Happy 17th of May, all!

[lph]

It's Norway's Constitution day and marks our independence.

After all the usual hullabaloo with parades and stuff, I celebrated by first falling asleep on the couch (with our cat snoring next to me, cute) and then going out for a ride with an appropriately decorated bike.

I didn't meet many people, but the few I met all smiled at me

[crazycanuck]

I knew Norway was celebrating something yesterday...By pure fluke three young ladies carrying a Norwegian flag crossed my path yesterday morning & I thought to myself..umm..hmm..oh AHA!

I hope your day was relaxing.

C

[mimitabby]

Happy 17th of may to you too! and thanks for the photos! love seeing your face!

Mimi

[teigyr]

Happy Constitution Day!

Beautiful pictures. And relaxing with the cat is the best way to relax

[Bikingmomof3]

Great photos. Happy 17 May.

[Zen]

Norway?
Independent?
From who?

I like that little flag, I 'm gonna have to steal your idea.

[lph]

Norway was considered a part of Denmark until 1814, when we got our own Constitution. After that Norway went into a union with Sweden until 1905, but apparently that doesn't count, we were "independent" as of May 17th 1814. I'm not very good at history

We rounded off the evening by renting Star Wars IV, A New Hope. Aaaahhh - best movie of all time. My 9 yr old son saw it for the first time and loved it too. Luke Skywalker gazing heroically off into the distance with the two suns setting (or is it two moons rising?), and the dramatic music swelling... great stuff


Since I'm on a photo roll - here's our cat Raptus demonstrating her catly ability to fall asleep in any position at all, even upside down. I'm not kidding, she slept like this for twenty minutes!

Well, until she was rudely awakened by a photographer buzzing round her nose.

[northstar]

I spent Syttende Mai (I think that's how it's spelled) in Bergen a few years back. It was actually a sunny, beautiful day, and I loved the costumes, the parades, the food...it was such a fun day! I wish I could have been there this year! I could use a big glob of Rommegrot!

[missymaya]

Happy Constitution Day from across the globe and by the way cute kid and cute cat! Great Pics!

[uk elephant]

Belated happy constitution day! Felt a bit homesick yesterday I must admit. No parades or celebrations over here and no big bbq with all the neighbours. But I did have brunost on my sandwich for lunch which helped a little... might have to plan some holiday time in norway this time next year...

[lph]

Leit å lengte hjem, uk! Mai er vakker i Norge, som vanlig.
Men det høres ut som om du har en god brunostleverandør ihvertfall

[uk elephant]

Jeg får brunost levert direkte fra Trondheim. Pappa kom på besøk tidligere i vår med 3.5 kilo brunost. Det holdt en stund! Men nå er jeg snart tom igjen. Mulig vi må organisere overlevering av ny forsyning når hele familien er i California i Juni.

(and for those of you wondering what this gibberish actually means....it's something about supplying brown cheese from Norway which is essential for the survival of a Norwegian abroad! Mmmm....caramelized whey....how any Norwegain can survive being lactose intolerant I do not know)

[Mr. Bloom]

I've learned something from this thread that may help me in Trivial Pursuit!

After Denmark–Norway was attacked by Britain, it entered into an alliance with Napoleon , and in 1814 found itself on the losing side in the Napoleonic Wars and in dire conditions and mass starvation in 1812. The Dano-Norwegian Oldenburg king was forced to cede Norway to the king of Sweden. Norway took this opportunity to declare independence, adopted a constitution based on American and French models , and elected the Danish crown prince Christian Fredrik as king on May 17, 1814. However, Sweden militarily forced Norway into a personal union with Sweden , establishing the Bernadotte dynasty as rulers of Norway. Under this arrangement, Norway kept its liberal constitution and independent institutions, except for the foreign service.

A Personal Union is something akin to Canada's recognition of the british monarchy (I think...)

[Duck on Wheels]

Yep, Wikipedia has it right. Of course, leading up to that is the "400-year night" of Danish rule, thanks to another "personal union" Norway entered into when the population was decimated by the Plague. Nowadays we're on good terms with Danes and Swedes. We all speak pretty much the same language, all have liberal welfare democracies, and all like brown cheese.