Dania’s History
How Dania Began
The Danish Canadian Society, also known as Dania, was formed in Edmonton in 1921 by a group of Danes who were interested in keeping their heritage alive in Canada. In 1953, Kjeld and Inga Sondrup were visited by Jørgen Holgersen and Erik Pedersen, with the intent of reviving Dania, which had been dormant since 1939. Within approximately two weeks, they had managed to sign up 214 members. A General Meeting was held and elected to the Board were President Walther Jensen, Vice-President Kjeld Sondrup, Treasurer Inga Sondrup and General Board Member Jørgen Gleerup. They started off their term by hosting a banquet with open-faced sandwiches and beer, followed by a dance with live music. As the years passed, young people began to accompany parents and soon became involved in the organization. Today, Dania is still going strong thanks to the hard work and determination of our forerunners who realized the importance of keeping their beloved heritage alive. We are proud to say that thanks to this strong determination, we now have one of the largest memberships in Canada and Dania has found a new home at the Dutch Canadian & Scandinavian Centre in Edmonton.
Who We Are Now
As a society, Dania strives to promote Danish heritage among the descendants of those early members and those who arrived from Denmark since the 1920’s. Throughout the year, Dania puts on various activities, which have included dinner dance nights offering traditional Danish foods, like smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches) and of course Danish Aqvavit or snaps; a Children’s Jul (Christmas) party with Danish Christmas traditions & a horseshoe tournament/campout celebrating Sankt Hans Aften and a new event called Fastelavn (sort of like a Danish Halloween). All events are open to members or non-members! The more the merrier!
If you have any old Dania photos or information on the history that you wish to share with the club and on our website, please contact us, as we would love to archive it and share with our community.
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Dania is located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
You can email us at daniaedmonton@gmail.com or use our contact form if you have any questions or comments.
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© Copyright 2021 The Danish Canadian Society "Dania"
Website Credits
Affiliate Danish Associations:
- Ansgar Danish Lutheran Church
- Scandinavian Heritage Society of Edmonton
- Edmonton Scandinavian Centre Association
- Danish Canadian Museum in Dickson
- Federation of Danish Associations in Canada