Happy birthday to all my fellow Norwegians out there

I would say that this is one very special day for us somewhat weird Norwegians because May the 17th is the day when we celebrate the signing of our constitution that happened back in May the 17th 1817 at Eidsvoll, but we didn't get our independence "officially" before June the 7th 1905. Not that I am about to go into the fine details of this historical event, just wanted to have it mentioned. The thing is that Norway isn't like other nations around the world when it comes to celebrating a day like this. While most countries celebrate with massive military parades and fireworks, we do it by letting our kids and young ones do the talking. With talking, I am aiming at civilian parades throughout the day.

The day usually gets kicked off early by a nationwide children parade after breakfast, then followed up by a graduation parade mid-day and then with an all public kinda thing around dinner time (we usually eat around 4 - 6 pm). This is actually a day that is celebrated by both Norwegians and people with Norwegian ancestry worldwide. Its the day of the year were we as a nation are allowed to show how patriotic we are, but the framework around this day is so much more. Under more normal circumstances we have everything from mobile amusement parks, free cinema for kids, fun and games for everyone, enjoying massive amounts of fast food and just spending time with family and friends.

To be completely honest here, I do love this day and for me its a day that even ranks over days like Christmas and New years eve in many ways. Just because its a day where everyone is gathered and enjoying themself. For me, it's all about the traditions, or family traditions and after moving to Peru the day have usually been celebrated by watching videos from parades and other happenings from my hometown, but not this year! This is just one other thing that the sars-cov2 virus has ruined for us this year and in many ways, it makes a day like this so much more important. Its a day we can get together and celebrate our national strength while we remember those who lost the battle against the virus.

A day like this does get a brand new meaning in all that is happening right now. It's also something that seems to have been implemented in the planning for the celebration program for my hometown. There seems to be an alternative celebration without the big crowd of people in public spaces. In an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus and this way avoiding taking any risks with the public health, because there will come more days like this in the future. The reality is that we have to focus on keeping each other safe and avoid taking risks that might put anyone into any danger because when this virus blows over we do have a real reason to celebrate. A global celebration and at the same time remembering those who didn't make it!

This year didn't turn out as we hoped for and the part that kinda gets me down is that I am unable to spend the day with my family back home since we had plans to go to Norway. I had hoped to be able to spend and celebrate this day together with my loved ones, both those back home in Norway and those who live with me here in Peru. The good thing is that there will come opportunities to do this in the future when the virus has been defeated! Hopefully next year. Anyway, this is a day for joy and hope, just that the ongoing outbreak kinda puts things in a much better perspective for us. I am thinking that if we are lucky we will have a real reason to celebrate this amazing day next year.

Having hopes and dreams is important, especially now. Anyway, all I really wanted to do with this post were to say congrats on this day to all Norwegians all over the world. Remember to stay safe, keep the social distancing and at the same time enjoy this day together with those who are important to you! So happy birthday to you all, hope you are having a great day! At the same time, I hope you enjoyed my post and if you did then remember to check me out on social media. On Twitter (Jack White). On Facebook (Jack White Sr) and (Beyond the Horizon). On Instagram (Beyond our Horizon). You can also support my blog through Ko-fi (Jack White Sr).