2023 saw one of the largest celebrations of Norway’s Constitution Day in Cardiff for some years. Post-pandemic, and blessed with fine weather, almost 200 people turned up to join the celebrations, starting with a procession from the Wales Millennium Centre via the Senedd to the Norwegian Church on the bayside.
Martin Price, trustee of the Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay charity, welcomed the procession.
The flag was hoisted over Cardiff Bay after the singing of the National Anthem, Ja vi elsker, accompanied by the band of the Salvation Army.
Torill Heavens, a committee member of the Welsh Norwegian Society, welcomed everybody and led proceedings in the hall. Torill is also a member of the Salvation Army Band that played for us throughout the afternoon.
Cato Syversen, the CEO of the Cardiff-based Norwegian company Creditsafe, and a trustee of the Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay, gave the traditional 17th May speech, explaining the date’s significance to Norway and Norwegians.
The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Councillor Graham Hinchey, wished everyone “gratulerer med dagen“. The city council looked after church after it closed for services until last year, when it was handed over to a new charity, the Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay.
Nine-year-old Eira Oseng-Rees is a typical member of our community. With a Welsh father and Norwegian mother, she has grown up bilingually in south Wales – which she demonstrated by reading the poem “17. mai er jeg så glad i” – “I love 17th May so much” in both Norwegian and English.
The Church in Norway continues to support Norwegians living, working and studying abroad, even if it has far fewer physical places of worship than in the peak days of Norway’s merchant navy.
Ingrid Ims is a chaplain based at the Norwegian Church in London who works with communities throughout the UK and Ireland. She is especially keen to reach out to Norwegian students in Wales.
Ingrid expanded on Cato’s thoughts about the meaning of 17th May and its place in Norwegian independence.
Remembering the losses that Norway had suffered during its occupation during World War Two, she laid a wreath in the church to remember the fallen.
“Vi lyser fred over deres minne,” she said: We shine peace upon their memory.
The Welsh have St David’s Day, the Irish St Patrick’s Day. And the Norwegians? Well, we have syttende mai, 17th May, when we commemorate the signing of our constitution in 1814. Norway had been ruled by Denmark for four centuries, but had just suffered a devastating defeat in the Napoleonic Wars and was to be transferred from Denmark to Sweden as a penalty. The constitution declared Norway an independent kingdom – a goal that was not reached until 1905, when the union was Sweden was finally dissolved.
17th May is huge. Whilst many countries celebrate their national day with a military parade, Norway holds a party for everyone, especially children, with marching bands, parades, national costumes and ice cream. Lots of ice cream. Before they head out onto the streets, many people will have a “17th May breakfast” – often a bring-a-dish party with friends and neighbours – with freshly-baked bread, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and champagne.
Children then parade through the streets, led by marching bands, waving flags and shouting “hurra!”. The largest parades attract tens of thousands of people. In Oslo, the procession is greeted by the royal family.
Ice cream and hot dogs are eaten while games are played. Speeches are made during the afternoon. The festivities are often rounded off in the evening with a special meal with friends and family.
Inevitably, our celebrations in Wales, taking place hundreds of miles from Norway, are somewhat muted, but we try to include as many of the familiar elements as we can – from the parade to the party food, the music to the speeches.
Thank you for joining us to celebrate 17th May this year!
Programme for the Day
16.45 Procession sets out from the Wales Millennium Centre, Roald Dahls Plass, Cardiff
17.00 Gathering at the Norwegian Church to raise the flag and sing the Norwegian national anthem
Welcome by Martin Price, Chair, Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay
17.15 Move inside the church for a traditional 17th May programme led by Torill Heavens
Addresses from Cato Syversen, CEO, Creditsafe; Councillor Graham Hinchey, the Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Cardiff; and a representative of Vestland County, Norway
Poem read by Eira Oseng-Rees
Wreath laid by Ingrid Ims from the Norwegian Church in London.
17:45 End of official programme. The café will remain open for the sale of refreshments and Norwegian food items
We would like to thank the Salvation Army Band for making our celebration a true Norwegian experience by learning our national anthem and joining us come rain or shine.
Ja, vi elsker
The Norwegian National Anthem
Words by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Ja, vi elsker dette landet Som det stiger frem Furet, værbitt over vannet, Med de tusen hjem Elsker, elsker det og tenker På vår far og mor Og den saga natt som senker drømme på vår jord
Yes, we love with fond devotion This our land that looms Rugged, storm-scarred o’er the ocean With her thousand homes. Love her, in our love recalling Those who gave us birth. And old tales which night, in falling, Brings as dreams to earth.
Norske mann i hus og hytte, Takk din store gud. Landet ville han beskytte, Skjønt det mørkt så ut. Alt hva fedrene har kjempet Mødrene har grett Har den herre stille lempet Så vi vant, vi vant vår rett
Norseman, whatsoe’er thy station, Thank thy God whose power willed and wrought the land’s salvation In her darkest hour. All our mothers sought with weeping And our sires in fight, God has fashioned in His keeping Till we gained our right.
Ja, vi elsker dette landet Som det stiger frem Furet værbitt over vannet Med de tusen hjem Og som fedres kamp har hevet Det av nød til seir Også vi, når det blir krevet For dets fred slår leir Også vi når det blir krevet For dets fred, dets fred slår leir
Yes, we love with fond devotion This our land that looms Rugged, storm-scarred o’er the ocean With her thousand homes. And, as warrior sires have made her Wealth and fame increase, At the call we too will aid her Armed to guard her peace.
17 mai er jeg så glad i
By Margrethe Munthe
17. mai er vi så glad i, moro vi har fra morgen til kveld! Da er det så du, om vi er små du, er vi med likevel. Jeg roper hurra dagen så lang, synger for Norge mangen en sang Og jeg, jeg kan duelske mitt land du, det skal du se en gang
We love 17 May, We have fun from morning to night! That’s how it is, We take part Even if we are small. I shout hurray all day long, sing many a song for Norway And I, I can love my country You, you have to see it once
Norge i rødt, hvitt og blått
‘Norway in red, white and blue’
Words by Finn Bø, Bias Bernhoft og Arild Feldborg
Hvorhen du går i li og fjell, en vinterdag, en sommerkveld med fjord og fossevell, fra eng og mo med furutrær
Fra havets bryn med fiskevær og til de hvite skjær, møter du landet i trefarvet drakt, svøpt i et gjenskinn av flaggets farveprakt. Se, en hvitstammet bjerk oppi heien, rammer stripen med blåklokker inn mot den rødmalte stuen ved veien, det er flagget som vaier i vind. Ja, så hvit som det hvite er sneen, og det røde har kveldssolen fått, og det blå ga sin farve til breen, det er Norge i rødt, hvitt og blått.
Where’er you go in fields or hills A winter day, a summer eve By fjord and waterfalls From meadows and heaths with pines
From oceans shore with fishing grounds And to the white-washed reefs You meet the country in tricolour
Wrapped in reflection of the flag’s coloured glow. See the white-stemmed birch on the hillside Framing in the bluebells with ribbons. Put beside the red-painted cottage by the roadside, It’s the flag that waves in the breeze.
Yes, as white as the whiteness of snow And the red has the sunset been given And the blue gave its colour to the glacier. That is Norway in Red, White and Blue.
Wednesday 17 May, Norway’s Constitution Day – the day the nation celebrates its re-emergence as an independent nation after four centuries of Danish rule – will again be marked in Cardiff in the now familiar manner.
Norwegians in national dress will lead a procession from the Wales Millennium Centre to the Norwegian Church, accompanied by the band of the Salvation Army. At the church the instantly recognisable flag will be hoisted and the Norwegian anthem sung. The Norwegian community and its friends in Wales will welcome dignitaries from both Wales and Norway.
The Norwegian Church Arts Centre café will serve Norwegian favourite food and drinks, and will be stocked with supplies to buy and take away.
A new exhibition telling the story of the Norwegian community in Cardiff and its church will open in the upstairs gallery.
The celebrations – which begin at 4.30 pm and last until the evening – are open to all, especially those keen to make links with others in Wales with an interest in Norway.
Each year a handful of people contact the society to inquire about learning Norwegian.
As far as languages go, it’s not the most complicated. The grammar is fairly simple and many words are similar to English. However, it is hard to know where to begin if you didn’t have the good fortune to be born and raised in Norway. We are therefore delighted that this month’s social event we will be joined by an expert.
Anna-Marie Kjøde Olsen is a Norwegian teacher and academic from the University of Bergen who is currently spending a year at Swansea University, where she is continuing her PhD research into how adults learn Norwegian as a second language, particularly those who haven’t had the benefit of advanced language learning in the past.
Anna-Marie will talk about her work with international students, immigrants, refugees and other adult learners, and answer your questions about the language and how to go about learning or improving.
Join us at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff on Saturday 25 March at 2.30 pm. In celebration of Norwegian waffle week (seriously!), we will be serving fresh waffles in the traditional style. The café will be open at lunchtime for those seeking something more savoury or substantial. And of course, as usual, there will be the chance to chat over coffee – whether in Norwegian, Welsh or English!
Our next social gathering on Sunday 26 February will be especially suitable for families. We’ll be marking fastelavn – “the Nordic tradition you’ve probably never heard of,” according to one blogger – with two traditions that are typical of northern Europe, but almost unknown here.
Fastelavn is the eve of lent, and is a Protestant festival celebrated across northern Europe, including Scandinavia, Finland, Estonia and Germany. Scots know it as Fastens-een. It’s related to carnivals marked at this time of year in Catholic countries, and Shrove Tuesday – pancake day – in the UK. Strangely, it is celebrated on different days in the Scandinavian nations: this year it will be celebrated in Norway on 19 February.
The festival is celebrated differently between the countries and even between regions. We will be adopting two practices this year: eating fastelavnsboller and making Shrovetide rods or sticks – with which children are supposed to beat their parents to wake them on Fastelavns Sunday, though we will not necessarily be following this custom!
Fastelavnsboller are Shrovetide buns – sweet rolls with a filling, typically cream, jam or stewed fruit, and usually iced. There has been lively debate among members of the Welsh Norwegian Society about the right combination of filling and icing – this is very much comes down to family and local custom. There’s a Norwegian recipe here.
The Shrovetide rods are birch twigs decorated with feathers, or sometimes strips of paper, sweets, figurines and even eggshells. Apparently, particularly pious people used to lightly flog their children on Good Friday to remind them of the sufferings of Christ on the cross. In return, children won the right to flog their parents on Fastelavns Sunday – and were rewarded with a sweet bun. Today, children in Denmark sing a special song to demand their reward:
Shrovetide is my name,
buns I want.
If I get no buns,
then I make trouble.
Buns up, buns down
buns in my tummy.
If I get no buns,
then I make trouble.
Come and join us at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff on Sunday 26 February from 2.30 pm for buns, Shrovetide rod-making, fun, company and chatter.
In 2022 the new charity Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay (NCCB) officially took over the Norwegian Church Arts Centre in Cardiff Bay from the former Norwegian Church Preservation Trust.
One of the charity’s main aims was to establish a heritage programme at the church, highlighting the history of the Norwegian Seamen’s Mission in Wales (in addition to the church in Cardiff Bay, there were other churches located in Newport, Swansea, and Barry), historical connections between Wales and Norway, and the more recent history of the church.
In the autumn of 2022, before the NCCB took over, the Welsh-Norwegian Society sent out a call for volunteers to help realise this heritage project. My wife Olivia Husøy-Ciaccia and I offered our assistance as volunteers for this project. With support from the Chair of NCCB, Martin Price, we were tasked with writing a funding bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund to gain the financial means to execute the project. At the time (and at present), I held the role of Treasurer of the Welsh-Norwegian Society. The funding bid was successful and through it the NCCB obtained the funds to hire a professional Heritage Officer, a role which I was delighted to be offered.
Since September 2022 it has been my responsibility to conduct research and collate as much of the historical information about the church as possible. This brief introduction provides the background to how the heritage project came to be. For the remainder of this article I will highlight two recent developments in the project so far, starting with the new digital touchscreen kiosk, now in the Norwegian Church.
The Digital Touchscreen
One of the most important aspects of the heritage collation project at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre is to make as much information about the church available to the public as possible. One of the new devices we have purchased to achieve this is a digital touchscreen, which is now in the church. This has been installed with historical content provided by Tiger Bay – Heritage and Cultural Exchange, which is collaborating in the heritage collation project.
The information on this touchscreen kiosk currently tells the story of Cardiff Bay over the last few hundred years. A similar touchscreen can be found at Craft in the Bay, which also features the material supplied by Tiger Bay HCE.
Our touchscreen will focus on the history of the Norwegian church in Cardiff, but will also feature some information about the Norwegian Seamen’s Church and its Missions in Swansea, Barry, and Newport. Additionally, it will shed light on the social history of Norwegians in South Wales, including the history of the Welsh-Norwegian Society.
The screen has already received keen interest from visitors and we hope that it will become even more popular once it is fully populated with historical information and images, which will be available in English, Welsh, and Norwegian.
Research trip to Norway
As I write, I am currently on a two-week research trip to Bergen in Norway, where I am visiting the Seamen’s Church’s archive and museum, the Maritime Museum, and the Regional State Archives in Bergen. These are three institutions which hold relevant material for the heritage project.
I spent the first days of the research trip in the historical collections of the Seamen’s Mission, which has important documentation on the history and development of the church. They have a large photo archive as well as a complete collection of Bud og Hilsen, which is the journal of the Seamen’s Church. The first issue of this journal dates to 1865, and in earlier numbers often contained reports from the various missions entitled “Fra Cardiff” (from Cardiff) or “Fra Antwerp” (from Antwerp); these supplied very useful information about historical developments and affairs and the various Norwegian churches across the world. They also have anniversary books produced about the Norwegian Seamen’s Church throughout its history which provide useful summaries of the historical developments at the various stations, including Cardiff.
At present the Norwegian Church Arts Centre has a modest number of artefacts from its history on loan from the Seamen’s Church’s historical collection, such as the historical baptismal font and some candlestick holders. The latter were given to the Cardiff Church by Hvaler Parish Council in 1927.
I have also spent time at the Maritime Museum in Bergen, where I consulted more issues of Bud og Hilsen as well looked through parts of their extensive photography collection and reference sections. The second week of the trip will be used looking at the collections related to the church held by the Regional State Archive in Bergen, which holds an extensive collection related to the Norwegian Churches in South Wales and further afield.
HERITAGE Exhibition in the NORWEGIAN CHURCH
As a part of this project, we are aiming to create an exhibition to open on May 17th focusing on the history of Norwegians in Wales.
If anyone would like to lend any items to support this exhibition or help us to organise it, please contact me at thomas@norwegianchurchcardiff.com. These items could be an old artefact, photos, home made crafts, etc.
Everything will be carefully cared for, documented and returned after the exhibition closes.
We have started to plan monthly social events for 2023. We will publish more details in due course, but this is what we have planned for the first half of the year.
All members are welcome, there will be food and drinks available to purchase from the cafe, and a chance to chat with fellow members in Norwegian, Welsh or English.
Sunday 29 January – Norwegians in Wales Heritage Project
2.30 to 4.00 pm (Church open from 2.00 for food and coffee)
Thomas Husøy – who, as well as being the WNS treasurer, has recently been employed at the church charity to collate the history and heritage of the church and the Norwegian community in Cardiff, will speak about the project.
Sunday 26 February – Lent crafts and food
We plan to make or bring traditional Norwegian lent buns – fastelavnsboller – and decorations from birch twigs and feathers.
Sat 25 or Sun 26 March – Waffle-making
It’s national waffle day in Norway. We are looking at ways of making the waffles and the toppings authentically Norwegian!
Fri 28 April – Evening drinks
Singer James Kirby, himself half-Norwegian, will be performing in concert at the church in the evening. We propose to have a drinks social before the concert between 6-7 pm. Those wanting to stay for the concert itself will need to buy tickets from the church: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/james-kirby-tickets-461233701417
Wednesday 17 May – 17. mai
We propose to hold the celebration again in the afternoon. Although this is not the Norwegian norm, it does allow people to attend without missing school or work.
We hope to launch an exhibition in the church gallery of the links between Norway and Wales, one of the outputs of the heritage project, in time for the celebrations.
Saturday 24 June – Sankt Hans
There will be a private members’ event to celebrate Midsummer/St Hans in the Gower.
Please add these to your calendar, join us if you can, and make suggestions or requests for these or other events.
After several years of sterling service, the old site was becoming cluttered and a little disorganised. It was also expensive to run, so we made the decision to move to a new location and have a thorough spring clean. That work is still ongoing, so you may still find some clutter, outdated pages, broken links or some things in the wrong place. We hope to have it all working properly and looking shipshape by the spring.
The Norwegian Church Arts Centre and Cafe also has a new site, www.norwegianchurchcardiff.com, where you will find opening hours, the latest schedule of events and a menu.
The new Norwegian Church charity recently appointed our society treasurer Thomas Husøy to lead an investigation into the history of the church and its community over the years.
Thomas has started to delve deep into the archives at the church and to hand, and over the coming year he will look in libraries, archives and personal collections further afield in Wales and Norway.
Already some members have come forward to tell us of mementoes and records they have themselves or know of elsewhere. Please do keep the information coming! Feel free to contact Thomas at thomas@norwegianchurchcardiff.com if you wish to discuss the Norwegian Church and the heritage project.
We will take great care of materials shared with us, take copies and make the material more widely available in a digital record of this community which has played such a central role in the life and development of Cardiff and south Wales.
This archive picture from the 1950s shows trawler CF27 Sasebo tied up at the old icehouse in Bute West Dock with the Norwegian Church in its original position in the background. Image courtesy of the Heritage and Cultural Exchange.
Wales’s small but vibrant Norwegian community celebrated the arrival of the festive season on Sunday (4 December), at their annual Festival of Light and Friendship at their iconic church on Cardiff Bay.
Norwegians came to Wales in the 19th century as sailors and traders bringing pit props and supplies to the coal mines of south Wales as the industry boomed. Many settled, including the family of author Roald Dahl. He was born in Cardiff and baptised in the small church that was built in the Bute docks to serve the local community and visiting seamen.
As the community dispersed, the white wooden church fell into disuse and disrepair, but in later life Dahl led the campaign to have it preserved. It was eventually rebuilt at its present position on the waterfront, and now serves as an arts centre and café. It remains a focal point for Norwegians living, working and studying across Wales.
The church café was open to all, serving Norwegian favourites including waffles, cakes, mulled wine, hotdogs and lapskaus – a close relation to Welsh cawl.
There were workshops in the main hall for those wanting to learn how to make Scandinavian-style Christmas decorations.
As dusk fell, there was a traditional outdoor lantern procession to light the Christmas tree and welcome Santa. The band of the Salvation Army played.
This event was hosted by the Welsh-Norwegian Society, the Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay Charity and Vestland County Council in Norway, which has long supported the restoration of the church building and the maintenance of cultural and education ties between south Wales and west Norway.
Welsh Norwegian Society 