Thursday, October 6, 2016

A Norwegian Birthday Party

Greetings  my dear blog friends.  I hope your week has been going well.  My week started off attending a birthday party on Monday for my dear friend Laila.  Laila is the cultural director for my local lodge of Daughters of Norway.

Gerd from our lodge hosted the party for Laila.  She had her house all decked out with the Norwegian flag along with our American flag.
The table(s) were set beautifully in anticipation of the guests arriving.  I love the Norwegian napkins as they add a special touch to the setting.
Laila was seated at this special table setting since it was her day to celebrate.  All who attended brought a dish to share for the potluck luncheon.  It was so nice to be together with friends and enjoy our afternoon.
Before the birthday cake was cut, we (all) sang this Norwegian birthday song.  It's a good thing that we have quite a few members from Norway whose first language is Norwegian!  Our lodge is planning on having Norwegian lessons for us other members.  It should be a fun adventure.
Ta Dah!  The special marzipan birthday cake.  It was layer cake filled with whipped cream and marzipan; heavenly.
And, to add to the festivities, Astrid, one of our dear members made this kransekake cake.  Someone had already nibbled a piece from the top!
Laila enjoyed opening her gifts.  Her favorite color is turquoise hence the wrappings.
And, here's the birthday girl opening her gifts.  Isn't that plant beautiful?  It was one of her gifts, too.
This is one of the gifts Laila received.  It's a handmade art card featuring hardanger embroidery.  This type of embroidery is very traditional in the Scandinavian countries.  It employs counted thread and drawn thread, usually white thread on white even weave fabric.   This lovely piece was made by Bonnie, one of our members.  Bonnie is so talented in this type of needlework. 

Maybe some of you are wondering about Daughters of Norway?  I'd love to share a few things about this group...

1.  The mission of the group is to unite into a sisterhood those who wish to preserve their Norwegian* heritage.
2.  The organization was started in 1905 with the first three lodges being in Washington state.  There were a lot of Norwegians who immigrated to western Washington at the end of the 19th century/beginning of the 20th century as there was waterways and they were experts in this field.
3.  In those early days, the lodge meetings were held speaking Norwegian.  It's quite fascinating to see how things changed as the years went by.  Today, we have many Norwegian/Americans whose grandparents immigrated from Norway.
4.  The Daughters of Norway are a vibrant and growing organization with over 1,600 members nationwide.  New members are joining monthly and lodges are continuing to be formed.
5.  If you are interested in learning about a lodge in your area, please check out their list of lodges. 

*As you may already know, I'm not Norwegian but Danish.  Lucky for me, the Daughters of Norway embrace all with Scandinavian heritage.  

As I think back about this organization, I find it quite fascinating that well over 100 years later, this group that began back in 1905 is still flourishing.  I'm also a member of the Danish Sisterhood of America.   The lodge closest to where I live meets about 60 miles away so I have not been able to attend since moving to California.  The Danish Sisterhood has similar beginnings at the end of the 19th century.  And, they too are still growing and thriving; getting new members every month.

I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into my Scandinavian clubs.  I grew up in a Danish farming community and after getting married, I moved to a "new" area where there were no immigrant families.  I missed my Danish heritage.  When I moved to western Washington about 20 years ago, I found these two organizations and they have brought back so many wonderful memories for me as well as increasing my knowing of my Scandinavian heritage.

Thank you for visiting today and I wish you all the best!

With my best wishes,

Pat
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21 comments:

  1. A lovely party for Laila, dear Pat - I love the bright colors of the flag and that it was carried over into the party theme. The cakes look wonderful and the traditional embroidery is very pretty. Interesting to read about the lodges - as you know we have a large Scandinavian population here and I have seen these lodges in my area. It's always so nice to honor your heritage this way. Sending hugs xo Karen

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  2. That was a lovely party! Enjoy your weekend!

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  3. How wonderful to have the opportunity to preserve your scandinavian heritage. The cakes look wonderful. That's a good heritage to preserve!

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  4. What a wonderful party. the table setting was a delight. I enjoyed reading about the Lodges, what a great way to retain and learn more about your heritage.

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  5. Love the look of that birthday cake. How lovely that you all get together and enjoy your culture. Long may it last. Have a great weekend. B x

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  6. How great to be able to celebrate your heritage with others, looks like you had a wonderful time. x

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  7. How lovely to belong to this organisation, it's nice to keep your heritage alive even though you're living in a different country. It looks like a super party, I'm sure Laila felt very spoilt, the needlework is beautiful.

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  8. Happy Birthday to Laila! I hope you can stop by:

    http://collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com/2016/10/tea-time-fall-foliage-and-demelza-10716.html

    Colletta

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  9. Such a wonderful party, thank you for allowing us to attend with you.
    Meredith

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  10. Wonderful post and the blotkake looks heavenly indeed. I was so excited as I have booked to come to Washington and thought maybe we could hook up when I relaised my school girl error in that I am visiting DC and you are in Washington state! I googled to see if maybe there was a DoN lodge in DC but sadly no x

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  11. Hi Pat! What a lovely sisterhood and that was a fun party! I would have love some birthday cake!!
    Best wishes
    Christine

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  12. It sounds/looks like a wonderful party. What a wonderful group to be a part of. It sounds wonderful. You're so lucky to have something like that in your area!

    Happy Five on Friday

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  13. Happy Birthday to Laila! It looks like a lovely party and what a great group! Happy Friday!

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  14. Pat, this lovely post brought back wonderful memories for me. When I lived in NY I had a dear friend who was born in Norway. Her family had a home in Norway that they visited every three years. She brought me back a mug and a bowl from one of her trips. I keep them on my desk where I can see them every day. I remember visiting her once when she was grinding almonds and making a traditional Kransekake cake. She had some lovely embroidery framed in her home as well. The Lord only granted her a little over fifty years on earth, and I treasure the memories of her and her heritage and faith in Christ. Thanks for sharing the special birthday celebration of your dear friend, and the interesting information about your heritage. xx

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  15. What a lovely party and what a beautiful idea of preserving your heritage.

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  16. Looks like it was a wonderful birthday celebration. It's wonderful that you all share in such lovely cultural and crafty exchanges.

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  17. Love seeing the images from this Norwegian birthday party.

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  18. I grew up in North Dakota and have very fond memories of Norwegian festivals and all of the wonderful food. Lefse was my favorite! This looks like a lovely gathering!

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  19. A birthday party is a lovely way to spend time with a group of ladies celebrating a shared heritage at the same time. The Scandinavian embroidered card is beautiful and the birthday cake and the special Norwegian cake look wonderful. You must have a lot of fun at these gatherings.

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  20. What a special and wonderful day for her! I love that the Daughters of Norway are preserving the Norweigan heritage! Lovely table settings and cakes and things.

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  21. What an amazing party! I didn't know about these organisations - it's great you can stay in touch with your Scandinavian heritage that way.

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