17th of May!

Ok, so this post is a little late (that seems to be a trend lately...). But I won't let my tardiness prevent me from sharing about one of the biggest holidays in Norway! This past Tuesday (May 17th), Norwegians celebrated 100 years as an independent nation. What a privelege it was to be here for this huge event! The 17th of May is the equivalent of the 4th of July in the States, although I have to say that for all the patriotism of Americans, the Norwegians have us beat in celebrating their independence. This is day rivals Christmas for many Norwegians as the most exciting day of the year.

This year, our day began with a flag raising, and singing of the Norwegian national song. Everyone dresses up--this is a "best clothes" day. Most Norwegian women wear their National Suits, which are beautiful, and only come out for special occasions such as this. It made me wish Americans had a national suit! We had a very nice breakfast in our dining hall, which I helped to decorate the night before. Then we all went down to the round-about for the celebration on the island. Pretty much everyone gathered for speeches, children's choirs, and a parade! We marched in the parade under the banner for the University of the Nations and had a blast! After a traditional lunch of sour cream porridge (actually very good!) and various "salty meats," we headed into Kristiansand to watch their parade, which was much larger (and, of course, we were not in it). That was fun except that our sunny day on the island turned into rain and hail in Kristiansand!

Later in the evening we had a BBQ back at the YWAM base, and then around 10:30, we headed back into town for the fireworks show, with TONS of other people :-). The day finally ended at about midnight, when we rolled into bed. It was great to take part in all the traditional festivities, and I'm so glad I was able to be here to experience the celebration! Enjoy the pictures!