A Day for Lefse and Lutefisk

GOD MORN (Norwegian = good morning)

SYTTENDE MAI - Today is the 17th of May and I have received word that if I retract my attack on the Royal Norwegian government from April 9th, I may regain access to Norway.

I do hereby, like Newsweek, retract my error!

Let me be sure that you, poor non-Norwegian descendents, know truth about Syttende mai today. The translation of syttende mai is: 17th of May. Yes, it is, purely and simply, the date. Just like we talk about the 4th of July.

That is a date, but does not provide the meaning.

The meaning of Syttende mai is that it is Constitution Day in Norway. On May 17, 1814, the Constitution of Norway was signed in Eidsvoll. That Constitution set up a separate Norwegian government with a parliament, but the monarch was the King of Sweden. Norway was given to Sweden by Denmark as part of the spoils of the Napoleonic Wars. Denmark was on the losing side and Sweden on the winning side.

Norway's independence came, at long last, on June 7, 1905. That is when Norway unilaterally declared its independence from Sweden and called its own king. The Norwegians tout the fact that this was a peaceful separation of Norway from Sweden.

This is the centennial year for Norway's independence coming June 7. There are many celebrations throughout Norway, the USA, and the world (events).

On this Syttende mai, I acknowledge and openly declare my Norwegian genealogy with pride.

Ha det bra! (Norwegian = have it good)