Syttende Mai (17th of May)
Syttende Mai. The 17th of May is a perfect day for the launch of The Traveling Cowboy as it is Norway’s Constitution Day. At least that’s the translation. We can really just think of it as the 4th of July for Norway. It is the one day in the entire year when Norwegians can demonstrate nationalism without being frowned upon. For this one day, Norwegian flags fill the streets and everyone is happy to don their bunads. Bunads are the national dress of Norway and while they have always been popular for females, they are becoming increasingly popular for males as well. The costume shows at an instant (to a trained eye) where the wearer is from. A blue bunad means they are from a costal city while a green bunad is from the interior. The different designs and patterns indicate different villages and regions and the jewelry as well is location-specific. Often, women will choose to wear the costume from their parents or ancestors home region (especially if it’s pretty than wear they have settled) and men can do the same. A large number of Norwegian either don’t invest in the expensive costumers or choose not to, and then wear a nice suit or formal dress.
The days activities can be summed up as eating, drinking, and marching. You wake up early, go to a friends home for brunch, go and watch the young students march in a parade, return to the home for more food and drinks, go to the street to watch the older children march, return home to eat and drink (and maybe play a game) and return again to the streets for a parade with the high school graduates. All of this walking to and fro parades of course builds up the appetite again, so further eating and drinking is required.
The 17th of May thus varies greatly from the US’ 4th of July in that it is social. Instead of going to a lake or cabin for a day of grilling, it is a community-wide event full of music and pageantry. In Oslo, you can even walk by the queen and king who stand for hours waving, seemingly emotion-less.
As the celebration winds down, a silly foreigner like myself might even get up the gumption to ask why all this happens. Well, it’s called Constitution Day and not Independence Day for a reason. In 1814, Norway was being handed over to Sweden by Denmark as a war-prize for the Swedes who helped fight against Napolean and his Danish supporters. Norway was not to fond of the idea and instead drafted a constitution that would be the foundation for a free Norway. Well, the Swedes declined and Norway was a province of Sweden until 1905 when they peacefully seperated and again became an independent nation.
A pretty good reason to celebrate. A constitution. So for one day, we’ll give the Norwegians a break and let them be nationalistic and pompous. Lord knows they will avoid talking about themselves the other 364 days of the year.
