SEVENTEENTH OF MAY
HOW THE WORLD'S MOST DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY CELEBRATE THEIR NATIONAL DAY
"It is a day of celebration, a real day of celebration."
2024 has been named the year of democracy with more than two billion people across 50 countries participating in elections this year.
Some more free than others, Norway has again been named the world’s most democratic country by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Every year on the 17th of May, the anniversary of Norway’s constitution, the country celebrates its democracy and freedom with children’s parades, champagne breakfasts for the adults, as much ice cream and hot dogs as one could possibly eat, marching bands, bunad (folk costume) and Norwegian flags, wherever you turn.
“It is a day of celebration, a real day of celebration,” said Maiken, 22 – more from her and other celebrating Norwegians later.
What part does a day like this play in the world’s most democratic country?
Oslo, 17th of May 2024, 8.30 am
"It is not the unity that makes Norway a wonderful country to live in, it is the disagreement that makes it so."
To answer that, let us start in the early morning in Oslo at The Cemetery of Our Saviour. Here rest several of Norway’s most important cultural people, and each year, organised by the 17th of May Committee in Oslo, several speakers lay down wreaths on select graves.
The committee consists of one representative from each of the nine political parties who rule in Oslo, plus two people related to the education department. Each of the parties gets to choose a speaker.
17th of May is not a day for controversial speeches. Sociologists at the University of Oslo have researched 17th of May speeches by mayors and found that on the whole, the sentiment is that of unity and making room for everyone.
Danby Choi, editor-in-chief of Subjekt.no and author of Kanseller meg hvis du kan (Cancel Me If You Can), is a liberal against what he considers the authoritarian core of woke. In a somewhat controversial move by the party Høyre (a conservative party on the right of politics), he was chosen to speak at the grave of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.
In light of those who wanted to cancel him from speaking on the 17th of May, Choi chose to highlight an important part of the Norwegian constitution, freedom of speech.
Choi said that in a democracy like Norway, it is not the unity, but rather the disagreement, that makes the country a wonderful place to live. He concluded the speech with “Long live Norway, long live the freedom of expression, long live the democracy” to enthusiastic applause.
For it is the constitution that is the cornerstone of the celebration. Norway’s constitution is Europe’s oldest still in use and the world’s second oldest after the American constitution. As many 17th of May speakers like to do, let us take a look at how the Norwegian constitution was created.
The birth of an independent nation
At the end of the Napoleonic wars, Denmark-Norway finds themselves on the losing side. The two countries had been one since 1380, and all power had rested with the Danish king in Copenhagen since 1660.
On the other side of the war, among other allies, were the United Kingdom and Sweden. In the peace treaty signed on the 14th of January 1814, the Danish king was required to let go of Norway and hand it to the Swedish crown prince, Karl Johan.
A sense of nationalism and national pride had been growing among the Norwegians, and unconsulted about the future of their nation, they rebelled against the decision.
112 men from across the country gathered in Eidsvoll to create Norway’s constitution. They were a relatively diverse group for the time, with occupations ranging from farmer and teacher to count, military official, and priest. The youngest was 17-years-old and the oldest was 61-years-old.
The finished constitution was signed on the 17th of May 1814, and they promised to be “Enige og tro inntill Dovre faller” (united and loyal until the mountains of Dovre crumble).
For a couple of months, Norway was an independent country with its own king. But the freedom was short-lived and after losing in a short war to Karl Johan and the Swedes, Norway was again under the rule of its neighbour.
However, the country was allowed to keep its newly created constitution as a part of the union with Sweden. The union lasted until 1905 when Norway finally became an independent country.
The people had their say in a referendum that resulted in them choosing another Danish prince to become king of Norway under the name Haakon, with his wife, the British princess Maud, as queen. They are the grandparents of today’s Norwegian King Harald.
The celebration of the constitution built slowly over the years, nevertheless, what is now a key moment of the celebration, the children's parade reaches as far back as 1870.
The Norwegian resistance movement
Janne Lisesdatter Håkonsen, from Norsk Lokomotivførerforbund (Norwegian Union for Railworkers), was chosen to speak after Danby Choi by the party Rødt (on the radical left of politics).
Carrying a Palestinian Scarf across her shoulders, Håkonsen used her speech to remind the celebrating Norwegians of the people suffering in Gaza.
She said: “In times like these, it is important to remember our own struggle against war and occupation and actively show solidarity with oppressed people all over the world.”
Along with the celebration of the constitution, freedom from Nazi Germany is a common thread in many 17th of May speeches.
Every year since 1906, except for the years Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, and the Covid-19 pandemic years, the royal family has waved at the people from their balcony at the palace in central Oslo.
The Germans forbade the Norwegians to organise 17th of May parades, and it was illegal to use the colours of the Norwegian flag on clothing. The flag, the parades, and the day, then, became a strong symbol of Norway’s freedom after the war.
The Children's Parade
Featuring "Leikaring", the King's Guard and the 17 May committee in Oslo
The Protectors of Democracy
Back to the question from the beginning, what part does the celebration of Norway’s national day play in its democracy?
Olaf Aagedal is a sociologist at KIFO, Institute for Church, Religion, and Worldview Research. Alongside his colleagues, he has conducted research on national symbols in Scandinavia, and the Norwegian constitution was of special interest in 2014 for the 200-year jubilee.
Regarding the role of the children’s parade in democracy, Aagedal said: “The children’s parade has been quite important as it has connected the national day to the school – every child in Norway is included in this celebration by participating in parades and they also learn about why this is Norway’s birthday, as they say in school.”
Olaf Aagedal. Photo: Lillian Hjellum
Olaf Aagedal. Photo: Lillian Hjellum
Tamina Sheriffdeen Rauf is the representative from Arbeiderpartiet (the workers' party) in Oslo’s 17th of May committee. She has fond memories of the national day all the way back to childhood.
“I believe the overall feeling among children and young people, perhaps particularly those who participate in the 17th of May parades, is that many of them feel like they are important, like they are the protectors of democracy,” said Rauf.
There is however something about children marching with flags in front of the monarch, that for an outsider can give a bitter taste of the less lovely side of nationalism.
Aagedal said: “There are a few foreigners who come to Norway who say this resembles North Korea, they perceive the children as a forced symbol like they are forced to join a political demonstration. But most people in Norway would say it’s lovely to watch.”
Lorenzo Cañás Bottos, Professor of Social Anthropology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, is originally from Argentina. He was interviewed for an article about the Norwegian National Day by Forskning.no.
Critical to how feelings are being connected to the nation and the flag, any nation for that matter, he said the ultimate goal is for it to “feel right and necessary to die for your country.”
Cañás Bottos said: “The feeling of loyalty to one’s country is a construction. It is decided politically what is Norwegian and what is not Norwegian. That does not just happen naturally. Norwegians have been taught how to be Norwegian, that Norwegian is something else, something different from others, something that has to be protected.”
What does it mean to be Norwegian?
Indeed, the seventeenth of May celebrations magnifies the questions of who gets to be Norwegian. When are you Norwegian enough to partake in the parade, wear a bunad (folk costume) and wave the flag? And subsequently, when are you a part of the “we” that the Norwegian democracy consists of?
The original Norwegian constitution did not allow Jews access to the kingdom. This was rightfully amended in 1851.
In the 1980s, after the boom of immigration to Norway in the 1960s-70s, some of those critical to include the “new countrymen”, as most Norwegians call them, in the parade went so far as to threaten the children's parade with bombs.
“At that point, both the police and the politicians walked with the children in the parade to show that that was completely unacceptable, and it was out of the question to give in to threats like that,” said Aagedal.
Today the discussions revolve around whether or not you can wear a hijab with the bunad and if other flags should be allowed in the parade, for example, Ukrainian flags for the children and families who have sought refuge from the war in Norway.
The official recommendation is to keep it to the Norwegian flag, the UN flag, or the Sámi flag (the flag of the Indigenous population in the north of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) because it is a celebration of Norway’s constitution.
There are many different bunads, each connected to a certain part of Norway. Most people choose theirs based on where their parents are from or where they feel like they belong.
There are certain loud-talking people, a sort of self-proclaimed “bunad-police”, who have strong conservative opinions on the bunad, but they are slowly being silenced by creative approaches to sewing your own bunad and initiatives like ADA, by Haddy Jammeh who has Gambian heritage, who creates bunads that mix the patterns of other cultures into the silhouette of a bunad.
Rauf, whose parents are originally from Sri Lanka, said: “When I was in the fourth grade, I believe, I wore an Indian dress for the 17th of May. I remember someone telling me it was a really nice dress. I felt just as Norwegian then as I do now wearing the Oslo bunad.”
Tamina Sheriffdeen Rauf. Photo: Private.
Tamina Sheriffdeen Rauf. Photo: Private.
The Democracy and The Monarchy
It might seem ironic that the highlight of a day that celebrates a democratic constitution is to parade in front of a man who has inherited his position, but as mentioned earlier, his grandfather, King Haakon, was elected king by those who had the right to vote in 1905.
From the very beginning, King Haakon was concerned with being a constitutional monarch and thus became a true king of the people.
In the New Year's speech marking the beginning of the jubilee year for the Norwegian constitution, the current King Harald highlighted that when his grandfather was elected king he took an oath before the Norwegian parliament, promising to rule the country in accordance with the constitution.
“He was deeply personally bound by this oath,” and he considered approving the Nazi-Germans’ request for a new Norwegian prime minister as treason, said King Harald.
While in exile in London, King Haakon carried the Norwegian constitution in pocket format by his heart over five long years of war.
“I, too, live with the constitution as the foundation of my work. When I became king in 1991, I took the same oath before the Storting as my father – and grandfather – had done before me. This oath lasts a lifetime. By virtue of it, I commit myself to the constitution every single day – to work for Norway and our people.”
And this is, perhaps, precisely why the king is such a unifying symbol on a day like this.
“It would have been weird for the children’s parade to walk past the palace and wave at the king if he had been above the people and the government, but the royal family as an institution clearly wishes to support democracy,” said Aagedal.
17th of May 2024. From the left: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Crown Prince Haakon, Queen Sonja, King Harald.
17th of May 2024. From the left: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Crown Prince Haakon, Queen Sonja, King Harald.
King Haakon and Queen Maud in Stiftsgården on the coronation day, 22nd of June 1906. Photo: Peder O. Aune, Det kongelige hoffs fotoarkiv.
King Haakon and Queen Maud in Stiftsgården on the coronation day, 22nd of June 1906. Photo: Peder O. Aune, Det kongelige hoffs fotoarkiv.
King Harald in 2010. Photo: Sølve Sundsbø / Det kongelige hoff.
King Harald in 2010. Photo: Sølve Sundsbø / Det kongelige hoff.
We are very lucky
There is a lot of focus on the children on this day, but what do the young adults think about the national day and democracy?
Ola, 24
"17 May is Norway's day, it is our day and it means a lot to me. Democracy means everything, especially in these times – we see that democracy is being broken in many places.”
Makien, 22, and Hanna 22
“One of the best days of the year. Better than New Year's Eve, better than many days of the year."
“I feel very lucky, sometimes you take it for granted. There is a lot of war and unrest, and we are very lucky."
Fabian, 28, and Magnus, 30
“I've been very grateful today for the relationships I have, a nice city – I'm grateful for being a part of Norway, being Norwegian, it makes me proud.”
"Democracy is the best form of government we have and we must preserve it.”
Martine, 29, and Sofie, 30
“Bunad for everyone, celebration outfits for everyone!”
“It is a day to meet friends and family. Maybe also the ones you don't see very often."
Norway shows off its best side.
17th of May is truly an extraordinary day.
“It is a kind of exceptional state of being for an otherwise controlled and restrained population. On the national day, there is a free flow of emotions and celebration. There is something atypical Norwegian about the celebration of 17th of May. People are far more extroverted than normal,” writes Gro Lien Garbo on the website for the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo.
It is a day almost everyone participates in. Based on his research, Aagedal recons 9 out of 10 participates in the celebration of the national day. 2 out of 3 participates in publicly organised events.
Lien Garbo points to research that shows that 88% of non-western immigrants celebrates the Norwegian national day, the number is 89% for people with Norwegian heritage. However, considering the rest of the year, extensive research shows that the feeling of belonging to the Norwegian is not as easily accessible for everyone.
But on the 17th of May, Norway shows off its best side.
Norway's National Day is more than a festive occasion; it is a celebration of the country's democratic heritage and a reminder of the collective responsibility to preserve and nurture these values for future generations.
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