Happy birthday :)

Today it is Norway`s constitution day. u should come the 17th of May to Norway! thousands come out of their homes and businesses and parade through the streets of towns and cities to the sound of brass bands(corps) and celebration, blowing whistles, waving flags, singing songs,shouting "Hurrah, hurrah", eating ice-cream n`generally behaving like there was no tomorrow. a confused foreigner once said it was the weirdest thing he had ever witnessed, "like a cross between the carnival in Rio and a military parade in Moscow". so don't think u know what to expect!
all through the country there are barnetog, parades composed of school children, n' other parades of all kinds. it is an occasion for the shy norwegian to come out of his cave and dress up in his finest apparel, and everywhere u turn u are bound to catch glimpses of the beautiful national costumes or bunad from the various regions of the country, brought out of the cupboard where they are kept for most of the year.(where i live we have the "sognebunad",u can get it in six diffrent colours on the west. my mum in her bunad, mum.) after the parade people go to church(tradition), and then afterwards it is a speach outside by someone about how it was before, about this day and the future.
if the weather is good and the sun is shining there are often outdoor games, competitions and shows of various kinds.. often at the school they belong to - the weather is fine back here in Leirvik(Hyllestad kommune) today - it is sunny,but a bit chilly though.
I`ve inherited the bunad my grandmother had(my fathers mother) - so i dont have the sognebunad as the others have, i have 'Oslodrakt' - i'm not wearing it today actually, i have lost too much weight and have to adjust it till next time.(pic from last year.)