May 17th - What does Norway's independence day look like?

Hey guys, it's Silje! 

I hope you're all hanging in there, and finish off strong during dead week. Personally, it has been a hectic few weeks with school and although it is kind of bitter-sweet that my first year at PLU is coming to an end, I am looking forward to summer and what next semester has to offer (hopefully in-person classes)! 

At the end of April, I went back home to Norway to finish the rest of the semester there. This means that I got back home in time for Norway's independence day, otherwise known as May 17th (syttende mai)! Due to Covid-19 restrictions this year and last year, the recent celebrations have not exactly been traditional. For May 17th I did an Instagram-stories takeover on the PLU international account (@pluintl) to show how my friends, family, and I celebrate - if you're interested in watching, it's saved on our account as a highlight! There were only a few traditions that I was able to do this year, so I wanted to tell you guys about how May 17th would be celebrated pre-covid. 

“Skrangletog” - noisy parade

The day starts bright and early at 7.00am when the noisy parade walks around the neighborhoods. 

This is a tradition that almost every city in Norway participates in, where the whole goal is to make as 

much noise as you possibly can to wake everyone up. This is a huge thing for kids - I would know since 

that was my favorite part of May 17th when I was a kid. Just to get a representation of how noisy this is, 

I found a video on YouTube of a classic "skrangletog" which you can watch here.

Champagne breakfast

This is exactly what it sounds like! Champagne breakfast is typically a tradition between friends, where we meet around 8-10am to eat breakfast with each other, like eggs, bacon, different spreads and drink champagne before we get going for the rest of the day.

Bunad

On May 17th, people wear the nicest clothes they own. For a lot of Norwegians, their nicest piece of clothing would be their bunad. This is a national dress/suit that usually represents where they are from. For example, I am from Telemark and we have a bunad that is unique to our area. I, unfortunately, do not have a bunad yet, but I have been saving up for one for the past few years and are purchasing it this year! It is a big process to get this custom-made, but a bunad will last you for a lifetime. Here is a picture from May 17th this year (at champagne breakfast) - Pictured are Julie, Susann, me, and Aurora. They all have bunads specific to where they/their families come from. Mine will be similar to Aurora's bunad on the right, the Telemark bunad.

School parades

At noon is when the local school parades start walking. Students from grades 1-10 walk as their families watch. The schools also host games like corn holes and sack jumping, as well as there are food stands that serve hot dogs, ice creams, soda, cakes made by the local families, and snacks. I always enjoy going over to my school to see my old teachers, say hi to old classmates, and watch my younger family members walk in the parade that I used to walk in.

Citizen-parade

At 5pm, the citizen parade starts walking around the cities of Norway. It sounds like all we do is walk/watch parades, which is kind of true! The citizen parade is huge, with different schools, clubs, sportsclubs and organizations walk together. This includes this year's high school seniors who are graduating. They all wear senior overalls that they have stickers/drawings on to make them custom and unique. This has been a tradition for multiple decades and it is a fun way to celebrate your graduation. For seniors, May 17th is all about partying!

Dinner/BBQ

After the parades, people usually get together with their families and/or friends to eat dinner. A lot of people BBQ and sit outside if the weather allows for it, while some people meet out at restaurants to eat there. Those traditions are all individual, but my family is typically barbecuing with aunts, uncles and cousins. And of course, there are desserts. 

And that is pretty much it. I wouldn't say that it is anything crazy, but traditions are always sacred to any family/country! May 17th is actually one of my favorite holidays here in Norway because you really see a pride in your country, and it seems like that there are no strangers this day - we all smile, greet each other and say Happy Birthday to each other (independence day is considered Norway's birthday). The past two years have been different due to covid and a lot of celebrations were cancelled to limit gatherings, so I have not been able to see nor attend a parade these past couple of times. I am hopeful that May 17th of 2022 will be back to normal! 

I'll end with wishing you all good luck with finals, and have a great summer! Cant wait to see you all again on campus next semester :) 

- Silje