Gratulerer med dagen!
Today marks the celebration of Norway’s Constitution Day. Usually referred to as syttende mai (17 May) or Nasjonaldagen (The National Day) in Norwegian, the holiday commemorates the date when the nation’s constitution was signed at Eidsvoll in 1814. What piqued my interest was the way the holiday was described to me: “Imagine your Fourth of July, but on crack.”
Wait. Norwegians are out-celebrating Americans with regard to freedom? Blasphemy. Additionally, I was fairly certain (and have since confirmed) that Norway still has a monarchy, so I had a hard time reconciling what this meant. I needed to learn more.
The Scandinavian countries in general have a long and complicated history together, but the short story is this: Norway and Denmark had been in a union for some time. During the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark-Norway sided with France while Sweden was sided with Russia. When Sweden’s side won, Norway was to be ceded to Sweden as one of the terms in the Treaty of Kiel. Norwegians were not fans of this idea (they were sick and tired of being in unions) and decided to follow what all the cool kids of that era were doing by declaring independence and forming their own constitution, flag (red, white, and blue, baby!), and parliament. Sweden didn’t want to be cheated out of its spoils, so another (short) war ensued, with the result being Norway and Sweden would be separate countries united with a common king.1 So still a union, but one that gave the Norwegians more freedom and autonomy than the old union with Denmark. This was cause for celebration, but according to the Nordic Page,
Norway was under Swedish rule at that time and the Swedes believed that the celebration was a provocation against Sweden and the royal family. After several attempted celebrations, King Carl Johan forbade celebrating the day. This prohibition triggered a higher level of ambition towards Norwegian independence and consequently an enthusiastic crowd gathered to protest at the main square of Christiana (Oslo), which later became known as the Battle of the Square of 1829. The Swedish authorities reacted to this spontaneous public meeting but their actions only increased the resistance.
At its heart, the National Day is to celebrate the values of freedom, equality, brotherhood, and thankfulness, and as well as the circumstances that led up to the constitution. Henrik Wergeland, a Norwegian writer and 19th-century social justice warrior who was present at the Battle of the Square, is credited with advocating the focus of the day be put on Norway’s children rather than patriotic pride. The argument has been made, however, that because children represent Norway’s future, focusing the National Day on them is a form of nationalistic pride. Indeed, beyond the flag-waving and eating ice cream and hot dogs, today’s celebrations center around children’s parades as well as separate parades of the russ (Norway’s equivalent of graduating high-school seniors). Some communities also have citizens’ parades of local sports teams, fire fighters, and other associations. Other parts of the celebration include the singing of national songs, dressing up (either in their best clothes or traditional Norwegian garb, called a bunad), playing games, and waving the Norwegian flag.
Alright, in America we have parades and hot dogs too. We even have a completely separate holiday dedicated to giving thanks (Thanksgiving, which happens to be my favorite holiday). So what about Norway’s celebration makes it so much bigger than America’s? In the course of my research, the best explanation I found came from blogger AFrogInTheFjord:
In Norway this is a big party but also serious business. Before being a wealthy oil nation Norway was the poorest and least free Scandinavian nations, and freedom from the “big Brothers” Sweden and Danemark who were much bigger empires is something people want to remember vividly: now we are free to be our own nation. I personally love this day because the joy that one feels in the streets of Norway is so intense that it feels like pure collective freedom.
[Author’s note: I’d be remiss to end this article without a nod to the comic which tipped me off to this holiday in the first place. Many thanks to Humon, the artist behind Scandanavia and the World]
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1 Norway wouldn’t become a fully independent nation until August 1905, when Norwegian voters moved to dissolve the union with Sweden altogether and elected their own king. Yes, you read that right- rather than form a republic and earn Varyar’s love, nearly 80% of the voters decided to keep a monarchy. Interestingly, the man Parliament chose for the position, Prince Carl of Denmark, agreed to take the throne only if the Norwegian people voted for it.
thefourthcastle.com 