Lest We Forget

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last monday of May. Originally called Decoration Day, this day commemorates all militarymembers who have died in our nation's service. There is evidence that this event was organized by women's groups in the South who honored their war dead of the Civil War by decorating their graves with flowers. This day of memorial was extended after World War II to honor all Americans who have given their lives for their country.

There are several medals given to honor our soldiers. Until late 2006, the Medal of Honor was the only service decoration awarded special protection under federal law .

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The Bronze Star is a US Armed Forces individual military decoration and the fourth-highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service. Awarded to a member of the military, who , while serving in or with the military of the United states after Dcember 6, 1941, distinguished him,or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States.

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The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government to those who distinguished themselves through "conspicious gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty." Due to the nature of the criteria, it is often awarded posthumously.

The War Medal Krigsmedaljen is Norway's war decoration for service during the Second World War. This was instituted by King Haakon VII of Norway by Royal Decree in 1941 and awarded to Norwegian members of the military following WWII. This War Medal was also awarded posthumously to all Norwegians and foreigners who lost their lives in the Norwegian forces and merchant marine as well as the Norwegian Resistance.

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Many parades and ceremonies at cemeteries around the United States will find American flags flying proudly while honoring those who gave their lives that we might fly that banner, enjoying the freedom others have fought and died to protect. The bugle notes of "Taps" always brings tears to the eyes of those who remember.

It's syttende mai!

Today is the day!

Every year on May 17, Norwegians across the world celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day. Many people believe the day honors Norwegian independence, but the day actually commemorates the Norwegian Constitution, which is the oldest single-document national constitution in Europe in use today. Known as syttende mai ( 17th of May) or Grunnlovsdagen ( Constitution Day) or Nasjonaldagen ( the national day), the history of the constitution illustrates Norway's commitment to freedom, equality and democratic principles.

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Norway's journey to its constitution began at the time of Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, when Norway was under the rule of Denmark. Denmark lost its fleet due to its connection with France, and under the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, King Frederick VI of Denmark, was forced to cede Norway to Sweden to prevent an occupation of Jutland. The Crown Prince of Denmark, Christian Fredrik, was less than pleased with the arrangement as the viceroy of Norway, and he began a Norwegian independence movement in January 1814.

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For "The rest of the story", check Norway.com

---------Today's the Day! Happy syttende mai!----------

Where am I? (a.k.a. Signe's first post)

If you had to guess where this picture was taken, what would you think? Bergen? Trondheim? Somewhere on the coast of Lake Mjøsa? You'd be right if you guessed "Land of the Midnight Sun," although you'd be wrong if you guessed a Scandinavian location. This photo was taken at sunset on the Seward Highway, just south of Anchorage. I lived in Alaska for four years. One thing I learned while I was there is that, like Norway, Alaska also calls itself "Land of the Midnight Sun." Rightfully so. On the summer solstice, it barely gets dark in Anchorage -- people set golf tee times for midnight in June and July, and at 3:30 a.m. the horizon is already that hazy pre-dawn gray. North of the Arctic Circle, in Barrow, Alaska, the sun rises on May 10 and doesn't set for 84 days. (The opposite is true in winter; the sun sets on November 18 and doesn't rise for more than three months.) Sound familiar? That's what happens in Northern Norway, too. I don't miss Alaska much in the winter, but when the sun sets at 8:00 during a Wisconsin summer, a little piece of me wishes I was back in Alaska, among the moose and the mountains. In some ways, I felt less connected to my Norwegian heritage when I lived in the Land of the Midnight Sun -- or maybe it's more accurate to say I felt connected to my Norse heritage in a different way when I lived there. It's true that in Anchorage, there were no sandbakkles at my Thanksgiving dinner, no neighbors named Hans Brekke or Inga Moen, nobody responding to bad news with an "Uffda," no strong black coffee to sip in a Lutheran church basement. In that sense, my Norwegian-ness -- or at least my Midwestern Norwegian-ness -- was strangely absent for four years of my life.

Star the Reindeer

In other ways, though, Alaska felt more authentically Norwegian to me than the Norwegian town of Blair, Wisconsin, my parents' hometown where I spent a lot of time when I was growing up. In Anchorage, there's a man who routinely walks his pet reindeer through the downtown streets. The Anchorage Museum houses an extensive exhibit on the Sami people who came to Alaska and taught the native Yup'ik tribes to herd caribou. The severe landscape of mountains and ocean looks like something from a coffee table book of Norway photographs. And in Alaska, there was easy access to Norwegian chocolate -- I frequently stopped by a shop in Anchorage, Pia's Scandinavian Sweaters, for my Freia fix. Pia had every variety imaginable -- the one in the blue wrapper, the purple wrapper, the yellow wrapper, the Norwegian Kit Kat, Smil. (If anyone knows where to get Smil in Wisconsin, by the way, please let me know!)

Alaskan Sons of Norway members

"Authentic" Norwegians

And let's not forget the dog sledding. Alaska is home to the Iditarod, one of the world's most famous dog sled races and also a popular sport in Norway (at least Northern Norway). I attended the ceremonial Iditarod start in Anchorage twice, and the actual start in Willow, Alaska once. Each time, Norway's mushers were out in full force -- and each time, their fans were also out in full force (some came all the way from Norway; others were members of Alaska's seven Sons of Norway Lodges). Seeing all those Norwegian flags always made me feel a little bit more at home in a place so very far from my actual Midwestern home.

I'm glad to be back in Wisconsin. I sometimes miss the mountains and the Midnight Sun, but I don't miss the long winters, the December darkness, and the ridiculously expensive cheese. Yes, my Sheboygan neighbors are mostly Germans rather than Scandinavians, but I manage get my Norsk fix every month from my Vennskap friends (and by thawing some of the lefse I keep in my freezer). Gudskjelov!