UK celebrating Norway’s May 17 festivities – ‘us Brits may study one thing’
Daily Star’s two Norwegian reporters covered the May 17 festivities – Norway’s day of constitution – with Tom McGhie attending the UK’s version and Andre Oldereide getting involved in Norway itself
Tom McGhie
The sun was shining down on Southwark park when I arrived on the afternoon of May 17. I instantly knew whereabouts the Norwegian festivities were taking place in the idyllic park, because of the melodies that hung in the air.
Following the sounds of music – sung in children’s Norwegian accents – I got closer as I strolled through the park. There were several people I passed with bunads, the traditional, expensive attire (Andrea will tell you about this later).
Once I arrived at the bandstand, I saw hundreds of very well dressed Norwegians – all having a fantastic time in the sunshine. Live music blared from the two speakers either side of the bandstand, where a choir of angelic kids sang merrily in Norwegian.
I was shown round the park by my Norwegian friend, who helped translate the menu in the food tent. I had pølse – essentially a hot dog. It puts whatever us Brits think is a good hot dog in the shade and I wolfed it down before getting seconds.
There must have been nearly 1000 people at Southwark park that day – and there was no element of leer. Even though the booze was well and truly flowing, no one was getting aggressive, and the Norwegians chatted away to each other with respect and kindness.
We Brits could definitely learn a thing or two.
All about the bunad
Andrea Oldereide
This year, I tried our family’s bunad, a traditional Norwegian outfit. The one I wore is a Nordaker-style bunad, with an embroidered design that comes from an area called Jelsa, a small village in south-west Norway, in Rogaland county.This bunad was embroidered in 1969 for my grandmother by her mother-in-law and my grandfather’s sister. My aunt inherited it from her grandmother about 30–35 years ago.
Then, around 10 years ago, she passed it on to her daughter, my cousin, and it was altered at that time to fit her. A traditional, custom-made Norwegian bunad costs between £2,600 and £8,500.
The base wool or linen costume, tailored to your exact measurements, usually ranges from £1,800 to £4,600. Bunadsølv, Silver filigree brooches, belt buckles, buttons, and traditional buckles for shoes are considered an essential part of the outfit.
Adding these will cost anywhere from £700 to £3,000. Custom headpieces, traditional capes, and specific leather shoes can add another £300 to £800 to the total.While many inherit a bunad, others receive one as a gift, especially at their confirmation, when they turn 16. There are more affordable alternative like buying a “Festdrakt”, a “festive costume” that looks very similar to a bunad but is not tied to a specific historical region.
These often starts around £350 to £800. You can also buy second-hand, which might cost £2,000 to £2,500, roughly half the price of a new one.Renting is also becoming popular for people who only need the outfit for one day, such as a wedding or May 17th. This usually costs from £115 to £230.
Norway has more than 450 different types of bunad, and each design is closely tied to a specific geographical region. The country is also unusual in Europe for the sheer number of people who own and wear traditional dress.
While many nations have striking folk costumes, they are often limited to performers or small pockets of regional use; in Norway, the bunad is a mainstream choice worn across the country. Anyone proud to celebrate Norway’s independence can wear a bunad, there are no limitations on who can take part.
I spoke to Hayat, who paired her festive outfit with jewellery from her home town Klepp and a blue headscarf. As a hijabi Norwegian, she said she was delighted to be able to represent both her culture and her religion.
She explained: “I wore a Norwegian traditional festive outfit, which I combined with Hazara (an ethnic group in Afghanistan) jewellery and a hijab. Because I was born in Afghanistan and grew up in Norway, I wanted to celebrate May 17 by combining both countries that feel like home to me.
“I wear the hijab because of my religion. I chose to combine everything in this way to show that I value culture and religion, no matter which country I live in or where I come from.”
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