How many of you celebrate Canada Day? Do you even get out of the house? Exactly. I’m the same. The government grants us this statutory holiday to allow us to celebrate our great country and take a moment to reflect on how fortunate it is for us to be Canadians and what do we do? Nothing. I’ve never really felt guilty about spending the day lounging about in my pajamas and watching trashy television because I knew everyone else was probably doing the same, or using the day to move, or clean, or golf. But boy, did the Norwegians put me to shame. I decided to visit their country during the month of May because I’d often heard what a big to-do their national holiday is. Everyone (and I do mean everyone) comes into town in their finest or in their traditional garb and spends the day watching the parade, celebrating with friends and family, and enjoying the time-honoured custom of eating barbecued hot dogs and ice cream. I was in downtown Oslo on May 17th, Norway’s Constitution Day and it was packed beyond belief. Masses made their way into the city before 10 AM, picked a spot behind the barricades and awaited the parade of children.

Every elementary, middle, and high school has a place in the annual parade. The kids spend the bulk of the morning walking through the city waving their flags and singing songs. School bands lead their classes with compositions that they’ve spent weeks rehearsing. It’s quite the affair as Oslo is set abuzz with excitement…and it’s contagious! Watching the Kindergarten kids walk by holding ropes that keep them in line would make any old grump crack a smile. You’ll find yourself waving at all of them and shouting Hurrah! to their Hip Hips and after you’ve had your fill of the parade (it goes on for hours), you can go sit down for a picnic at the park or simply do some people watching. You’d be surprised how entertaining it is just to sit down on a bench along Karl Johans Avenue and check out the dizzying variety of costumes that the Norwegians wear on such special occasions. You can sit there for a solid fifteen minutes and not see the same dress twice. If it weren’t for the fashionable shades that many people were wearing, you’d think you’d stepped back into the past.

The name of the national costume is Bunad. For the women, it consists of a heavy tailored white linen shirt, a long skirt and vest made of wool, a silver or gold belt with a purse that attaches to it, silver or gold jewelry, black shoes with big buckles on them, and for some of them, a cap or in some rare instances, a jeweled headdress. The men wear similar shoes over a pair of very thick woolen knee socks. The wool pants reach down to the knees and are paired with a vest and jacket made of the same material. A white linen shirt peeks out at the top. These costumes are worn on the 17^th of May, at weddings and baptisms, and other major events.

The kids wear similar outfits. Many times they look like they’re drowning in them because they are bought oversized and meant to last a very long time. Parents can usually purchase relatively inexpensive ‘unauthentic’ costumes for the kids in the clothing shops but adults always wear proper tailored garments from specialty stores. Women often have them made during their teenage years when their growth peaks. Extra fabric is always cut to allow for future alternations but usually women have one dress for their entire lives because they cost a fortune. They are all hand-made and hand embroidered by certified Norwegian seamstresses that abide by regulations that are strictly enforced. The complete outfit usually runs about 20,000 Kr (about $4,000 Cdn!) and you can only have one made in the style that represents your region of birth. That’s why there’s such a variety. Just by looking at the dress you can tell if its wearer is from a city in the Northern part of the country or an obscure town in the Southernmost tip of Norway. If you don’t like the design of your region then you’re outta luck. You COULD technically have one made in the style that you prefer but that practice is very much looked down upon. If you decide to do that, you might as well change your whole identity and learn the history of your chosen region because you’ll be caught! Crazy eh?

Here’s a good tip. If you’re in Oslo for a week, be sure to buy the weekly transit pass. You won’t regret it. It’ll cost you 640 Kr (about $130 Cdn) but it’s worth it. If you buy tickets on a need-to basis, you’ll be spending a heck of a lot more, trust me. When you get the pass, you have to get it stamped and it’ll allow you to travel by ferry, tram or bus for seven days. Regular tickets are only valid for an hour and you could spend a good $6 just to get a couple of stops away. When traveling, you don’t want to be checking your watch every fifteen minutes to make sure you don’t miss your next ride.

This is the town parade. The procession marches down the main avenue (Karl Johans) and up to the castle, where it’ll pass the Norwegian royal family, who stands waving to the crowds for the three hours that it takes to get through all the schools in town. The line then takes a turn and down another street, and then another, and another…until the paraders reach the pier.

If you are visiting Norway and will be in Oslo in May, make sure you visit the tourist information centre that is located on the street behind city hall (there’s a big green ‘i’ sign outside the building) and get one of these special passes. They’re free and only given to tourists from other countries. This pass will allow you to stand in a specially designated area directly across the castle and looking down on Karl Johans Avenue. It’ll be the closest you’ll get to the Norwegian royals and you’ll have an ever so slightly elevated view of the parade. The only catch is that you must be at the location no later than 10 AM and you cannot leave the area until the parade ends at 1 PM. Doing so means cutting through the parade and havoc will ensue.

Again, if you’re in Norway for a week or more, you might find this handy. Go to any kiosk in town (Narvesen is the most common and you’ll see it everywhere) and purchase a pay-as-you-go SIM card. It costs 99 Kr (about $20 Cdn) and gives you 50 Kr (about ten bucks) worth of talk time + 50 free text messages. If you use it up, simply log on to the website of your telecom provider and add more money to your account. It’ll be a lifesaver because you’ll be hard pressed to find a phone booth in town. There are some by the pier but in my experience, they’re unreliable, expensive and always eat up my money without making the connection. Here’s the important part though. These cards will ONLY work on GSM phones, which only Rogers carries and ONLY work on unlocked phones, which is unheard of in Canada. If your phone is locked (and it most likely is), you won’t be able to use it in Norway. You can easily get it unlocked and you won’t have trouble finding someone to do it in Oslo but it’s not ‘legal.’ If you have a CDMA phone, don’t even bother taking it with you on the trip. I have family in Norway and I borrow one of their old cell phones to use with my purchased SIM card and it is invaluable to me, especially since I am meeting people all the time.