May 17th

Happy May 17th to Norwegians everywhere! :-)

and a sad may 17th to the rest of the world...

Here we go again: A Happy May 17th to Norwegians everywhere! :-)

And what is so special about may 17th to Norwegians?

It is the

National day

of Norway!

Someone has obviously had a bit of fun with the Wikipedia page, but the main points are valid still...

Don't just wish them good wishes - eat lutfisk!

May 17th is my 5-year-ol...erm...6-year-old's birthday! I'm making sandwiches for the party! I had no idea it was so special to Norway though!

Lutefisk is for Christmas. For May 17th, it's hot dogs and ice cream! :-)

yikes, hot dogs with ice cream? sounds like maple syrup pancake with bacon.

We had jelly and ice cream :-)

congrats to norwegians

We don't mix them into one dish chianti. Personally I've had two hot dogs and two helpings of ice cream with strawberries during the day. :-)

yumm :-)

Hipp Hipp Hurra!!

Hot dogs and ice cream for everyone!!!

:-)

and eurovision contest!!! :P

@Marius: only for everyone in Norway and in my house :-)

Congrats Norway, it was a good song.

Hooray for Norway! I mentioned this to my wife, who said, and this was news to me, that they used to celebrate Syttende Mai in her home town (a very small town in Wisconsin). Is this like St. Patrick's Day, in that anyone can be Norwegian for one day?

@MarleysGhost: I think it's only Irish people and people in the USA that think they can be Irish on St Patrick's Day!

My wife also said that her father, who passed away before I met her, had participated in a "Norske Valarney" (sp???) show when he was in high school. She thinks that "Valarney" is a cognate for "Blarney". Can any of the Norwegian speakers here confirm or deny (or hotly deny) this, or guess what in Norwegian might have been passed down in oral tradition to become "Valarney"?

@wc: Today I'm wearing some blue and some red. You should try it. hmm... I'm feeling hungry for pickled herring...

Hurra for 17. Mai!

Everybody sing along: "Ja, vi elsker dette landet..."

...som det stiger frem... :D

have fun!! congratulations

After months of darkness seeing the sun again must be a great joy. ;-)

I shall raise a glass of aquavit to our Norwegian ex-neighbours! I don't care if it's traditional or not - you can't stop me!

And so, again, we celebrate freedom and independence in Norway.

Hipp hipp hurra for syttende mai! :-)

congrats again

Syttende Mai, Cinco de Mayo, and the Fourth of July are holidays that seem to be commonly referred to simply by their dates. Are there others?

7 de setembro (Brazilian ID), 14 Juliet (Bastille Day), 9 de Julio (Argentinian ID) are just a few I can immediately recall