Constitution day of Norway

Hello, my name is Sigrid and I’m from Norway, Oslo.

The name of my school is Fagerborg. I would like to tell you about our constitution day, a day that everyone in Norway looks forward to.  Here are some facts about “Nasjonaldagen”.

This national holiday celebrates the memory of the men who wrote Norway's Constitution, which was signed at Eidsvoll on 17 May 1814. 17 May also marks independence from centuries of union with Denmark and Sweden.

The day starts in the morning with a salute of cannon and the playing of national anthem, by school bands in towns and villages, fjords and mountains all over the country. Family and friends meet for breakfast and then the children's procession begins, for youngsters it is a day of buns, cakes, ice cream and fizzy pops. They march in the procession each waving a Norwegian flag and wearing ribbons in the Norwegian colours. Every procession is headed by the school band and the teachers carrying flags and banners. In Oslo the celebration is special because of the procession of children singing and marching up main street, Karl Johan, past the Storting and then past the Royal Palace. The Royal Family stands on the balcony and waves as long as the procession lasts. It's a joyful meeting between people and monarch.

I usually start this day very early so that I have enough time to get dressed up in my national dress, called “bunad”. This dress is only used on the national day, at Christmas or other big holidays. The dress changes from each city, and the designs are typically elaborate, with embroidery, scarves, shawls and handmade silver or gold jewelry known as sølje. There are bunads both for men and women, but women’s bunads are more diverse and popular.

Usually kids get this dress before their confirmation. Anyways, after getting dressed I have breakfast with some of my friends and then we spend the rest of the day in the city watching all the flags and the people. In the evening I like to spend time with my family, and we eat nice food and have a good time. 
Here's a photo of me and my sister in our bunad: 

The national anthem: