Norway’s national day started out with booming salutes and flags from the far north, like here in a window facing the Russian border, to traditional early morning ceremonies in the south. The greetings were the same: Gratulerer med dagen! Literally, congratulations with the day!
Norwegians take their Constitution Day celebrations very seriously, dressing up in their finest clothes and waving flags at parades held all over the country.
After seven years of coverage mostly from Oslo, we’re reporting this year from Norway’s northern city of Kirkenes, which has faced more challenges than most during the past year.
In Oslo, meanwhile, the annual parade set a new record of more than 60,000 children marching past the royal family assembled on the palace balcony under sunny skies. That’s 10 times the entire population of Sør-Varanger, where Kirkenes is located, but they had two parades and a variety of unique activities making up their celebrations.
We wish all our readers a Happy 17th of May!
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund