Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday observed on May 17 each year. 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. The celebration of this day began spontaneously among students and others from early on.
Norway was at that time in a union with Sweden and for some years the King of Sweden and Norway was reluctant to allow the celebrations. For a few years during the 1820s, King Karl Johan actually banned it, believing that celebrations like this were in fact a kind of protest against the union. The king's attitude changed after the Battle of the Square in 1829. It was, however, not until 1833 that public addresses were held, and official celebration was initiated.
After 1864 the day became more established when the first children's parade was launched in Christiania, at first consisting only of boys, and since 1899 also of girls. In 1905, the union with Sweden was dissolved and Prince Carl of Denmark was chosen to be King of an independent Norway, under the name Haakon VII. Obviously, this ended any concern for the activities of the National Day. The day focused originally on the Norwegian constitution, but after 1905, the focus has been directed also towards the royal family.
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 longest parade is in Oslo, where some 100,000 people travel to the city centre to participate in the main festivities.
Depending on the community, the parade may make stops at particular sites along the route, such as a nursing home or war memorial.
About the stamp
The stamp is one of the two issued on May 9, 2016 by Norway for Europa stamps 2016, with the theme Ecology in Europe - Think Green.
• 14 NOK - It's on the postcard 2816
• 18 NOK (the common design)
References
Norwegian Constitution Day - Wikipedia
Sender: Beatrice Christiana Johnson
Sent from Oslo (Oslo / Norway), on 06.10.2016
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