The reason why I wanted a bunad (Norway’s national costume).

I like tradition. The first time I saw the Norwegian costumes was my first May 17th here, at the celebration of the National Day in Norway. We went downtown in Stavanger to see the big parade. I saw Norwegians, men and women, wearing beautiful bunad (national costume). Each color and embroidery represents the region where that person came from.

Norwegians wear bunad also on baptism, weddings (the guests), confirmation and other official dates like the National Day, May 17th. Check the post about it here. It’s part of the tradition that teenagers inherit the mother’s bunad at their confirmation.

The costumes are handmaid. The delicate white shirt is made of linen. The silver jewels are also unique and to be worn only together with the bunad. Men also wear bunad. I think they look extremely charming in bunads. It seems like you travel in time. A bunad can cost around NOK30.000 (Norwegian crowns). That’s around 3.000 Euro.

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I wanted to have a bunad too. To me, it means sense of belonging. When I got pregnant I said: That’s it. I’m going to wear a bunad at our baby’s baptism. It was a new dream for me. As I usually say: when you move to another country and has a brand new life, you’d better make new dreams to wish for.

The model. Which model should I wear? I am not originally from Norway. The city I feel connected with is Stavanger. It’s where we live. However, my husband’s family comes from another place: Sogn og Fjordane. We decided for his tradition. It felt right. Besides, it is the most beautiful bunad I’ve ever seen.

The measurements were taken in Stavanger, but I had to travel to Oslo to try it on some weeks later.

To my joy, I got my bunad a few days before the baptism. Putting on a bunad for the very first time wasn’t easy. Everything has its right place to be: the broches, etc. Setting the silver chain in zig zag along the corset was so complicated, that I called a friend from the mom’s group to come and help me. She lived across from the church. Thank God she came and fixed it for me minutes before the ceremony. I still remember it.

But what I remember the most was how good it felt inside my bunad, like a Norwegian mother, with a Brazilian heart.

The cover picture of this post was taken by my husband on the day I got the Norwegian citizenship.

Due to the corona pandemic, this 17th of May 2021 and the one last year were quite different. No parades, no crowds. I wanted to wear my bunad anyway. I’m glad I did.

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