You will recall that I made a commitment to make every day a celebration this year. I must admit it’s not easy when sad news hits you in the morning like the day we received the very sad news that our previous president and still active member, Norman (Norm) Hammer had passed away peacefully after a short time of illness. My most recent memory of Norm is when he read the text in church on April 13, 2025. Few people could read the text the way Norm did, clearly knowing the story and always adding a few explanations.
When I grew up in Norway, the beginning of May was always a special time at school especially for the children playing an instrument in the school’s marching band. I played clarinet for almost 10 years. We practiced marching around the building to prepare for the 17th of May parade, and we trained on the most popular songs and melodies. One of the songs still standing out in my memory is “Kom, mai, du skjønne milde," a traditional Norwegian spring song, often celebrated for its joyful and uplifting melody that expresses the anticipation of spring and the beauty of nature awakening after a long winter. The title translates to "Come, May, you lovely and mild," reflecting the joy the month of May brings to both children and grownups.
In a time of some uncertainty, I decided to make “celebration” my theme of the year. One of the best ways to meet a challenge is to celebrate each new day and look to the future for something to enjoy. At its core, celebration is about recognition and appreciation. It is a fundamental aspect of human life that transcends cultures, geographies and time. Celebrations also serve as a form of collective healing in times of hardship, loss or tragedy. Coming together to celebrate can be a powerful generator of hope and renewal. It serves as a powerful means of marking significant events, achievements and milestones, giving us a sense of community and belonging. Whether it is a birthday, wedding, anniversary or graduation, we should take every opportunity to celebrate. Many memorial services are now reframed as a celebration of the life of the deceased.
On the wall in our summerhouse, I have a model of one of my favorite ships, Restauration, a sloop built in 1801 in Hardanger, Norway. Restauration set sail from Stavanger on July 4, 1825, with 52 people aboard, a small religious group who were followers of lay preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge. Known as the Haugeans (“Haugianere”), the group was searching for religious freedom and better economic opportunities. The Restauration holds a special place in Norwegian American history, and this year we celebrate the 200-year anniversary of that first emigration from Norway to the United States of America.
Even before the most recent hurricane (Milton) hit Florida, Vigdis and I were planning a long drive visiting six states and both the East Coast and Gulf Coast of Florida. The purpose of this trip was to experience with our own eyes how the recent storms have impacted individual locations and, for me in particular, the effects on the transportation industry. As a Norwegian, we have little experience with hurricanes, and I believe we don’t get the full picture through the news as we will discuss further in this article. That’s why we wanted to do this trip before we returned to Norway for Thanksgiving. We expect many questions from family and friends about the election and all the storms, so we wanted to be better prepared. What’s better than talking to local people and seeing it with your own eyes? Relative to the election, this trip was also to experience the so-called “divided country.” We did not find a divided country, but we did find a lot of love, unity and hope, my theme for this year.
One way we know that Fall is coming in Norway is when our dear HM The King goes onboard the Royal Yacht, Kongeskipet MS NORGE, for the last time to inspect the crew and honor them for their service. Called the debarking, it marks the end of the season for this beautiful ship. This year, as in so many before, he was accompanied by HM The Queen and The Crown Prince. The ship was used this year for royal visits to local communities, like their visit to Agder and Rogaland. On June 1st, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit used the yacht to attend an anniversary celebration at Moster in Vestland marking the 1000-year-jubilee of the first Christian Laws of Norway introduced by King Olaf Haraldsson and Bishop Grimkjell at Mostratinget (a court meeting) in 1024.
This summer I have enjoyed a coolcation in Norway with Vigdis, our granddaughter Elma and our dog, Buddy…and let me just state that we were not alone. I have never seen so many foreign-registered cars, motorcycles, and even bicycles! In addition, many cruise ships travel along the coast and numerous people from other countries in Europe are traveling by train as the railroads offer hiking tickets and interrail tickets for all ages.
Traveling to Norway for the summer in mid-June always connects us with Americans traveling to Norway, at the airport and on board the plane. I use the opportunity to ask where they are going, why they selected Scandinavia and their possible previous experiences. Scandinavian Airlines and Iceland Air benefit from land vacationers and cruise passengers during the summer which compensates for the lack of business travelers not traveling as much as other times of the year.
“Hope is not a passive exercise in wishing, but an active approach to life, arising when there is something we want when we've got a clear goal in mind. And though it may be tough going, we’ll develop a plan to get us closer to where we want to go.”
I certainly hope to see many of you this year at Carderock Park on May 12th to celebrate the Norwegian Constitution Day. Why do we celebrate May 17th? Norway's Constitution was unanimously adopted by the National Assembly at Eidsvoll on May 16, 1814, and was signed the following day, May 17, 1814. The actual celebration of Constitution Day began in 1836 when the day was instituted as a public holiday. People are dressed up in their absolute best clothes and, if you are lucky enough to have a bunad -- the Norwegian National costume -- May 17th is the day to wear it. The 17th of May is often called Children's Day, as opposed to many other countries celebrating their constitution day with military parades. The first children’s parade was arranged in Oslo in 1870, after an initiative by the famous poet and Nobel Prize winner, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. The first parade was for boys only; girls participated starting in 1889. School children and school bands go together in the parade, where the children wave Norwegian flags and shout hurray or sing along when the band plays. Everyone else stands along the parade route and watches and waves to the children. It is a full day celebration, from early morning to late evening.
