On most Norwegian bloggs you will today find pictures of people dressed up in their finest clothes, maybe in national costumes ("bunad"), cheering, waving Norwegian flags and generally having a good time. What you will not find is military parades, a show of advanced weapons etc etc. Oh, you may find the odd troop among the civilian parades, but they will be unarmed and probably marching not quite in step.I have chosen a slightly different approach. I have done this to emphasize that the day is in commemoration of the signing of the first national, Norwegian constitution in 1814. After 400 years of Danish rule, the Napoleonic wars had left Norway to be transferred as a booty of war from Denmark to Sweden. Sweden had just lost Finland to Russia and the Swedish Crown Prince Carl Johan (Jean Bernadotte - a former Marshall under Napoleon) wanted Norway as a replacement.
However, the Norwegians wanted it otherwise. A national assembly was called at Eidsvold outside Oslo (then called Christiania) and they signed the worlds most liberal constitution on this day. True, after a short war with Sweden, Norway had to accept a personal union with Sweden under the rule of Crown Prince (later King) Carl Johan. But the constitution was kept almost unchanged and Norway had a very high degree of independence within the union until total independence was declared on the 7th of June 1905. But the 17th of May is acknowledged as the greatest day in our history.
So it is our Constitution we are celebrating - in our own simple, a bit nationalistic, but harmless way. May you all have a nice day!
PS Of course certain recent events in Moscow can't go unmentioned...
Now we have one more reason to celebrate!! Cheers to Alexander Rybak!!
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