Norwegians were out celebrating their national day all over the country on Saturday, highlighted as always by parades featuring local school children instead of the military. In the southeastern municipality of Halden, it was a bittersweet experience this year for some of the children and their parents.
Halden’s annual Constitution Day parade on the 17th of May was traditionally led off by local police chiefs followed by the lone elementary school in Prestebakke, a small community south of Halden’s town center. It’s literally on the map every night in Norway, when state broadcaster NRK airs its national weather report and Prestebakke shows up at the southeastern tip of the country, but it’s struggling to maintain its population.
Now Prestebakke faces the closure of its local school for budgetary reasons. “It’s strange and sad to march here behind Prestebakke School’s banner today,” its rector Pål Magnussen, told local newspaper Halden Arbeiderblad (HA). He added that it was “extra strange and sad for the children and their parents who are standing along the parade route and see Prestebakke School for the last time.” Schools are also being closed or merged elsewhere in Norway, from big cities like Oslo to rural areas including Lom and Finnskogen because of declining enrollment and higher costs.
On a more festive note, Halden residents turned out in force on Saturday, lining the parade route long before it began with a canon shot from the sprawling Fredriksten Fortress that towers over the town. They were all dressed up, not least in various versions of Norwegian folk costumes known as the bunad. The one seen most frequently was the local Løken bunad (richly embroidered on either a blue or black background) but other festive attire was abundant, often with an international flair.
Crowds moved on after the parade to Halden’s Busterud Park, where HA’s editor-in-chief Morten Ulekleiv delivered a short but strong speech from the park’s pavilion that dates back to 1879. Ulekleiv stressed the importance of freedom in Norway, not least the freedoms of expression and the press that are under assault or already crushed by authoritarian regimes elsewhere in the world. “That’s why we must never take democracy for granted,” Ulekleiv said, noting how “the fortress behind us” long played a role in also defending freedom and liberty in Norway.
“Halden is not a big town, but it’s a strong town,” Ulekleiv said, before the local orchestra Det Norske Blåseensemble took over with a concert featuring Norwegian music and patriotic songs, at least three of them tied to Halden itself: Oscar Borg’s Haldensernes marsj, Fredrikstens marsj and Haldensangen. Festivities ended with two verses from Norway’s lengthy national anthem, the first and fourth, in which Halden emerges as the only Norwegian town mentioned in it. That’s long made Halden residents known as Haldenserne quite proud.
Then came the traditional Russetog, an unconventional parade of graduating high school students known as russ, before the Haldensere moved on to luncheons, private parties or fun and games for the children back at their own schoolyards. Most russ were dressed in the overalls they’ve used in recent weeks for lots of hard partying, which was bound to continue on board some lavishly decorated buses equipped with high-powered music systems. There were also special events for children up at the fortress.
ALL PHOTOS: NewsinEnglish.no/Morten Møst
EDITOR’S NOTE: NewsinEnglish.no is based in Oslo, which hosts the largest 17th of May celebrations in the country, but we’ve often traveled outside the capital to see how the country’s most important holiday is celebrated. While they all involve parades and patriotism (minus the militarism featured on many other countries’ national day events), most feature special traditions unique to their areas. This year’s reporting trip went to Halden, because of its long history and experience dealing with border conflicts and even battles.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
