Norwegian National Day

And a real huge one this year - it's 200 years since the Constitution of Norway was signed at Eidsvoll on May 17 in the year 1814. The constitution declared Norway to be an independent kingdom in an attempt to avoid being ceded to Sweden after Denmark-Norway's devastating defeat in the Napoleonic wars.

A noteworthy aspect of the Norwegian Constitution Day is its very non-military nature. All over Norway, children's parades with an abundance of flags form the central elements of the celebration. Each elementary school district arranges its own parade with marching bands between schools. The parade takes the children through the community, often making stops at homes of senior citizens, war memorials, etc. The longest parade is in Oslo, where some 100,000 people travel to the city centre to participate in the main festivities.

The massive Oslo parade includes some 100 schools, marching bands, and passes the royal palace where the royal family greet the people from the main balcony.

I was planning to go downtown for some sensational shots of the children's parade, but changed my mind and opted for a quiet day at home instead. Now we're preparing a major barbecue to celebrate with good friends on the patio in the lovely sunny weather :-)