Constitution Day News on Norway

I had completely forgotten until a discoloured Norwegian flag glared at me from the pages of The Island. Today is the 17th of May, Norway's Constitution Day. But the embassy wasn't about to let me forget, was it? 1 page in The Daily News, 1 & 1/2 in The Daily Mirror and 3 & 1/2 in The Island (I guess their going rate is the lowest), make for a total of 6 pages of paid advertisements in Sri Lankas English dailies, focused on Norway. So is this just a shameless publicity stunt aimed at winning over those with a sceptical stance towards Norwegian involvement in Sri Lanka's peace process? Some of the stories undoubtedly give that impression. The piece on Buddhism in Norway is one example. Another article makes sure to mention Norway's contributions to tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka. And in a personal piece the ambassador exposes the rationale for the Norwegian involvement. He dvelves on the importance of peace for small countries, but fails to mention how Norwegian governments for decades have been striving to build an international image of Norway as a peace-loving nation in order to gain more influence in international bodies such as the UN.

This is an excercise in brand building. And was it a coincidence that the national shield with an axe-wielding lion was included in the banner? It probably was, but it is a nice link anyway, isn't it?

Other stories give us in debth information about Norway's judicial system, the history of our royal family, statistics on immigrants in Norway, details on the involvement of women in Norwegian politics, the run-down on Norwegian trade and industry and there is even a piece on the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, famous for "A Doll's House" and a number of other internationally acclaimed plays. All this is interspersed with pictures of nature, architecture and people (is the most recent picture available of King Harold and Queen Sonja really 14 years old?) and congratulatory adds from Norwegian companies and Lankan companies with Norwegian connections.

Oh yes, a well-fostered Norwegian national pride swells further on May 17th.

As I am writing this children all over Norway are walking in parades and waving Norwegian flags while singing songs such as "Yes, we love this land of ours" (our National Anthem), "Norway in red, white and blue" (not red, yellow and blue as The Island seems to think), and "We are a nation, too". The Royal family are standing on the their palace balcony, waving at the children below, although this year, for the first time without the king, who recently received heart surgery and is still recovering. After the parades there are games and competitions for the kids and unwritten laws give the same permission to eat ice cream, hot dogs, candy and cake until they puke. And speaking of puking... the seniors graduating from high school, known as russ, have been wreaking havoc on the nation for weeks now, celebrating the end of 12 years of mandatory school by consuming enormous amounts of alcohol while pestering each other and everyone else. They deserve an entry all to themselves, though.

I may sound sarcastic writing this, but one thing about the Constitution Day celebrations really makes me proud. The celebrations have no military overtones, whatsoever. There never has been - not since the constitution was declared on May 17th, 1814, although Norway the same year was handed from Denmark to a union with Sweden and didn't gain independence until 1905. Parading military equipment on this day would be unthinkable. It would provoke anger and resentment everywhere. This day is for the children to enjoy and for families to celebrate freedom together. I think that is something that deserves mentioning outside of Norway, too.

BTW: You can find all the articles in The Islands online edition, and if you want to read more about the celebrations, check out The Norway Post, where you will also find an English translation of the National Anthem.