There are several pockets of the United States that are heavily populated\u00a0with descendants of Norwegians.\u00a0 When someone asks me where my\u00a0descendants\u00a0are from, I say Norway (because literally all of my great-grandparents except one are from Norway and without them, my existence would be impossible).\u00a0 However, I don’t say that I am Norwegian.\u00a0 Years ago before I went to Norway when I would hear\u00a0others say “I’m German” or “I’m Irish,”\u00a0perhaps I would say “I’m Norwegian.”\u00a0 Not anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Norwegians\u00a0do not\u00a0appreciate\u00a0it when Americans or anyone else say that they are Norwegian.\u00a0 I’m sure they would hate it too if an American said he\/she was Irish just because of their heritage.\u00a0 I think it’s hard for people who are not from the United States to understand how we, as Americans,\u00a0identify ourselves.\u00a0\u00a0Many recent immigrants to the United States still maintain very strong ties with their home countries and the people in their home countries still see those who emigrated as a part of their nationality.\u00a0 However, I think at least for the mass emigration of Norwegians at the turn of the 20th century, the story is different.\u00a0 Most Norwegians today (unless they still maintain a relationship with their American offspring) don’t necessarily care about\u00a0my generation of Norwegian-Americans or even my parent’s generation of Norwegian-Americans.\u00a0 They think, “Ok, so\u00a0a lot of Norwegians abandoned this country\u00a0100 years ago.\u00a0 Their offspring\u00a0are Americans, not Norwegians.”\u00a0\u00a0The United States is still such a young country and during it’s early years, it was made up of so many different nationalities (with even greater diversity today), it’s hard for some Americans to say that\u00a0they are just simply Americans.\u00a0 Of course,\u00a0they are Americans.\u00a0 However, I know that I, personally, have a hard time not associating myself with my ancestors’ country of origin because my family still has ties to Norway and we still continue some of the same traditions that Norwegians do.\u00a0 It seems like most Americans feel this way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think Norway’s history with Denmark and Sweden (which I briefly explained in the last post) is another reason that Norwegians feel so strongly about who is considered part of their nationality.\u00a0 Norway was not a completely sovereign nation for over five centuries!\u00a0 When Norwegians were finally able to say that they were their own people, governed by themselves, they became a very nationalistic people, naturally.\u00a0 It kind of reminds me of teenagers who turn 18 and fully embrace their independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is quite a large immigrant population in Oslo and in most other big cities in Norway.\u00a0 This is a fairly recent development and there are mixed feelings about this reality.\u00a0 Several family members and friends that I spent time with in Norway are not pleased with the influx of immigrants and the effects this has on Norway.\u00a0 I will save this conversation for another post, however.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just remember to be careful if your ancestors are from Norway; do not say that you are Norwegian!\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are several pockets of the United States that are heavily populated\u00a0with descendants of Norwegians.\u00a0 When someone asks me where my\u00a0descendants\u00a0are from, I say Norway (because literally all of my great-grandparents except one are from Norway and without them, my existence would be impossible).\u00a0 However, I don’t say that I am Norwegian.\u00a0 Years ago before…<\/p>\n