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NorwegianConstitutionDay
On 17May,Norwaywill celebrate
NorwegianConstitutionDayexactly
200yearsafter theconstitutionwas
first signedatEidsvoll in 1814.As
Norwaywasstill inaunionwith
Sweden, celebrationsof theday
were initiallybanned,until the
Battleof theSquare inChristiania
(nowOslo) in 1829,when thearmy
intervened in thecelebrations,
causingoutrage.With the launch
of the first children’sparade in
1864, thecelebrationsbecame
more firmlyestablished– today,
children’sparades,marchingbands
and traditional costumesareat the
coreof thecelebrations.That, and
everyonegettingquitemerry.
NorwegianfliestoOsloandat least15
otherdestinations inNorway.
Bookflights,ahotelandarentalcarat
norwegian.com
Neighbourhood youth
marchinggroups theBergen
buekorps
– “bowcorps”or
“archerybrigade”–date
back to the 19thcentury,when
childrenwould imitateadult
militarydrills. Thenewbreed
areagedabout 7-20, andgirls are
allowed to join in, too (since 1991).
The
russefeiring
(“
russ
celebration”) is adrunken riteof passage
forNorwegianfinal-year high-school students, who celebratefinishing
termwith anear-continual party from 1-17May. Here’swhat youneed…
Buekorps
BuekorpsVenn
Russ: theessentials
Thingspeopleeaton
ConstitutionDay
Sweet
Abit
scary
NTB SCANPIX, ALAMY
Icecream
(After ahot dog?)
Hot dogs
(Obviously)
Kebabs
(Really?)
Bunad
multi-tasking
HuldaGarborg (1862-1934) kindled
interest in the traditional
bunad
costumewithher 1903book
Norsk
klædebunad
. Shedidother stuff too…
Novelist
Poet
Playwright
Prominent
feminist Left-wing
politician
Theatre
founder Folkdancer
Stamina
⁄
During russefeiring,
you’ll drink a lot,won’t
sleepmuch andmay
be asked to spend a
day crawling. Youhave
beenwarned.
A uniform
⁄
Matchingoveralls are
key–most opt for
bad reddungarees
emblazonedwith
funnynames.Comedy
accessories are
welcome.
A ride
⁄
Whether it’s abus, a
vanor aVWcamper,
youneed topimp
it – spray-paint it, and
fill itwitheardrum-
shattering speakers.
Knots
⁄
Youget knotson the
stringof your russ
cap fordoingcertain
deeds– think spending
anight ina tree, eating
aBigMac in twobites
ormakingoutwith 10
people inanight.
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