17. mai

Today is our national day! Today, 196 years ago, our country's constitution was signed at Eidsvoll. Today, our whole country comes to a standstill, as everyone is celebrating this festive day. What usually happens on our national day is that all the school children, some of their parents and others who want to join in, walk in a parade, with brass music, through the streets of their city or town. In my home town, where I celebrate the national day every year, there are games for the kids at the local school afterwards, before the adults head off to the local pub for a pint, an ice cream or just a chat. Later in the afternoon, and if the weather permits it, there is usually a dinner at some family member or friends house, like a barbecue. In bigger cities, like Oslo, people gather in parks, where there are concerts and tivoli fun. Also in Oslo, the parade with all of Oslo's school children goes along Karl Johan street and up to the Royal Palace where our Royal Family stands on the balcony and waves to the people. Follow this link to see a few photos from the parade in Oslo and Karl Johan.
As I am not in Oslo today, I chose to post a photo today of the outfit that people wear on 17th of May. If you thought the celebration of our national day stops with "just" a parade, you're wrong. We also have a national dress, called bunad, that we wear on special occasions. That is, those who don't come to the horrific realisation on 16th of May, that the bunad does not fit anymore!!! As you can see on the photo, the dresses have different colours and embroidery. This is because they symbolises different regions in Norway. Usually people choose their bunad after what region their family comes from, or where they live. (Check out this page for more pictures and information on our national dress)
A fun fact before I finish; We have our own bunad encyclopedia, making it able to learn more about the different dresses and the region they come from. As one region have many different dresses, this encyclopedia can be very handy!