Norsk 101

Published May 1, 2018 · Updated December 31, 2020

Language practice with Christie Ericson

Photo: Nancy Bundt / Visitnorway.com
The children’s parade in Oslo (barnetoget i Oslo) stops in front of the palace (stopper foran slottet).

Hipp hipp hurra for 17. mai!

The 17th of May (syttende mai eller 17. mai) is Norway’s Constitution Day (Norges grunnlovsdag) and is celebrated all over the country (det feires over hele landet), as well as many places outside of Norway (mange steder utenfor Norge). In 1814, 112 elected representatives (valgte representanter) gathered at (samlet seg på) Eidsvoll to draft Norway’s constitution (for å utforme Norges grunnlov). The National Assembly (Riksforsamlingen) approved (vedtok) the constitution and signed (undertegnet) it on May 17. After 400 years (Etter 400 år) of Danish rule (dansk styre), Norway was finally independent (endelig selvstendig). Unfortunately (Dessverre) shortly thereafter (en kort tid deretter) Norway lost the Swedish-Norwegian War (tapte den svensk-norske krigen) and was forced to (ble tvunget til) enter into a union with Sweden (å gå inn i union med Sverige). Norway was not to become a truly independent country (et fullstendig selvstendig rike) until the union was dissolved in 1905 (unionen ble oppløst i 1905).

After 1814, May 17 gradually became a day of celebration (ble etter hvert til en festdag) and Norwegians began to hold parades to celebrate their national day (nordmenn begynte med å gå i tog for å feire nasjonaldagen). Children’s parades (Barnetogene) are an important part of (en viktig del av) the day’s celebrations (dagens feiringer). In Oslo, school children (skolebarn) and marching bands (musikkorps) march up Karl Johans street (marsjerer opp Karl Johans gate) towards the palace square (mot slottsplassen). The parade stops in front of the palace (stopper foran slottet) where the King and Queen and the rest of the royal family (hvor kongen, dronningen og resten av kongefamilien) stand on the balcony (står på balkongen) and wave (vinker).

Many people (mange folk) wear the traditional national costume (har på seg tradisjonelle folkedrakter) from their region (fra hjemstedene deres), known as a bunad. The children sing Norwegian songs (synger norske sanger) and shout (roper) “hipp-hipp-hurra!” Everyone wears ribbons in red, white, and blue (sløyfer i rødt, hvitt og blått) and waves the Norwegian flag (vifter med det norske flagget). There are many speeches (taler) throughout the day (i løpet av dagen) and after the parade is over (etter at toget er ferdig), it is common to eat (det er vanlig å spise) hot dogs and ice cream (pølser og iskrem).