FASDV celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Independence of Finland at the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia on December 9, 2017. The popular brass band Ameriikan Poijat from Minneapolis MN entertained the members and friends of FASDV. Antti Vänskä,…
During Pikkujoulu celebration at the American Swedish Historical Museum, FASDV honored Aleasa Hogate, a veteran advocate for Finnish and Swedish history in the Tri-State area, with an award thanking her for her long-standing efforts in bringing programs to schools to…
As part of the Finland 100 celebration, FASDV invited Marianne Wargelin from Minneapolis MN to give a talk at ASHM about Finland’s 100 years of independence. Her lecture gave a unique perspective of the country — the lecture title was…
FASDV was one of the sponsors in the restoration project of John Morton’s obelisk and gravesite. John Morton was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in Pennsylvania, who provided the swing vote that made it possible for…
FASDV and the Delaware Valley Finnish Americans organized the annual Monument Ceremony commemorating the first settlers coming to America in 1638. The Ceremony is held each June in Chester, PA, where the Finns lay a wreath in front of the…
Finns in Philadelphia had a great time celebrating Christmas and Aimo Tuomi’s 85th birthday at the newly renovated American Swedish Historical Museum. The festivities began with a church service held by Pastor Tiina Talvitie for New York Finnish Church. Following…
In November the Philadelphia Finnish school students learned about Independence Day traditions and events such as “Linnan Juhlat.” The kids came dressed for the party, shook hands with the president, ate tasty food and observed Finland’s 97th birthday. Philadelphian suomi-koululaiset…
Students were introduced to Finland’s national writer, Aleksis Kivi, and his novel Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä). We continued tanhu practice and began preparations for the Christmas party by singing No onkos tullut kesä. Our temporary new venue at NLNA provided…
Members of FASDV, PSK, and friends had a great time celebrating Juhannus (mid-summer) at Peace Valley Park. The accordionist Ed Hendela played traditional Finnish dance music and set the mood. The grill master, Adam Peritz cooked up hamburgers and hot…
The students learned about Finnish summer traditions and customs such as Juhannus and lavatanssit. The “littles” group continued learning letters, letter sounds and long and short vowels while the bigger children worked on spelling and vocabulary. We also continued tanhu…