page_title: Constitution Day (Norway)
section_title: Children's parades
hierarchical_section_title: Constitution Day (Norway) / Children's parades
caption_attribution_description: English: Children in national dress walking in a parada on the 17th of May, Norway's constitution day.
context_page_description: Constitution Day is the national day of Norway and is an official public holiday observed on 17 May each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai, Nasjonaldagen or Grunnlovsdagen, although the latter is less frequent.
context_section_description: 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. This is broadcast on TV every year, with comments on costumes, banners, etc., together with local reports from celebrations around the country. 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.
  Typically, a school's children parade will consist of some senior school children carrying the school's official banner, followed by a handful of other older children carrying full-size Norwegian flags, and the school's marching band. After the band, the rest of the school children follow with hand-sized flags, often with the junior forms first, and often behind self-made banners for each form or even individual class. Nearby kindergartens may also have been invited to join in. As the parade passes, bystanders often join in behind the official parade and follow the parade back to the school.
  Depending on the community, the parade may make stops at particular sites along the route, such as a nursing home or war memorial. In Oslo, the parade stops at the Royal Palace while Skaugum, the home of the crown prince, has been a traditional waypoint for parades in Asker.
  During the parade, a marching band will play and the children will sing lyrics about the celebration of the National Day. The parade concludes with the stationary singing of the national anthem "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (typically verses 1, 7 and 8), and the royal anthem "Kongesangen".
  In addition to flags, people typically wear red, white and blue ribbons. Although a long-standing tradition, it has lately become more popular for men, women and children to wear traditional outfits, called bunad. The children shout "Hurra!", sing, blow whistles and shake rattles.
caption: The kindergarten part of a Children's parade. The Gákti, the traditional clothing of the Sami people, is used by one of the small children.
exif: {}