Constitution Day: May 17
Constitution Day is celebrated by Norway as a public holiday.
This National day of Norway is also stated as Norwegian Independence Day which falls on May 17th. The constitution was signed on May 17th in the year 1814, declaring Norway an Independent nation.
Constitution Day History
The celebrations of Constitution Day began under Swedish rule and for some years the king was reluctant to allow any celebrations. During his rein King Carl Johan actually forbade it as he thought the celebrations were a protest against Swedish Sovereignty. The kings attitude changed after the Battle of The Square in 1829 where there was such a commotion he had no choice but to allow the Norwegian people to celebrate their Constitution.
In 1833 the official celebrations were initiated by the monument of the late politician Christian Krogh well known as having stopped the king gaining too much power over the Norwegian people. After 1864 Constitution Day became more established and the celebrations began with the first children’s parade consisting only of boys. It was much later in 1899 that girls could take part. Also by historical coincidence, the second world war ended nine days before that years Constitution Day on May 8th 1945 when occupying German forces surrended. As this is not an official holiday more emphasis has been made on Constitution Day on May 17th. This Day also focused originally on the Norwegian Constitution but after 1905 it is also geared to celebrate the Royal Family.
Constitution Day Traditions and Activities
The celebrations on this day are of a non military nature and mostly consist of children’s parades. The parades take a tour of the local community, calling in on old peoples homes, and war memorials to pay respect to Norwegian soldiers. The longest parade is in Oslo where 100,000 people travel from all over to participate in the celebrations. There are over 100 schools involved, marching bands, colourful parades with a huge emphasis on the celebrations when passing the Royal Palace where the Royal Family stand and watch. Live television broadcasts the whole event all day.
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