Hurra for Syttende Mai!
- YASS Secretary
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Amy Sinar
Hei. Jeg heter Amy. Jeg er 12 år gammel. Jeg bor i en landsby like utenfor York. Dette er min blogg om Norges nasjonaldag: syttendemai. I år feiret jeg det med nye venner påNorsk Studiesenter som er en del avUniversity of York.
Syttende Mai, or 17th May, is Norway’s National Day (nasjonalsdagen). On this day, Norway bursts into colour, sound and celebration as people take to the streets for parades, flag waving and food.
There is seemingly an unlimited supply of hotdogs, waffles, cakes and ice cream. This year, I joined about 50 people from YASS, the Norwegian Study Centre and across Yorkshire for a party in York. But what is SyttendeMai about?
Why do Norwegians celebrate 17th May?
Syttende Mai is the anniversary of the signing of the Norwegian Constitution which happened in 1814. The constitution was signed in a place called Eidsvoll, not in Oslo (which is the capital of Norway today). This document laid the foundations and ideas of modern Norway, although Norway stayed in union with Sweden until 1905.
It is a very patriotic day – with flags everywhere – but the mood is warm and welcoming. It isn’t about military might, but rather about community – especially children. Children are at the heart of the celebrations. There are parades for children, with many children being as excited about Syttende Mai as they are about their own birthdays!
17th May coincides with russefeiring – the graduation celebration for final-year high school students. This goes on throughout May. Those celebrating wear red or blue overalls. This is quite different to the national dress (bunad) often seen in the parades.
How did we celebrate in York?
This year, YASS and the Norwegian Study Centre at the University of York held their first ever joint celebration of Syttende Mai. They invited members of YASS, students studying at the Norwegian Study Centre and the University of York, and local families with an interest in Norway or Norwegian heritage.
We joined together between 1100 and 1400 to do lots of fun things:
Watched the parades live from Oslo, including seeing the king and queen waving at the crowds
Played outdoor games such as ring toss and potato racing (like an egg and spoon race, but with the vegan friendly and less crackable alternative of a potato!)
Made trumpets, coloured flags and images of Norway and tried out some Norwegian word searches
I learnt to say Gratulerer med dagen! ‘Congratulations on the day!’ to everyone
Sang the national anthem Ja, vi elsker dette landet ‘Yes, we love this country’
Held our own mini parade in the sunshine. I loved blowing the trumpet that I had made.
Aside from having fun and making friends, the best thing was the food. There were hotdogs, vegan sausage rolls, waffles and ice-cream. There was also cake. So much cake!
These were decorated in red, white and blue (the colours of the Norwegian flag). I think my favourite was the bløtkake, which is a kind of layered cream cake.
Next year I hope we will get a kransekake, which is a kind of almond wreath cake, although I don’t know how I will manage to eat it after so many hotdogs and so much ice cream!
