Sons of Norway to host traditional Syttende Mai celebration Friday
May 15—GRAND FORKS — The Gyda Varden Sons of Norway lodge is hosting an in-person Syttende Mai lunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, May 17, to celebrate Norway's Constitution Day, which is similar to Independence Day in the United States.
Everyone is welcome. "Syttende Mai" is Norwegian for the 17th of May. The Gyda Varden Sons of Norway Lodge #21 is located at 1401 Ninth Ave. S.
The event will feature a "Taste of Norway" platter of traditional foods, live music and a raffle. The platters are $15 each, cash only.
The platter will consist of a Norwegian-style smorbrod (open-faced sandwich), two Norwegian cookies (smakaker), one lefse, and a choice of blotkake (Norwegian birthday cake) or a cup of riskrem with rodsaus (ricecream with red sauce), and a beverage.
The types of smorbrod to be served are: smoked salmon (rokelaks), brown goat cheese (brunost), rolled ham, egg salad, or shrimp salad.
Musicians Chuck Gust and Sharon Myron will be playing Norwegian folk music outside the lodge during most of the event, probably 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., weather permitting, said Marianne Oyerhavn Knudson, lodge president.
The musicians are "guaranteed to play some lovely, traditional Norwegian music," Knudson said.
Raffle tickets, $1 each, will also be sold at the lodge through Friday, May 17. The prizes are "a Norwegian rosepainted wooden plate, hand-painted by one of our very talented members, Donna Remer; a krumkake iron; and a pair of handmade mittens and a cloth bag by Karen Knudsvig and Mary Ann Johnson, both featuring Norwegian rosepaint design," Knudson said. All the artists live in Grand Forks.
The raffle winners will be announced Saturday, May 18.
In recent years, the COVID pandemic has disrupted Syttende Mai gatherings at the lodge, so the opportunity to commemorate this important Norwegian holiday in person is a welcome change, said Knudson, a native of Norway.
"We are so excited to be able to celebrate together, in person, again this year," she said. "For Norwegians, May 17 is all about being together."
No orders for the "Taste of Norway" platter will be accepted ahead of Friday's event, Knudson said, as the lodge does not have enough volunteers to offer both the in-house lunch and a pick-up lunch.
In Norway, Syttende Mai, an official public holiday, is "very non-military in nature," according to a Sons of Norway newsletter. "All over Norway, parades with schools of all levels, organizations and marching bands and an abundance of flags form the central elements of the celebration. The parade marches through the community, often making stops at senior centers, war memorials, etc.
"The longest parade is in Oslo (Norway's capital), where some 100,000 people travel to the city center to participate in the main festivities."
