Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS

What’s open and what’s closed on May 1st in Norway?

May 1st, or Labour Day, is widely celebrated in Norway, with anyone even vaguely left-leaning joining marches and attending political speeches across the country. But it's also a public holiday, so what's open and what's closed?

Published: 29 April 2024 13:18 CEST
Updated: 30 April 2024 17:38 CEST
What's open and what's closed on May 1st in Norway?
Supporters of Norway's Labour Party attend a speech by leader jonas Gahr Støre on May 1st 2017. Photo: Bernt Sønvisen/Labour Party

Although neither May 1st nor Norway’s national day, May 17th, are included in Norway’s law on religious public holidays, they are both classed as public holidays, or røda dagar under a separate law.

This law allows public demonstrations which are not permitted on religious holidays, but states that otherwise, the two days should be treated in the same way.  

This means that May 1st is covered by the same relatively strict rules on shop opening times, with the state alcohol monopoly, Vinmonopolet closed, big supermarkets closed, and those grocery shops which are open banned from selling beer. 

Several categories of shop are allowed to stay open, and you’ll find that many restaurants and hotels stay open too.

Tourists should be warned, however, that fewer museums stay open in Norway’s major cities on May 1st than do during Easter. 

Read Also: What happens in Norway on May 1st?

What’s closed? 

Vinmonopolet is closed all day, meaning that if you want to buy strong beer, wine and spirits for May 1st, you need to get there before its shops close at 6pm on Tuesday, April 30th.

The stores will open again at 10am on Wednesday, May 2nd. 

Big supermarkets like Menu, Kiwi, and Rema 1000, will also be closed if, as most are, they are more than 100 square metres in size. 

Even smaller grocery stores which are allowed to remain open are not permitted to sell beer. 

A lot of other public services will also be closed or not operating on May 1st, including primary care or GP’s clinics, public libraries, municipal swimming pools, and sports centres. 

If you have an illness or injury that can’t wait, you can contact the legevakten, or emergency room at your local hospital.

What’s open? 

Small convenience stores of less 100 square metres in size or less are allowed to remain open, as are petrol stations of less than 150 square metres in size. 

In some tourist areas, such as those served by the Hurtigruten cruise ships, bigger shops are allowed to stay open under a special agreement with the authorities.  

Garden centres and florists are allowed to stay open. 

Duty free shops at airports in Norway are allowed to stay open. 

Restaurants, hotels and cafes are allowed to stay open. 

Museums and galleries

Many museums in the big cities which stay open over holidays such as Easter are closed on May Day to allow their employees to join the demonstrations.  

In Oslo, the Munch Museum is closed, but the Norwegian Maritime Museum, which includes the popular Fram and Kon-Tiki museums, is open, as is the Museum of Cultural History. 

In Bergen, the Bryggens Museum is closed, as are the other eight museums that are part of the Bymuseet, or city museum. 

All of the museums and galleries grouped under the popular KODE art gallery are also closed, including Troldhaugen, the home of the composer Edvard Grieg, the neo-Classical Permanenten gallery and the contemporary Stenersen gallery.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS

The things foreigners in Norway find confusing about May 17th 

Constitution Day, or May 17th, is a fantastic occasion in Norway. Foreigners living in the country also love getting in on the celebrations – but a few things about the day can be confusing. 

Published: 15 May 2024 16:06 CEST
The things foreigners in Norway find confusing about May 17th 

Often referred to as Norway’s national day, May 17th is much beloved in Norway. The parades and festivities are a must-see (and also pretty hard to miss) for anyone in Norway on the day. 

There are plenty of traditions that can seem strange from the outside looking in, including bunads, parades, singing the national anthem, and waving flags. Even after you’ve experienced them a few times, they can still feel puzzling. 

How to celebrate 

One aspect that can confuse foreigners, even those with a few May 17ths under the belt, is how exactly the date should be celebrated. 

While the parades are an obvious starting point, traditions can vary across families, cities and regions. 

Many will start May 17th with a combination of a typical Norwegian breakfast, with or without champagne, and then go to watch the parades. 

After that, things become more unclear. Some choose to celebrate the rest of the day with family, grilling or playing garden games. 

Others choose to party hard, whether at parties, bars, or special May 17th events. 

Meanwhile, some cities have large gatherings after the parades, torch processions, or fireworks in the evening. 

Our tip would be to choose what you like most about May 17th and go with the flow. 

Thankfully, as long as you don’t do something stupid like desecrate the Norwegian flag or spend the day antagonising people, there doesn’t appear to be a “right or wrong” way to celebrate the occasion. 

What to wear 

Outfit choice can be tricky on May 17th. People normally dress their best, be it in a traditional bunad, a suit, or other smart clothes. 

For foreigners, this can be tough. For starters, most probably do not feel Norwegian enough to wear a bunad but want to dress nicely for the occasion as a show of respect. 

Therefore, finding something that makes you feel comfortable, doesn’t feel underdressed, and is also appropriate for whatever the weather is can be a tricky balance. 

Some people wear folk costumes from where they are from, which for the most part goes down well as very few Norwegians hold an attitude of “this is our day and not yours”.

What other people are wearing

This is perhaps more the case for newcomers to Norway, but seeing a bunad for the first time can be strange. Seeing thousands of people decked out in “national costumes” (as they are sometimes referred to) can be overwhelming. 

Given that the costumes date back centuries, seeing the old mixed with the modern can also be surreal—for example, seeing someone in a bunad whizz by on an e-scooter. 

Even as you become more accustomed to seeing national costumes and learning more about them, you could confuse yourself trying to work out the origin of the bunad given the designs, colours and embroidery unique to different regions of Norway. 

The national pride

As the day marks the signing of the Norwegian constitution, it’s no surprise that its themes centre on national pride and identity and feature plenty of flag waving and singing of the national anthem. 

This can be puzzling for foreigners, as in some places, patriotism and national pride have been hijacked by populist and far-right movements and used as a tool to cause division.

Other foreigners may also be critical of the idea of a monarchy and how heavily they feature in the day’s proceedings. 

However, in Norway, no one really questions these things. This is just as well because, for the most part, May 17th demonstrates how you can celebrate a country’s essence without hijacking it for the wrong reasons. 

The locals in Norway generally choose to include those who also wish to celebrate May 17th rather than exclude them. 

It’s the fact that Norway is able to maintain a strong sense of national pride on May 17th while remaining inclusive that some may find confusing. 

SHOW COMMENTS