August 27, 2015 Happy 99th birthday to the United States Park Service! I recently learned that on August 26, 1916 President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act, which created the National Park Service (NPS). Today there are 408 national parks covering more than 84 million acres of land across the U.S! Fun fact:…
DetailsAugust 20, 2015 If you read the news Tuesday chances are you heard that it was the 95th birthday of a pretty important (ok, very important) day in history– the anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. The importance of this ratification to the Constitution…
DetailsAugust 13, 2015 As usual, the summer has really flown by, and I’m sure most of us are wishing that it would just continue on (although parents with school-aged children may disagree)! Most of us are finishing up the last of our summer holidays (and already looking forward to next year’s trip, only…
DetailsJuly 7, 2015 Denmark’s most famous Dane has been in the news as of late, 140 years (nearly to the day) since his death. Hans Christian Andersen, beloved children’s author, novelist, poet and Danish National Treasure, lived from April 2, 1805 to August 4, 1875, yet in those 70 years left a lasting…
DetailsJuly 30, 2015 ‘I love the Danish summer, it’s the best day of the year.” It’s safe to say that this year (and especially this summer) has been a pretty wacky one for weather. Between the rain deluge in June and the stifling heat we’re experiencing here in the Chicago-area this week, it seems that…
DetailsJuly 23, 2015 Back in March I wrote a post about Danish super-company and all-around awesome toy brand LEGO. Lego is synonymous with childhood, innovation and play, and it’s easy to see why it’s on Time’s 100 All-Time Greatest Toys list. Today it would be difficult to find a person, young or old,…
DetailsYou can’t think of summer without thinking about all of the great summer music festivals that take place. From Lollapalooza, happening here in Chicago from July 31 to August 2, to Roskilde in Denmark, which just ended, music festivals bring people together to enjoy “the universal language of mankind,” as American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow put…
DetailsI recently came across some old pictures of Mormor as a girl back in the day growing up in Denmark. In one she is a picture of the quintessential ‘Danish girl’, with bike and all. I love to see those old pictures of her and to hear stories of her adventures cykeling i København (bicycling…
DetailsLast Sunday was The Danish Home of Chicago’s annual Summer Festival and I was glad I made it out for the festivities. It was another great afternoon full of traditional Danish entertainment, games and activities for the kids, and loads of Danish fare. It was great meeting new people and visiting with so many that…
DetailsLast week I talked a bit about one of my favorite summer pastimes and how it brings me closer to my Danish roots each and every summer. This week another one of my most favorite outdoor activities was celebrated as Danes gathered around the bål (bonfire) to celebrate Sankt Hans Aften (St. John’s Evening). …
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