KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The Irish have St. Patrick’s Day, Italians celebrate Columbus Day, and this year, Norwegians are celebrating the anniversary of their Constitution on Saturday.
“On this date in 1814 the Norwegian Constitution was signed, marking the end of over four centuries of Danish rule,” says Chris Spence, the local president of the Sons of Norway. He their founding document was modeled on the U.S. Constitution.
Spence says they are also celebrating the bicentennial of their first organized immigration from Norway to the United States in 1825, which will be celebrated this summer with a special event.
“A replica wooden ship of the Restoration is leaving Stavanger, Norway on July 4th and it will arrive in New York Harbor on October 9th.”
Elizabeth Krantz with the Kalamazoo-Portage Askeladden Lodge 5-610 says they meet regularly to eat Norwegian cuisine and remember their culture.
“And the Norwegian Americans are just one of the many peoples who contributed to who we- the-people are, in conjunction with the Native Americans who also welcomed them here,” says Krantz.
It’s now believed that Scandinavians were the first Europeans to sail to North America around the year 1000 AD, which would make them the very first immigrants.
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