November 2018 Nordic News 240 Sparks Street, PO Box 55023, Ottawa, ON K1P 1A1 Iceland’s Ambassador on Celebrating 100 Years of Independence If there were any lingering doubts in our minds as to whether 2018 really was the 100th anniversary of Iceland’s independence, His Excellency Pétur Ásgeirsson permanently dispelled them in his October 3 talk on the history of Iceland. To start with, he reminded us that Iceland is the youngest of the Nordic countries, having been permanently settled in 874 or so. But it is also considered to have the world’s oldest continually-running parliament, the “Alþingi”, which was formed as early as 930. The centre of the parliamentary gathering was the impressive Lögberg, (or law rock - pictured above), where the chieftains sat while listeners were seated on the ground below. In 1264, Iceland’s major chieftains made an agreement with King Haakon IV of Norway. Referred to as the “Old Covenant,” it created a union between the two countries. In exchange for taxation by Norway, Iceland would receive regular shipments of goods and provisions, a code of laws, peace and protection, and equal rights in each country. Under the agreement, Iceland remained a separate country, and was not part of Norway. In 1397, when Norway entered into the Kalmar Union with ~ "1 ~ Sweden and Denmark under a single monarch, Iceland was included as a dependency of Norway. Then in 1662, documents were signed in Kópavogur that established the Icelandic nation as being under the Danish monarchy. It was in the 19th century that Icelandic students attending university in Denmark began fighting for the independence of Iceland. In 1874, King Christian IX of Denmark “presented” Iceland with its first constitution. In 1904 the government of Iceland was established, and a Minister for Iceland joined the Danish cabinet. Iceland then had its own legislative power, but royal assent from the Danish monarch was still required. Statue in Reykjavik of King Christian IX “presenting” its constitution to Iceland 1918 was the year that the Act of Union was signed, recognizing Iceland as a fully sovereign and independent state in a personal union with Denmark, meaning that although they shared a common monarch, their boundaries, laws, and interests were distinct from one another. As Ambassador Ásgeirsson explained, there is no doubt that 1918 was the year Iceland achieved full independence, just as Canada is fully independent even though we share a monarch with the United Kingdom. In 1920, Iceland opened its own embassy in Denmark, and in 1940 it had embassies in London, England and in New York. This could not have occurred if Iceland was still part of Denmark. Some sources cite 1944 as the year Iceland became independent because that was the year that Icelanders voted practically unanimously to terminate the personal union with Denmark and become a republic. It was an amicable departure from the Union and Denmark has been Iceland’s strongest partner ever since. But it seems that some citizens of republics still have a hard time believing that a sovereign state is in fact an independent country. ~ "2 ~ The Ambassador answered a number of interesting questions from the audience of 54 people before President Karin Birnbaum thanked him and presented him with the “coveted CNS mug.” Ambassador Ásgeirsson is on the right, with some members of the CNS council, from left to right, Hilde Huus, Astrid Ahlgren, Trygve Ringereide and Karin Birnbaum Viking Gala 2018: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Iceland If you haven’t reserved your spot at the Viking Gala yet, have a look at this menu! Canapés Beet, cream cheese and Rye bread Arctic trout marinated with Reyka vodka Potato, smoked herring, dill and fennel Dinner Slowly cooked cod loin served in a wild mushroom soup, light cream and walnut chips ~~~ Lamb shank braised with beer, celeriac and parsley root puree, pearl barley and licorice-flavored juice ~~~ Dessert Two-chocolate declination, cloudberries, chicoutai gel and crispy tuile ~ "3 ~ The Gala is on Thursday, November 8, at 6:00 PM at Les Jardins de la Cité Restaurant, 801 Aviation Pkwy, Building H, 2nd floor, Ottawa. You may reserve your spot online using paypal or by contacting Hanne Sjøborg at [email protected] or 514-713-5753. The price is $95, which includes meal as above, welcome drinks, and all taxes and gratuities. Parking at la Cité is free. If you have any dietary restrictions, questions or special requests please contact Hanne Sjøborg as noted above. Black tie / Business suit. Book Now for Christmas Luncheon on December 3 Our treasurer Lennart Nylund has reserved the main floor dining room of the Army Officers’ Mess for our annual Christmas luncheon. The price will be the same as previous years, only $21.50, including taxes, for a full- service turkey dinner with all the trimmings, including salad, dessert, and coffee or tea. Not to mention free Nordic musical entertainment! Our Christmas lunch is the only luncheon of the year that requires reservations. They can be made by contacting Lennart Nylund by email at [email protected], by phone at 613-829-8602, or in person at the November luncheon on Monday, November 5. (Note: you pay for your lunch at the bar on the day of the luncheon. Lennart will accept your reservation only, not your payment.) Other Events of Interest • The Danish Club of Ottawa is holding its famous Annual Bazaar on Saturday, November 3 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre, Britannia Park, Ottawa. Among the wonderful items for sale that are very hard to find elsewhere are Danish goodies, handicrafts, and Christmas decorations. Not to be missed! • The European Union Film Festival will include the following Nordic films, to be shown at the Ottawa Art Gallery: “Walk with Me” from Denmark on Friday, November 23, at 6:30 PM “A Serious Game” from Sweden on Sunday, November 25, at 4:00 PM “Wonderland” from Finland on Saturday, December 1, at 6:30 PM You can order tickets on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pg/EUFilmFestival/ events/) or via their website. • The Finnish Christmas Carol Service is on Sunday, November 25, at at St Peter's Lutheran Church, 400 Sparks St. Ottawa, at 3:00 PM. Entry from side door only. Doors are locked during the service. • We recently received an email from a Canadian band that plays Nordic music. “My name is Emma Björling, I'm Swedish (I live in Denmark) and I play with a Canadian band called Skye ~ "4 ~ Consort. We play mostly Swedish/Nordic music. We'd love to meet some Scandinavians on our concerts! Emma, Skye Consort.” Here is a short YouTube sample of their music. Skye Consort is playing at Brasseurs du Temps, Gatineau on Tuesday, November 27. • The Swedish Club in Ottawa will be celebrating Lucia on Saturday, December 8. Please see the poster on page 9 for details. • It may be a bit early to mention this, but we would hate to see anybody miss this opportunity because it was sold out! The award-winning Canadian ensemble Gryphon Trio will be partnering with Nordic Voices in Chamberfest on Friday, February 1 at Dominion-Chalmers Church. Based in Oslo, Norway, the members of Nordic Voices were educated at the State Academy of Music in Oslo and the National Academy of Operatic Art in Oslo, where they specialized in opera, composition, church music and pedagogy. In 2014, Nordic Voices was honoured with the Artist of the Year award by the Norwegian Society of Composers. For more details about the concert and to book tickets, please go to http://www.chamberfest.com/concerts/2019-0201-01/ Martti Lahtinen’s Bucket List - 100 Days in Finland Martti Lahtinen, a Canadian Nordic Society member, was born in Finland. He emigrated to Canada with his family in 1950 when he was seven years old, at the age when Finnish children begin school. Looking back, he didn’t like the idea of moving then, doesn’t like it now, and has never fully reconciled himself to leaving his homeland. The feeling that he is 100 percent Finnish has never waned and, like a fish out of water in Canada, Martti has learned through counselling that the displacement has factored in his alcoholism, an affliction for which he sought institutionalized treatment (and on-going follow-up Alcoholics Anonymous direction) 12 years ago. His Canadian family ties – wife, three children, three cherished grandchildren – remain binding, but a longing to return to the country that he has revisited eight times and that feels more like home than his adopted one, haunts him. The year 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the independence of Finland. Martti saw the centennial as an opportunity to join the milestone celebrations on site and to experience Finnish life long-term – as if he had never immigrated to Canada – and to do so for 100 days. It was suggested ~ "5 ~ that Martti, a thirty-year career journalist as an editor, write a running blog about the trip, but he did not want to detract from the experience itself. Meanwhile, the knocks one experiences in life sometimes, kicked in. Three months before his planned June 1 flight to Helsinki, Martti incurred his fifth documented concussion playing old-timers hockey, resulting in vision, hearing and balance problems that jeopardized his getting on the airplane. Waiting for his head to clear, Martti pre-empted the trip, put on hold pending medical clearance, by writing five essays – he calls it “stream of concussionness writing” -- spilling out “The Bucket List: 100 Days In Finland 100.” The essays will appear over five issues of this CNS newsletter, beginning with the first: “Missing Finnish Conjugations For A Spell.” Martti never completely lost his ability to speak Finnish, but it naturally corroded over time.