Norwegian Independence Day

Quick Facts

AKA Name	Norwegian Constitution Day, Syttende mai, Syttande mai, Søttende mai
ℹ HashtagsCompiled on04:55	#NorwegianIndependenceDay, #NationalDayofNorway
Related Hashtags	#Norway, #17mai, #Norwegian
2023 Date	May 17, 2023
2024 Date	May 17, 2024

2023 Holidays & Dates

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		Misc. & Int'l. Observancesℹ
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Norwegian Independence Day in 2023

Wednesday, May 17

Days to go:

Norwegian Independence Day celebrates the day that the Norway constitution was signed in 1814. The celebration is uncommonly non-militaristic. People wearing the traditional Norwegian costume, the bunad, and children parading with flags are a prominent feature of the day.

Top Tweets for Norwegian Independence Day

Updated 04:54

Today is Norway’s Independence Day. A key day to remember, as it turns out, it’s my birthday too. #Norway https://t.co/DdyQbT8mPu
— Rafael Fonseca MD 🦔🇺🇸🏜🇲🇽 (@Rfonsi1) May 17, 2023

Happy Norwegian Constitution Day #Syttendemai! The day in 1814 that Norway declared independence from Denmark. The history of Norwegian sailors in NYC goes back to the 1600s. Many migrated here, taking on #sailing, #shipuilding and other marine jobs. By the early 1800s, Red Hook… https://t.co/t6Kd08JsIm https://t.co/gi9hDmymo3
— PortSide NewYork (@PortSideNY) May 17, 2023

@JustBlue333 That's me!! Happy Norwegian Independence Day! https://t.co/snROg7rRZM
— Christopher, Son of John (@Harleyriders76) May 17, 2023

Norwegian Independence Day facts

Because of a forced union with Sweden that caused changes to the constitution a month after it was signed, the day of celebration became the 4th of November for a long time. Finally, in 1905, Norway would separate from the union and the 17th of May became the national day of celebration once again.
For the first twenty years after their introduction, only boys could participate in the iconic children's parades held on this date.
Norway doesn't have an official national anthem. Different songs have been used throughout the years with one becoming more popular than the other. Today, the de facto national anthem is Ja, vi elsker dette landet. Before it, it was Sønner av Norge.
Famous people with Norwegian ancestry include Jennifer Connelly, Lauren Cohan, Josh Duhamel, Chris Pratt, Aksel Hennie and Jimmy Fallon.
This day marks the end of russ-ing. Russ is a high school in Norway. During a period of about 6 6 weeks before May 17, students get to behave in a mischievous way. During this time this behavior is traditionally more tolerated by people.
Norway's traditional costume, the bunad, is a staple of the celebrations. There's over 400 regional variations of this traditionally rural costume.

Top things to do for Norwegian Independence Day

Attend the Seattle May 17th Festival (Syttende Mai). As of 2018, there's a parade, music and dancing, a luncheon, events for kids and free admission to the Nordic Heritage Museum.
Watch a Norwegian film. The Norwegian Film Institute lists recent Norwegian award-winning films here.
Go skiing. Norwegian Sondre Norheim is known as the father of modern skiing. Ski is a Norwegian word related to Old Norse skíth ("billet, snowshoe").