17 May Norway celebrates Almost Independence Day—by far the biggest nationalist celebration of the year, dwarfing actual Independence Day—with childrens parades, old-timey costumes, booze and flags. The reason is that, in the spring of 1814, Norway briefly considered itself an independent nation, wrote a constitution and elected a king (a seedling from the Danish royal shrub). Sweden, though, considered Norway a prize of war won from Denmark, and after a brief fracas, Norway agreed. #NorwayFacts