Danielle's May Sem Blog: Syttende Mai (Day Nine)

Yesterday was Syttende Mai, which is Norway’s constitution day, where they celebrate their independence as a free country from Denmark. The meaning of Syttende Mai is the seventeenth of May Norway was not considered a free country until 1905, so you can technically say that Norway is technically only 107 years old, as a free country. For Norwegians Syttende Mai is much like the forth of July to Americans. Norwegians have a lot of similar things on their constitution day such as parades, games, street vendors and also fireworks. However, there was one thing that I noticed that is very different from the forth of July. That one thing is that Norwegian’s dress up on Syttende Mai, more so than American’s dress up on Christmas. The traditional dress of Norwegian’s is a Bunad, which for girls is a dress that is very intricate with embroidering and other things. It is typical for a girl to receive a Bunad when she has been confirmed, this is usually because a girl stops growing physically around confirmation time. Also these dresses are not cheap, they can be any where from 5,000 dollars to 12,000 or more. For men they can also have a Bunad, which usually has a vest a coat, capris and fancy socks and shoes. Also for every Bunad there is a different color and design to them, which shows the region where the person is from. So a young girl can have a different Bunad then her mom or dad. For me it was really interesting to see all the different kinds of Bunad’s because I have only seen a couple different ones at Skogfjorden.

So enough about Bunads, and onto my Syttende Mai experience. Well it was something that I will NEVER forget, let me say that. The day started out with breakfast at our hotel, which was different than any other breakfast we had. The breakfast selection was huge! It was like a buffet style that you would have on Easter or Christmas. My breakfast was huge it consisted of Smørbrød (open-faced sandwich) with shinke, øst, og brunøst (ham, cheese, and brown cheese). I also had granola with raisins, and my favorite part of the meal was Rømmegrøt. (Which is a sour cream porridge that Norwegian’s will eat on special holidays with sugar and cinnamon.) During our breakfast, the hotel also allowed people from the community to eat. This was super fun because it was our first exposure to all the different kinds of Bunad’s. The best part was when we see little toddlers in bunad’s! (I just wanted to snag one for myself! I also told myself, that my child will have a bunad!) After eating breakfast we walked down to the brygge to watch the parade that would start at 10:00. I was so excited to see the parade and what was ahead of the day. My favorite thing was all of the Norwegian flag’s flying, and everyone holding Norwegian flags especially the young children waving them around. When we found a spot on sidewalk we were right next to this young boy who was waving a Norwegian flag, and saying Heia Norge, Hurra! It was so precious! When the parade began it was just like a parade on forth of July, however there was more kids involved. I learned that Syttende Mai was something that was for the kids. Majority of the parade consisted of clubs that the kids were in, such as athletics. (This is because in Norway they do not have sports that are tied with the school, they are associated outside the school with clubs.) My favorite club that walked by was the figure skating one and the dancing one. There was little girls twirling everywhere, and it made me remember the old days. Not only were there just children in the parade but there was also older people, who were the majority ones wearing bunads! There was also bands that were marching as well. At the end of the parade there was the Russ, which I mentioned before. They were all wearing their overalls and dancing and handing out things called Russekort (russ cards) that had their picture, their school and a random quote. It was cool to see them handing out to the crowd, because they would hand them to the children to collect. This young boy next to me, had almost 300! When the parade was over we had no idea what to do, but we were exhausted! We looked at our watches and the parade was a little over 2 hours, and the whole time we were standing in the pouring rain, so we decided it was nap time! When I was trying to nap i turned on the T.V and watched the Olso Syttende Mai parade, and I was so jealous! I hope one day to see that parade, because it was so crowded and there was so much Norwegian pride everywhere!

After I took a nice nap, a group and myself decided that we would walk around and people watch. (Which was actually very interesting!) We also walked around torget (which is known as the main gathering area that is in the middle of the town square, kind of like a times square.) After walking around for a long time, I was invited to meet up with my cousins who lived just outside of Bergen. I was super excited for this because there is nothing more exciting to be with your family for a holiday. When I met up with them it was super exciting to see them in there Bunad’s! It was also exciting to know that if I had a Bunad it would look somewhat like my cousin Nils’ but a dress! We talked for a bit, and then decided that we would catch something to eat. I had a delicious sandwich at a cafe. When I was with them I felt like I was at home, with my own family. I instantly felt like I was a part of their family, and it made me realize how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life. I also thought how thankful I am to be so interested in Norwegian, so that I can have similarities with my cousins half way around the world. As we finished our dinner, I was not ready to leave them. I almost had tears coming to my face when Elisbeth (my cousin) said that she was not ready to leave, because she wanted to spend more time with me.

After being with my family for a while, two girls and I went on the fløybane, which would take us up to the top of a mountain overlooking the city of Bergen. The fløybane is like a train! When we got up there it was so gorgeous, because it was night time and there were things happening everywhere! We could see dances happening, and a parade of lights! The view was also amazing! It was then when we all realized Bergen really is like an island, surrounded by water. After we went back down to ground level, we went to the park where fireworks were going off! It reminded me of forth of July!

We than decided to people watch again. (This time it was more interesting because it was late and it was constitution day.) Then we finally decided that it was a special holiday so we had to go out to the bars, and be culturally aware! We walked into a bar alongside the Bryggen, and it was perfect because it had live music! When we first walked in the guy was singing Neste Sommer, which is a song i know from Norwegian Camp. And also throughout the night I felt culturally aware because they played so many camp songs! I felt right at home! Then I got asked by a Norwegian to swing dance with, and I had a lot of fun. He was surprised I could speak Norwegian, and then the last song they played was “Ja Vi Elsker” which is the Norwegian national anthem. And of course I was singing along, and he was so shocked. He told me I was the coolest American girl ever, and that I was so amazing. I laughed to myself a little bit, and was like Takk Skogfjorden! So overall Syttende Mai was a day I will NEVER FORGET! I hope one day I can experience it every year!

Snipp Snapp Snute!