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The Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17th is a celebration of the day in 1814 when Norway’s constitution was signed.
The day is celebrated in every city and tiny village across the country - in the morning all the schoolchildren parade through their town or local community, singing, shouting and waving their flags - walking behind colorful banners that represent either their school or their class. Marching bands play.
Everyone dresses up - many wear our colourful national costumes. After the Children's Parade, people usually gather in the school-yards for further celebrations: speeches, games for the kids, and food. The 17th of May is primarily the children's day - filled with ice cream, cotton candy, balloons and games. In most cities there are additional parades, usually in the afternoon, where all kinds of clubs & organizations take part - usually with a humouristic aspect. Notice the russ - 18-year-olds dressed in red, partying and celebrating having finished 13 years of school. (The russ might appear somewhat calm & quiet on the 17th - but that's only because they've been up all night (and quite possibly the night before, too) partying... ;o)
The 17th of May offers an opportunity to sample some of the traditional Norwegian dishes - such as "Rømmegrøt", a sour-cream porridge, served with cured meat. Salmon is also a National Day favourite. Leave a Comment
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 Hiking permitted...;o) Sogn og
Fjordane county. by FletteMette, 1 more photos
You may put up a tent practically wherever you want on uncultivated land, as long as you stay at least 150 meters away from the nearest house or cabin - if you want to stay for more than two nights in the same place, you have to ask the landowner's permission. (Except in the mountains and in very remote areas) (But it *is* always polite to ask, even if you're only staying for one night!) Make sure you are not causing any inconvenience to the land owners or others.
Remember that this right is based on respect for the nature and the countryside - visitors must always show consideration for the farmers and property owners, for other users, and for the environment. Never leave anything behind, always take your rubbish back with you, don't disturb or damage the environment, livestock or wildlife. Open fires are not permitted in or near forested areas between April 15th - September 15th. The "Right of Access" does not apply to motorized vehicles...;o) Leave a Comment
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The Sami are the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia - the area of Sami settlement extends over the arctic regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland as well as the Kola peninsula of Russia. The total Sami population is estimated to about 75000, with roughly half living in Norway. The municipality of Kautokeino, in the inland of Finnmark (the northernmost county of Norway), is considered to be the cultural centre of the Sami area.
Traditionally the Sami were fishermen, trappers, and nomadic reindeer herders - even though many Sami now have a more modern lifestyle and modern jobs, reindeer husbandry is still an important part of the Sami culture. (But snowmobiles and ATV's have replaced skis and reindeer sleighs, and very few Samis live a nomadic life.)
The main commercial products of reindeer husbandry are meat and reindeer skins. Antlers and bones are used in traditional Sami handicrafts. Earlier, the reindeer provided the Sami with almost everything they needed: food (meat & milk), shelter and clothing, (reindeer skins), tools made from bones and antlers, sewing thread made from tendons and ligaments. Reindeer are also able to pull sleighs, even though the sub-species that Santa uses (the flying ones) are quite rare nowadays.
The Sami of Norway have their own parliament, their own flag and national day. The Sami language differs strongly from Norwegian, and almost all Samis are bilingual, speaking both Sami and Norwegian. The "joik" is the traditional Sami way of singing - the joiks can tell stories, and they can be dedicated to occasions or people. Mari Boine is a Sami singer, she's blending Sami music with elements of jazz and rock. Quite cool, check out one of her albums!
The colourful, traditional Sami clothes - kofte - is still being worn by many Samis, for formal occasions, weddings and parties as well as for daily wear. Have a look at the pics!:o) Leave a Comment
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 Leave 'em outside, please;o) by FletteMette
When walking / driving / busing to a party at someone's home, we'll often wear boots or whatever - and pop on the high heels when we arrive at our host's house. The roads and pavements of Norway are snowy, slushy, icy or wet for a considerable part of the year - and shoes do tend to get muddy or wet... ;o) Leave a Comment
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Perhaps I should put this tip under the "Warning & dangers" category, but...here it goes.. :o)
Trolls are some of the most well-known creatures of Norwegian folk tales, they live in the forests and inside mountains - and they turn to stone if exposed to sunlight. (This is actually why Norway has so many mountains - all those petrified trolls...) They might abduct children - and they are particularly fond of kidnapping princesses. The trolls are quite naive and not particularly bright, so they're often fooled by clever humans.
A troll is usually huge (but not always!), perhaps with a spruce tree or two growing on top of its big, warty nose - some even have multiple heads. (And if you chop one off, three more will grow back...) They all have coarse, scruffy hair, and a long tail. A troll only has four fingers on each hand, and four toes on each foot - so counting fingers is always a good way of telling a troll from a human, if you're in doubt...;o)
Trolls are probably the most popular Norwegian souvenir - they come in all sizes and shapes, and are available in all souvenir stores. Leave a Comment
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 My home-made nisse... :o) by FletteMette
The traditional nisse always wears a red woolen hat, and usually knee-pants and a knitted, woolen sweater - and he has a long white beard. The traditional nisse is an old figure, existing long before Christianity. Our Norwegian nisse is still commonly seen around Christmas time, even though his cousin, the American style Santa, does make an appearance here as well. Santa is also called nisse in Norwegian - they are competing for attention at Christmas...;o)
On Christmas Eve, the nisse brings gifts to the kids, in a huge sack carried over his shoulder - he'll knock on the door some time after the Christmas Dinner, asking if there are any well-behaved children present. (often scaring the crap out of the kids in the process...;o)
Oh, and contrary to what the Finns say: the *real* nisse / father Christmas / Santa doesn't live in Finland (and not on the North Pole either!) - he lives in Norway, and this is his postal address if you want to send him your wish list: Julenissen, 1440 Drøbak, Norway. If you don't believe me you can visit him and see for yourself - in Drøbak, a small coastal town just south of Oslo. Leave a Comment
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 Café in Bergen - smoke-free:o) by FletteMette
The Norwegian government says that the ban was introduced to protect people working in the catering industry from the effects of second-hand smoke - but I guess they also hoped more people would quit smoking.
Many restaurants / pubs do have outdoor areas for smokers, often with roofs and even heating - where you may see smokers huddling together in cold winter nights..;o) I don't smoke, so I guess it's no surprise that I'm a big fan of the smoking ban - to me it's great to be able to go to a café or a pub without ending up smelling like an ashtray. Leave a Comment
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 Bunad from Hardanger
(photo borrowed from the
net) by FletteMette
The bunads are entirely hand-made, with elaborate embroidery and silver or gold jewelry. A bunad never goes out of fashion, and can last a lifetime - some are even inherited.
Usually people get a bunad from the area they, or their ancestors, come from - so by looking at a person's bunad, you might be able to tell which part of the country they identify themselves with... (Even though some just pick a design they fancy)
Most Norwegian women (and an increasing number of men) own a bunad - we wear our bunads on the National Day (17th of May) and often at weddings and other celebrations - the bunads are fully recognized as gala costumes. Leave a Comment
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 Röyksopp (webpic) by diocletianvs
I discovered Röyksopp when one friend gave me their CD, months after I have returned from Norway. But once their CD landed into my CD player it didn't get out of it for weeks. Their music is an excellent reminder of Norwegian landscapes, summer "nights" with almost no darkness at all, of Norwegian shyness, way of life and their way of loving.
Fabulous atmosphere, one can listen to it on and on and always find new details to enjoy.
And get addicted to it.
Oh yes, you can get Röyksopp addicted very easy. Leave a Comment
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