Gratulerer med Dagen Norge! May 17th is the Norwegian National Day, celebrating when Norway became an independent nation on May 17th, 1814. There are many celebrations in all communities across the country on this day every year. Most towns will have parades with students from the local schools and marching bands. In one of my recent posts, I spoke about the tradition of "Russ" and today marks the final day of that period, so a lot of focus is on the students participating in Russ. Everyone dresses up in their traditional outfits and heads out to celebrate. This is my second time being in Norway on May 17th, and my first time being in Oslo for this special day. With Oslo being the capital city, this is where the biggest parade and celebrations can be seen, and are also nationally televised. I went down to the city centre and mostly walked around Carl Johans Gate (the main street in downtown Oslo, leading up to the Royal palace). This was by far the most people I've ever seen in downtown Oslo, it was absolutely packed. It was almost impossible to move in certain areas of the city. It was interesting to see the parade and what a big deal it is to everyone involved. I have to say I felt slightly under dressed, as most people were wearing their formal clothes and I was just wearing my normal everyday clothes; but I wasn't the only one! Pretty much every person in the city that was walking around, was waving a Norwegian flag. There was red everywhere, as you can see in my pictures below. Once again, another great experience for me and something unique that I've gotten to experience during my time in Norway.
