En norsk besvärjelse : 17 maj-firande vid 1900-talets slut

• Norwegian Constitution Day is at face value a nationalist manifestation, focused on the celebration of Norwegian freedom. In the 1990's, celebrations of Constitution Day are broadly attended and highly appreciated among participants. But how do they work? How do they give form to an abstract ideology, and how are the ritual forms lived through and made sense of by participants - and to what ideological ends? Drawing upon theories of ritual efficiency, the author examines the organisation of the celebrations as well as participant experience and constructions of meaning. The conclusions show that concepts of peace and freedom are crucial in participant understanding, but that they are differently interpreted by participants in various generations. For persons belonging to post-war generations, the country and its qualities are more central topics for reflection that peace and freedom. It is also noted that celebration practice has a great appeal in its own right, and that it might be enjoyed and reproduced even when national dimensions are not fully experienced, or when they are explicitly questioned.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Etnologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Ethnology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

ritual

nationalism

nationaldag

Norge

Ethnology

Etnologi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

bok (ämneskategori)