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| Hello, and welcome to the Culture Class- Holidays in Norway Series at NorwegianClass101.com. In this series, we’re exploring the traditions behind Norwegian holidays and observances. I’m Michael, and you're listening to Season 1, Lesson 19 - The Sami National Day. In Norwegian, it’s called Samenes nasjonaldag. |
| The Sami National Holiday, also known as the Day of the Sami, is celebrated each year on February 6. |
| In this lesson we will learn how the Day of the Sami is celebrated in Norway. |
| Now, before we get into more detail, do you know the answer to this question- |
| How many of the Sami people live in Norway today? |
| If you don't already know, you’ll find out a bit later. Keep listening. |
| The Sami people are Norway’s indigenous people, or in Norwegian, urbefolkning. The Sami are not only found in Norway, but also in Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The Sami are thereby a minority of four different countries. The Sami national holiday is a relatively new day of celebration, only having been adopted in Norway in 1992. Historically, up until the 60s, the Sami people were looked down upon and many laws were implemented trying to force the Sami to integrate more with the general population of Norway. For instance, one such law restricted the use of Sami, the language of the Sami people. |
| Nowadays, however, the Sami National Day is celebrated all over the country, especially in schools. The Sami flag is raised, the national anthem is sung and food such as reindeer meat, or reinsdyrkjøtt, and fish, or fisk, is made to celebrate. Most Sami also make sure to wear their traditional clothing on this day. In the city of Tromsø, they host reindeer races, where reindeer, or reinsdyr, pull people on skis. |
| It isn’t only in schools that the Sami national holiday is celebrated. In Oslo, the Mayor invites the Sami to raise the flag and to breakfast at the Town Hall on this day. The State University Hospital in Oslo also celebrates the Sami national holiday. They arrange a Sami week where sick children with a Sami background can participate. |
| The Sami flag is probably the most important symbol, or symbol, for the national day. The sami flag is red on half of the flag, and blue on the rest. In the middle, there’s a green stripe and a yellow stripe from top to bottom. The circle on the middle is blue on the red part of the flag, and red on the blue side. The red part of the circle represents the sun and the blue the moon. The inspiration for the circle stems from a Sami poem where the Sami are described as the sons and daughters of the sun. |
| Now it's time to answer our quiz question- |
| How many of the Sami people live in Norway today? |
| In Norway there are approximately 50,000 Sami today. The Sami people are one population in four different countries, with a total population estimated at 70,000. However, even though there are still a lot of Sami today, only a third actually speak the Sami language and even fewer can write it. |
| So listeners, what did you think of this lesson? Did you learn anything interesting? |
| What indigenous population exists in your country? |
| Leave us your comments at NorwegianClass101.com, and we'll see you in the next lesson. |
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