Alexander Rybak's win for Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday evening was well-timed; it was on the eve of Norway's Constitution Day.
Constitution Day, observed on May 17, commemorates the first Norwegian constitution drafted at Eidsvoll in 1814. Now it celebrates Norwegian independence a whole, which was granted by Sweden in 1905.
Eurovision win , Norwegians don't necessarily need a good reason to celebrate Constitution Day; the Norwegian people are some of the most patriotic in Europe and the iconic national flag, red with a white and indigo blue Scandinavian cross, can be seen waving from buildings and in the hands of Norwegians at festivals and parties.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, on a visit to Spain, greeted by 2,000 Norwegian expatriates waving flags in the town of Torrevieja, where he gave a speech, giving warm greetings in both Spanish and Norwegian. Stoltenberg noted that 40,000 Norwegians live in Spain, roughly 1% of Norway's current population, and was impressed the turnout not only from Norwegian citizens but also from Spanish people who helped celebrate Norway's Constitution Day. Stoltenberg was later joined by Spanish and Norwegians at the old sailor's church in Torrevieja, where he placed a wreath commemorating fallen Norwegian sailors.
In Norway, the annual Oslo Children's Parade, a national institution, occurred in the morning children from all 111 of Oslo's schools taking part. The children walked with brass bands playing festive music up Oslo's main street, Karl Johans gate, to the Royal Palace they were warmly greeted by the Royal Family. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who greeted children in Asker earlier in the morning, toured the Oslo ward of Grünerløkka in the afternoon. All celebrations in Norway went off with errors, the most notable the delay of trains using the Oslo Tunnel, in which a helium balloon floated into the tunnel, causing a brief scare for train operators.

from Wikinews