Syttende Mai Day 2024 is on Friday, May 17, 2024: what nations were involved in syttende mai ?

Friday, May 17, 2024 is Syttende Mai Day 2024. Syttende Mai Syttende Mai

what nations were involved in syttende mai ?

Norway. May 17 is Norway's Constitution Day.

How is Syttende Mai celebrated?

How is Syttende Mai celebrated?

17th of May is celebrated with big parades, usually with school children while the adults stand on the side of the roads and watch. There's also played music from bands, with old, traditional songs. And of course the national anthem.

People also wear national costumes, especially the women. The costumes are called bunad and are very popular. About 50% of the women have a bunad, and you see many of them on the national day.

Like in this video:

Another big deal in Norway is something called "russ". You can look it up here on Wikipedia:

The 17th of May they celebrate that they are finally finished with school, and they also join the parades. Before they have been allowed to drive their big vans and buses through the parades but now that is very restricted and they have to be a lot more careful while doing it. The "russ" usually run separately from the children, so everyone can be there cheering at them, and so the children can gather their "russekort" ('russ cards'). They blow whistles, jump, sing, scream and make as much noise as they can. Some are drunk while at the parade, but since the parades are held in the mornings (about 8-11 am,) most are still hungover from the 16th of May, which is THE big party day for the "russ".

Here's a vid of a "russetog" ('russ parade'):

After the parades are done, some schools have an own program of activities - mostly for the children. Among the very common ones are "sekkeløp", where you run/jump on a big sack and you compete to be the first one to cross the finish line, and "potetløp" where you also wanna be the first one across the finish line, but with a potato (or sometimes an egg) balancing on a spoon.

Video of "sekkeløp":

Video of "potetløp":

Other games include quizzes, throwing balls at cans, throwing darts at blinks, and simple things like that. It usually varies from place to place, and school to school. Some people gather their family/neighbourhood and have activities there instead.

In schools and around cities, ice cream and hot dogs are very popular. Many children are allowed to have as many ice creams as they want that day, and hot dogs are the most bought food that day. (Keep in mind that the stores are closed so people don't have that much choice, either.) After the celebrations and games on schools and such, people gather their closest friends and families, and have dinners at their homes. Some people choose very traditional meals, while some people choose barbecuing in their gardens.

what holidays do Norwigian people celebate?

what holidays do Norwigian people celebate?

Norwegian Holidays

Syttende Mai (Seventeenth of May)

In 1814, the Kingdom of Norway broke away from Denmark after 400 years of being under Danish control. On May 17 of this year, a constitution was established by the Kingdom of Norway at the Constituent Assembly at Eidsvold, and, although a Norway was part of a kingdom with Sweden until 1905, Norway has chosen the Seventeenth of May (Syttende Mai) as its day of liberation and celebration.

This day is celebrated in Norway with parades of dressed-up children and adults carrying flags and singing. Some predominantly Norwegian cities in America also choose to celebrate Syttende Mai, including Spring Grove and Hanska, Minnesota. Folk dancing and music, ethnic clothing, and arts and crafts are often apart of these American celebrations.

St. Hans Aften (St. John's Eve)

St. Hans Aften is celebrated in Norway every June on the longest day of the year. On this day, barbeques are held featuring games and lotteries. Bonfires are also a main part of the observance. These fires date back to pagan days, and some superstitions surrounding them state that the bonfires will protect people from evil spirits and witches.

Christmas (Jul)

In many Norwegian homes, the observance of Christmas begins on the evening of December 23. This day, called "Lille Julaften" or Little Christmas Eve, is when most families decorate their Christmas trees and homes. It is traditional to decorate these trees with handmade Christmas baskets. These baskets are made out of red and green paper that is weaved together and then filled with fruits, candy, and nuts.

The next day is Christmas Eve, and the children of Norway often get up early and wait for the special Christmas programs to start on their televisions. Some people also go to church around 3 or 4 o'clock, and others visit the graves of friends and family. Also on this day, some families leave a bowl of porridge in their barns for the nisse, or gnome, who lives in and protects the barn and animals.

A special Christmas meal is then served towards evening, and what is served at the meal varies depending up which part of Norway a family is from. Eastern Norwegians eat lye fish, or lutfisk, while western Norwegians enjoy steamed lamb ribs called Pinnekjøtt. After the meal, it is time to open gifts. Sometimes Julenisse (Santa Claus) even comes to the home to distribute the gifts himself.

On Christmas Day, family Christmas parties are often held and some people attend church services. The next day there are more parties, but these are mostly parties with friends.

Norwegian flag courtesy of Absolute Web Graphics Archive.

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