Photos

I was also thinking about naming this serie "Celebration of a common history". May 17th is the Norvegian National Day. For those who have followed this voyage so far, you will remember that I came to the Shetlands with a Norvegian ship, Statsraad Lehmkuhl, and that we are now in Lerwick, the capital of the Shetlands, rattached to Scotland. Lerwick is currently celebrating May 17th, with a big march across the city.
To start the parade, a group of local Vikings (of different size and age...).
Then (workshop 1) the whole crew of Statsraad Lehmkuhl dressed up for the occasion in their best uniforms or civilian clothes: officers, crew and trainees (except me, taking pictures since I am not Norvegian).
And to finish (workshop 2), a band of Scottish pipers.
This is probably a good illustration of the very old relationships between Norway and the Shetlands, and of the fact that common roots have been preserved along the centuries...

A little extract of Wikipedia for the educational side:
The Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai (meaning May Seventeenth), Nasjonaldagen (National Day) or Grunnlovsdagen (Constitution Day), although the latter is less frequent.
Historical background
The Constitution of Norway was signed at Eidsvoll on May 17 in the year 1814. The constitution declared Norway to be an independent nation.
The celebration of this day begun spontaneously among students and others from early on, and for some years the king was reluctant to allow the celebrations. For a couple of years in the 1820s, king Carl Johan actually forbade it, as he thought the celebrations a kind of protest and disregard - even revolt. The king's attitude changed slightly after the Battle of the Square in 1829, an incident which resulted in such a commotion that the King had to allow it. It was, however, not until 1833, that anyone ventured to hold a public address on behalf of the day. That year, official celebration was initiated by the monument of the late politician Christian Krogh, known to have stopped the King from gaining too much personal power. The address was held by Henrik Wergeland, thoroughly witnessed and accounted for by a Swedish spy, sent by the King himself.
After 1864, the day became more established, and the first children's promenade was launched in Christiania, in a parade consisting only of boys. The girls had their own promenade by a different route. This initiative was taken by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, although Wergeland made the first known children's promenade at Eidsvoll around 1820.
By historical coincidence, the Second World War ended in Norway just nine days before that year's Constitution Day, on May 8, 1945, when the occupying German forces surrendered. Even if The Liberation Day is an official flag day in Norway, the day is not an official holiday and is not broadly celebrated. Instead a new and broader meaning has been added to the celebration of Norwegian independence on May 17.
The day focused originally on the Norwegian constitution, but after 1905, the focus has been directed also towards the royal family.
Celebration abroad
The National Day is also celebrated in many Norwegian immigrant communities throughout the world, with traditional foods, sometimes including lutefisk. In the United States and Canada, the local lodges of the Sons of Norway organization often play a central part in organizing the festivities. One major celebration occurs in Petersburg, Alaska aka Little Norway. The town is a Norwegian settlement and strongly retains it's roots. The festival occurs the weekend closest to the 17th of May and includes a Parade, herring toss, locals selling Norwegian pastries such as Lefse and even a pack of Vikings and Valkyries (inebriated locals dressed in non-accurate "Viking-Wear").
Another occurs in the city of Stoughton, Wisconsin. Festivities include canoe racing, a 20-mile run that starts in Madison, Wisconsin, and a great deal of bratwurst consumption. Smaller Syttende Mai celebrations are held in Norwegian-heritage communities throughout western Wisconsin, as well as elsewhere in the Midwestern United States.
Another major celebration occurs in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

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