Happy Birthday Norway!

Today is 'Syttende Mai,' Norway's favorite national holiday. Officially, it is Norwegian Constitution Day, but for an American like me, the celebration seems a whole lot more like the 4th of July than does the celebration of Norway's independence day on June 7. The story is complicated but fascinating, and it begins over 1000 years ago.

In 872 Harold Fairhair - whose monument stands in Haugesund, where he is buried - unified all the Norwegian provinces under his leadership, becoming the first king of the fledgling nation. Legend has it that Harold's beloved refused to marry him before he was 'king over of all Norway,' and so he vowed not to cut his hair until he had achieved that goal, hence the name Fairhair. Norway grew in size and power throughout the Viking Age, but was unified with Sweden in 1319 and then Denmark in 1376. Ravaged by the Black Death, all three countries eventually entered into the Kalmar Union in 1397 and so consolidated power under one monarch. Sweden broke out of the union in 1521, leaving Norway to endure a '400-year night' under Danish rule.

In 1812 Denmark-Norway was attacked by the British and sought protection in an alliance with Napoleon. The alliance proved unable to prevent the cession of Norway to Sweden in 1814, but Norway took this opportunity to declare its independence. On the 17th of May, 1814, Norway signed a constitution (the second oldest still in use today) and elected Crown Prince Christian Frederik King. This sparked a short-lived war between Norway and Sweden, who fought until November of that year, at which point Sweden realized its military was too weak, Norway realized it had run out money, and both countries realized that their coasts were blockaded by British and Russian forces. And so Norway and Sweden entered into a union that preserved Norway's constitution, until Norway finally gained outright independence (peacefully) on June 7, 1905.

So, there you have it. Today may not exactly be Norway's birthday, but it sure feels like it. Norwegians of all ages will be wearing their traditional 'bunad' and marching in parades, eating hot dogs and ice cream from sunup til sundown. Last year was supposed to be the first time in our 7.5 years together that we got to celebrate Syttende Mai with Anette's family in Haugesund, but our plans were foiled by my 104°F malarial fever! I've attached some pictures from Haugesund Hospital last year, where I was thrilled to have such well-dressed visitors stopping by to cheer me up.

Gratulerer med dagen, alle sammen!!!! Skulle ønske vi var hjemme nå, her er det ingen helligdag og vanlig jobb på oss...Men skal kose oss med kjøttkaker til middag og is til dessert:) Stor klem til alle kjente og kjære og ha en strålende syttende mai!!!