Norwegians are descended from the Norse of the Early Middle Ages who formed a unified Kingdom of Norway in the 9th century.

During the Viking Age, Norwegians and other Norse peoples conquered, settled and ruled parts of the British Isles, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland.

[21] Norwegians are closely related to other descendants of the Norsemen such as Danes, Swedes, Icelanders and the Faroe Islanders, as well as groups such as the Scots whose nation they significantly settled and left a lasting impact in, particularly the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland).

[27][28] Towards the end of the 3rd millennium BC, Proto-Indo-European–speaking Battle-Axe peoples migrated to Norway bringing domesticated horses, agriculture, cattle and wheel technology to the region.

During the Viking Age, Harald Fairhair unified the Norse petty kingdoms after being victorious at the Battle of Hafrsfjord in the 880s.

Although Norway remained officially neutral in World War I, the country was unofficially allied with the Entente powers.

In World War II, Norway proclaimed its neutrality, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by Nazi Germany (1940–45).

[29] Norwegian or Norse Vikings[30] raided and settled in Shetland, Orkney, Ireland, Scotland, and northern England.

In the 8th century and onwards, Norwegian and Danish Vikings also settled in Normandy, most famously those led by Rollo; some of their Norman descendants would later expand to England, Sicily, and other Mediterranean islands.

In 1850, the year after Great Britain repealed its restrictive Navigation Acts in Canada, more emigrating Norwegians sailed the shorter route to the Ville de Québec (Quebec City) in Canada, to make their way to US cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, and Green Bay by steamship.

Willard Ferdinand Wentzel served the North West Company of Canada in the Athabasca and Mackenzie regions and accompanied Sir John Franklin on his overland expedition in 1819–20 to the Canadian Arctic.

In the second, from 1900 to 1914, there was a further heavy influx of Norwegians immigrating to Canada from the United States because of poor economic conditions in the US, and 18,790 from Norway.

In the third, from 1919 to 1930, 21,874 people came directly from Norway, with the peak year in 1927, when 5,103 Norwegians arrived, spurred by severe depression at home.

Prior to that date, Canadians were British subjects and Canada's nationality law closely mirrored that of the United Kingdom.

The unique Norwegian farm culture, sustained to this day, has resulted not only from scarce resources and a harsh climate but also from ancient property laws.

In the 19th century, Norwegian culture blossomed as efforts continued to achieve an independent identity in the areas of literature, art and music.

Norway's classical performers include Leif Ove Andsnes, one of the world's more famous pianists, and Truls Mørk, an outstanding cellist.

Jan Garbarek, Mari Boine, Arild Andersen, and Bugge Wesseltoft are internationally recognised while Paal Nilssen-Love, Supersilent, Jaga Jazzist and Wibutee are becoming world-class artists of the younger generation.

[52] Among the most prominent folk musicians are Hardanger fiddlers Andrea Een, Olav Jørgen Hegge, Vidar Lande and Annbjørg Lien, violinist Susanne Lundeng, and vocalists Agnes Buen Garnås, Kirsten Bråten Berg and Odd Nordstoga.

Common Christian holidays are also celebrated, the most important being Christmas (called Jul in Norway after the pagan and early Viking winter solstice) and Easter (Påske).

In Norway, the Santa (called Nissen) comes at Christmas Eve, the 24 December, with the presents, not the morning after as in many English speaking countries.

The Norwegians were Catholics until the Danish king Christian III of Denmark forced them to convert to Lutheranism and established a state-governed church.

In the 19th century, emigration from Norway for political and religious motives began and Lutheranism spread to the United States.

As a result of this,[citation needed] many of the Norwegians remaining in Norway were religiously moderate; subsequently, church attendance declined throughout the 20th century, as reflected by 78% of the population stating that religion is unimportant in a Gallup poll[54] and low weekly church attendance, at 2%,[55] particularly when compared to that of North Dakota, the state in which Norwegians constitute approximately 30.4% of the population.

Of all U.S. states, North Dakota has the lowest percentage of non-religious people and the largest number of churches per capita.