s flags. Photo by Marie Peyre


Photo: Marie Peyre
 
Brace yourself for queues
 
To get a drink. To get a bite to eat. To go to the loo. On public transport. On packed roads. Plan accordingly. 
 

Photo: Marie Peyre
 
Book your table well in advance
 
While many Norwegians will grab a ‘pølse i brød’ (hot dog) or an ice-cream while out and about on the day (it has indeed become a bit of a tradition for many), lots will also sit down for a proper lunch, and many hotels and restaurants offer special May 17th menus.
 
If you really want to make a day of it and enjoy Norway’s Constitution Day in style, make sure to book well in advance at your chosen restaurant. Just turning up on the day is bound to bring disappointment.
 
Photo: Marie Peyre
 
Pack an umbrella
 
Spring can be unpredictable in Norway. You might get a glorious, sunny warm day, or it might be cold, grey and windy. Each year, speculations as to what the weather will be like on May 17th make for lively conversation topics earlier on in the month. Snow has even been known to fall on May 17th. So don’t assume anything, check the weather forecast and pack an umbrella just in case. Better be safe than sorry. 
 
Snap away
 
May 17th celebrations are really something unique, and this is a very special time to be visiting Norway. Great photo opportunities abound on the day. Make sure you bring your camera (or at least make sure your mobile is fully charged, with plenty of available storage). 
 
A russetog, or russ parade. Russ is where final year high school students in Norway party for around a month in the lead up to May 17th. Photo by Marie Peyre.


Photo: Marie Peyre
 
Learn to say ‘Gratulerer med dagen’
 
That’s how Norwegians greet each other on the day. This can be roughly translated as ‘Congratulations on this special day’. It also means ‘Happy birthday’. Which is a bit confusing for foreigners, but kind of makes sense, as this is the anniversary of Norway’s constitution, which was signed at Eidsvoll on May 17th 1814. 
 
This article was first published in 2017.
For members

DANISH TRADITIONS

Why is Maundy Thursday a holiday in Denmark and Norway but not in Sweden?

People in Denmark and Norway have the day off on Maundy Thursday, but people in Sweden still have to work. Why is this?

Published: 28 March 2024 07:40 CET
Why is Maundy Thursday a holiday in Denmark and Norway but not in Sweden?

Maundy Thursday marks the Last Supper, the day when Jesus was betrayed by his disciple Judas at a Passover meal, and depending on whether you’re speaking Swedish, Danish or Norwegian, It is known as skärtorsdagen, skærtorsdag, or skjærtorsdag.

Historically, it has also been called “Shere” or “Shere Thursday” in English with all four words “sheer”, meaning “clean” or “bright”. 

In the Nordics, whether or not it is a public holiday not depends on where you are: workers in Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands get the day off, but those in Sweden and Finland don’t.

The difference goes back to Sweden’s split from Denmark with the breakup of the Kalmar Union in 1523, and then the different ways the two countries carried out the Reformation and the establishment of their respective Lutheran churches. 

When Denmark’s King Christian III defeated his Roman Catholic rival in 1536, he imposed a far-reaching Reformation of the Church in Denmark, initially going much further in abolishing public holidays than anything that happened in Sweden. 

“Denmark carried out a much more extensive reduction of public holidays in connection with the Reformation,” Göran Malmstedt, a history professor at Gothenburg University, told The Local. “In Denmark, the king decided in 1537 that only 16 of the many medieval public holidays would be preserved, while in Sweden almost twice as many public holidays were retained through the decision in the Church Order of 1571.”

It wasn’t until 200 years later, that Sweden’s Enlightenment monarch, Gustav III decided to follow Denmark’s austere approach, axing 20 public holidays, Maundy Thursday included, in the calendar reform known in Sweden as den stora helgdöden, or “the big public holiday slaughter”.

Other public holidays to get abolished included the third and fourth days of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, ten days celebrating Jesus’ apostles, and the three days leading up to Ascension Day. 

“It was only when Gustav III decided in 1772 to abolish several of the old public holidays that the church year here came to resemble the Danish one,” Malmstedt said. 

At the time Finland was simply a part of Sweden (albeit one with a lot of Finnish speakers). The other Nordic countries, on the other hand, were all part of the rival Denmark-Norway. 

So if you live in the Nordics and are having to work on Maundy Thursday, now you know who to blame.  

SHOW COMMENTS