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NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS

What’s open and closed in Norway over the May 17th and Pentecost weekend? 

Norway’s national day, May 17th, falls on a Friday this year, followed by another public holiday, Whit Monday, after the weekend. Here’s what’ll be open over the long weekend. 

Published: 13 May 2024 14:36 CEST
Updated: 17 May 2024 14:55 CEST
Pictured is a parade in central Oslo.
Shops and services in Norway will be disrupted by May 17th and Whit Monday. Pictured is a parade in central Oslo. Photo by Marta Stefańska on Unsplash

Constitution Day in Norway commemorates the signing of the Norwegian Constitution, which was passed by the Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll on May 16th, 1814, and signed the following day.

Norway’s constitution is the second-oldest written constitution in the world, and it still exists.

The day is the most widely celebrated day in the country, with residents taking to the country’s streets in folk costumes to watch parades and marching bands. 

Given the strong ties to national identity, many Norwegian traditions are intertwined with the day. 

READ ALSO: Why does Norway celebrate May 17th?

Given that the day is a public holiday, you can expect plenty of places to be closed, all children to be off school, and most workers to be off rota for the day. 

What’s closed on May 17th 

Most people will be off work, and all schools will be closed for the day so children can take part in parades. 

Most supermarkets will be closed, and even in areas with a public holiday exception to closing, staff may be given the day off to celebrate. 

Furthermore, Vinmonopolet, Norway’s state-owned alcohol store, will also be closed nationwide. This is because the sale of alcohol is prohibited on public holidays, meaning the last opportunity to buy beers, wines, and spirits from the wine monopoly will be before 6pm on Thursday, May 16th. 

The last chance to purchase drinks under 4.75 percent in strength, like beers and cider, will be 8pm from supermarkets on Thursday, May 16th. 

Public services, including public libraries, municipal swimming pools, sports centres, and GP surgeries, will be closed. 

Musuems and galleries will close for May 17th. 

Kids activities like football training or band practice will be closed. 

What’s open on May 17th?

Bars and restaurants will be open on May 17th. You may need to book in advance, though, as many mid- to high-end establishments will likely have a set menu planned for the day.

Most bars you will be able to just drop into though. 

While supermarkets will be closed, some convenience stores selling the essentials will be open. Some pharmacies may also remain open. 

Out-of-hours doctor services at the legevakt will be available, and emergency A&E clinics will also be open in case you need medical care. 

Public transport will operate on a reduced timetable during the day, and you can expect route diversions to accommodate for parades. 

Saturday offers a brief return to normality 

Following May 17th, Saturday the 18th offers a brief return to normality. Stores and shopping centres will reopen. 

However, other services will be restricted to weekend trading time. Still, Saturday should offer an opportunity to stock up on essentials before stores close again on Sunday and Monday. 

Facilities like gyms, museums and the like will reopen on Saturday and may remain open on Sunday, too. 

Saturday will also be the last opportunity for people to purchase alcohol before Tuesday, May 21st.

What’s closed on Pentecost / Whit Monday? 

Supermarkets will close again on Pentecost / Whit Monday, and people will be off from work and school. 

Similarly, most activities for children and adults will be closed, as will services like libraries, swimming pools and sports centres. 

GP clinics will close, and it will be “generally prohibited” to disturb the peace on holidays such as Whit Monday. This means things like mowing the lawn and playing loud music are not allowed. 

What will stay open?

Small convenience stores of 100 square metres in size or less are allowed to remain open, as are petrol stations of less than 150 square metres in size. Even in these smaller convenience stores, the sale of alcohol will remain prohibited. 

Stores in areas that are allowed to remain on Sunday due to tourism will also remain open. These are typically rural areas, rather than the big cities though. 

Garden centres and florists are allowed to stay open. 

Duty-free shops at airports in Norway are allowed to stay open. 

Restaurants, hotels and cafes are allowed to stay open. Smaller establishments may choose to close to allow the staff who worked May 17th to enjoy some time off. 

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NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS

What foreigners in Norway find confusing about May 17th 

Constitution Day, or May 17th, is a fantastic occasion in Norway. Foreigners living in the country also love getting in on the celebrations – but a few things about the day can be confusing. 

Published: 15 May 2024 16:06 CEST
Updated: 17 May 2024 14:27 CEST
What foreigners in Norway find confusing about May 17th 

Often referred to as Norway’s national day, May 17th is much beloved in Norway. The parades and festivities are a must-see (and also pretty hard to miss) for anyone in Norway on the day. 

There are plenty of traditions that can seem strange from the outside looking in, including bunads, parades, singing the national anthem, and waving flags. Even after you’ve experienced them a few times, they can still feel puzzling. 

How to celebrate 

One aspect that can confuse foreigners, even those with a few May 17ths under the belt, is how exactly the date should be celebrated. 

While the parades are an obvious starting point, traditions can vary across families, cities and regions. 

Many will start May 17th with a combination of a typical Norwegian breakfast, with or without champagne, and then go to watch the parades. 

After that, things become more unclear. Some choose to celebrate the rest of the day with family, grilling or playing garden games. 

Others choose to party hard, whether at parties, bars, or special May 17th events. 

Meanwhile, some cities have large gatherings after the parades, torch processions, or fireworks in the evening. 

Our tip would be to choose what you like most about May 17th and go with the flow. 

Thankfully, as long as you don’t do something stupid like desecrate the Norwegian flag or spend the day antagonising people, there doesn’t appear to be a “right or wrong” way to celebrate the occasion. 

What to wear 

Outfit choice can be tricky on May 17th. People normally dress their best, be it in a traditional bunad, a suit, or other smart clothes. 

For foreigners, this can be tough. For starters, most probably do not feel Norwegian enough to wear a bunad but want to dress nicely for the occasion as a show of respect. 

Therefore, finding something that makes you feel comfortable, doesn’t feel underdressed, and is also appropriate for whatever the weather is can be a tricky balance. 

Some people wear folk costumes from where they are from, which for the most part goes down well as very few Norwegians hold an attitude of “this is our day and not yours”.

What other people are wearing

This is perhaps more the case for newcomers to Norway, but seeing a bunad for the first time can be strange. Seeing thousands of people decked out in “national costumes” (as they are sometimes referred to) can be overwhelming. 

Given that the costumes date back centuries, seeing the old mixed with the modern can also be surreal—for example, seeing someone in a bunad whizz by on an e-scooter. 

Even as you become more accustomed to seeing national costumes and learning more about them, you could confuse yourself trying to work out the origin of the bunad given the designs, colours and embroidery unique to different regions of Norway. 

The national pride

As the day marks the signing of the Norwegian constitution, it’s no surprise that its themes centre on national pride and identity and feature plenty of flag waving and singing of the national anthem. 

This can be puzzling for foreigners, as in some places, patriotism and national pride have been hijacked by populist and far-right movements and used as a tool to cause division.

Other foreigners may also be critical of the idea of a monarchy and how heavily they feature in the day’s proceedings. 

However, in Norway, no one really questions these things. This is just as well because, for the most part, May 17th demonstrates how you can celebrate a country’s essence without hijacking it for the wrong reasons. 

The locals in Norway generally choose to include those who also wish to celebrate May 17th rather than exclude them. 

It’s the fact that Norway is able to maintain a strong sense of national pride on May 17th while remaining inclusive that some may find confusing. 

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