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Why We Celebrate
The United States has Independence Day on July 4th. France has its Bastile Day on June 14. Here is a short history of how the 17th of May became Norway's special day.
The Norwegian royal line died out in 1387, and the country entered a long period as the weaker part of a union with Denmark. Denmark-Norway, allied with France, was defeated in the Napoleonic wars and the Danish king was forced to cede Norway to the king of Sweden in the Treaty of Kiel (January 14, 1814).
On hearing news of the treaty, Danish Prince Christian Frederik, the resident viceroy in Norway, founded a Norwegian independence movement with the surreptitious goal of reunification with Denmark. The independence movement was successful, partly due to support from the Danish Crown, but also because the desire for independence was strong in Norway. On April 10, a national assembly met at Eidsvoll to decide on a constitution. Norway eventually declared independence on May 17, 1814, electing Christian Frederik as King.
Sweden responded later the same year by waging war on Norway. In the peace negotiations, King Christian Frederik agreed to abdicate and return to Denmark if Sweden would accept the democratic Norwegian constitution and a loose union. The Norwegian parliament (Stortinget) then elected the Swedish king as king of Norway on November 4, 1814.
As early as the 1820s people started to celebrate the 17th of May, and since then this day has been established as Norway's Constitution Day. After several years of political unrest beginning in the late 1800s, the union with Sweden was peacefully dissolved on June 7, 1905.
Source: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Ja, vi elsker
Norwegian National Anthem
Jan 1 New Years Day (Nytt�rsdag)
Apr 9 Palm Sunday (Palmes�ndag)
Apr 13 Maundy Thursday (Skj�rtorsdag)
Apr 14 Good Friday (Langfredag)
Apr 16 Easter Sunday (P�skes�ndag )
Apr 17 Easter Monday (2. p�skedag)
May 1 Labor Day (Arbeidernesdag)
May 17 Constitution Day (Grunnlovsdag)
May 25 Ascension Day (Kristihimmelfartsdag)
Jun 4 Pentecost Sunday (Pinses�ndag)
Jun 5 Pentecost Monday (2. Pinsedag)
Dec 24 Christmas Eve (Julaften) Afternoon Only
Dec 25 Christmas Day (1. juledag)
Dec 26 Boxing Day (2. juledag)
Source: visitnorway.com
Den norske general, Olaf Helset (1892-1960), var kjent for sine treffende og morsomme bemerkninger. Under en milit�r�velse oppdaget han en dag en motorsyklist som kj�rte mye fortere enn det var tillatt.
Han stoppet ham og spurte ham hvor gammel han var. 'Jeg er 21, herr general' svarte den unge mannen. 'Hvor fort kj�rte du nettopp?' '�, ca. 95 km (i timen), antar jeg.' Generalen rystet p� hodet og sa: 'Sp�rsm�let er n�, min venn, om du vil kj�re 95 og ikke bli mer enn 21 eller kj�re 21 og bli 95.'
Et godt r�d: Bedre en fot p� bremsen, enn seks fot under jorden.
treffende - apt
morsom - amusing
bemerkning - remark
under - during
milit�r - military
�velse - exercise
oppdaget - discover
tillatt - allowed
nettopp - just
i timen - per hour
anta - suppose, think
ryste - shake
om - whether
r�d - piece of advice
brems - brake
The Norwegian general, Olaf Helset (1892-1960), was known for his apt and amusing remarks. During a military exercise he discovered a motorcyclist driving much faster than was allowed.
He stopped him, asking him how old he was. 'I am 21, sir,' answered the young man. 'How fast did you drive just now?' 'Oh, about 95 km per hour, I suppose.' The general shook his head saying: "The question now, young man, is whether you want to drive at 95 and stay 21 or to drive at 21 and become 95.'
A good piece of advice: Better a foot on the brakes, than 6 feet underground.
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