Vasa Order of America Facts for Kids

Vasa Order of America (which in Swedish is Vasa Orden av Amerika) is a special group for people who are Swedish-Americans. It's like a club that helps its members learn about and share Swedish and Scandinavian culture and history.

What the Vasa Order Does

This group wants to share Swedish heritage through fun cultural events and by bringing people together. They hope to help members connect with each other and learn new things.

History of the Vasa Order

How the Vasa Order Started

The Vasa Order of America began in 1896 in New Haven, Connecticut. This was a time when many Swedes were moving to the United States. The Vasa Order was created from many smaller Swedish groups that helped new immigrants. It was named after the House of Vasa, a famous royal family from Sweden. It has become one of the biggest Swedish-American cultural groups.

The Vasa National Archives

The Vasa National Archives is located in Bishop Hill, Illinois. For 40 years, it has kept important papers and some items from the Vasa Order. Its main goal is to save and show records, documents, and art made by people of Swedish background. It also helps people learn about the history of Scandinavian and Swedish people.

The Vasa National Archives is a non-profit organization.
The person in charge of the Archives changes every four years.
The person who was just the Grand Master of the Vasa Order becomes the president of the Archives.

Vasa Star Magazine

The official magazine of the Vasa Order of America is called the Vasa Star. In Swedish, it's called Vasastjärnan. Since the summer of 2013, this magazine has been included with Nordstjernan, another Swedish-American publication. Before that, Vasa Star was its own magazine, published several times a year.

How the Vasa Order is Organized

The Vasa Order has a main group called the Grand Lodge. Below that, there are 18 District Lodges and almost 200 local clubs. These local clubs are in the United States, Canada, and Sweden. They offer programs about culture, language, and even scholarships. The organization also runs the Vasa National Archives in Bishop Hill, Illinois. They also manage a special fund to help older members.

The Vasa Order is led by a Grand Master, a Vice Grand Master, a Grand Secretary, and a Grand Treasurer. There are also Executive Board Members for different regions like the Eastern Region, Midwest Region, Western Region, Canada, and Sweden. These leaders serve for four years. The Grand Lodge holds a big meeting every four years.

The Vasa Order also runs the Vasa National Archives. Its only job is to keep the records of the Vasa Order of America and its members safe.

The Vasa Order of America and its local clubs are non-profit groups.
The Vasa National Archives is a separate non-profit group.
Members of the Vasa Order help support the Vasa National Archives.

Special Ceremonies

The Vasa Order has had special ceremonies since it started. These ceremonies have been updated a few times over the years. The Order also has three levels, which match the Local, District, and Grand Lodge parts of the organization.

Grand Lodge Leaders

The officers of the Grand Lodge are in charge of the whole organization and how it works.

District Lodge Support

The District Lodges help guide and support the Local Lodges. District Lodges usually have a meeting once a year or every few years. You can find a list of District Lodges on the Vasa Order website.

Vasa Order Locations

Here are some of the areas where District Lodges are located:

1-Connecticut
2-Massachusetts
3-Rhode Island
4-New York
6-New Jersey
7-Minnesota
8-Lake Michigan
9-Pennsylvania
10-Superior
12-Golden Gate – San Francisco, CA
13-Pacific Northwest
15-Pacific Southwest No. 15 – Southern California
17-Iowa-Nebraska
19-Vasa Orden av Amerika - Sweden
20-Vasa Orden av Amerika - Sweden
21-Arizona

Regional Districts

Some lodges are grouped into Region Districts. The Grand Lodge helps support and guide these lodges.

Central Region
- 248-Facklan - Lee's Summit, MO
- 259-Strindberg - Winnipeg, Canada
- 716-Carl XVI Gustaf - Dallas, Texas
- 743-Carl Widen - Austin, TX
Southeastern Region
- 708-Nordic - Alpharetta, GA
- 739-Carl Larsson - Raleigh, NC

Local Clubs Each local club is run by its own members. They work to get new members, plan fun activities, events, and programs, and offer scholarships. Some local clubs also work with other Swedish and Scandinavian groups. They use social media to connect with people. Local clubs might also offer their own scholarships or health benefits.

Becoming a Member

The rules for joining the Vasa Order have changed over time. At first, only men aged 15–50 could join. In 1923, both men and women could join if they were healthy and could speak Swedish or had Swedish family. Today, anyone born in a Nordic country, or with Nordic family, can join. Spouses and widows of members can also join. Anyone else who wants to help share Swedish and Nordic culture is also welcome.

The Vasa Order had the most members in 1929, with 72,261 people. The number of members has gone down since then. In 1979 and 1994, there were about 35,000 members.

Membership Types

Active – For members of a Local Lodge.
Member-At-Large – For members who are part of a District Lodge directly.
Member-At-Large – For members who are part of the Grand Lodge directly.

Member Benefits

Help for Older Members

The Old Age Benefit Fund helps active members. This fund is managed by the Grand Lodge.

Hospital Help

Some local clubs offer a hospital benefit. This is managed by the Local Lodge or District Lodge.

Scholarships for Learning

There are many chances to get scholarships at different levels of the organization. You can find scholarships for college, exchange programs to Sweden, language camps, Swedish camps, and even camps for older adults. You can find these scholarships on the Vasa Order of America website, and through District and Local Lodges. To apply for a Grand Lodge scholarship, you usually need to have been a member for two years. Rules can be different for District and Local Lodge scholarships.

Grand Lodge: For college and language camps.
District Lodge: For college and language camps (rules vary by District).
Local Lodge: Rules vary by each local club.

Vasa Star Magazine Benefit

As a member, you get four issues of the Vasa Star magazine each year. It comes inside the Nordstjernan publication. Members can also get a cheaper price to subscribe to all issues of Nordstjernan.

Vasa National Archives Access

When you become a member of the Vasa Order, you automatically become a member of the Vasa National Archives in Bishop Hill, Illinois.

Facebook Pages

Many local clubs have their own Facebook pages to connect with members.

Activities and Groups

Swedish-American of the Year

Since 1960, the Vasa Order of America has chosen a famous American who was born in Sweden or has Swedish family to be the Swedish-American of the Year. Every year, two Swedish District Lodges of the Vasa Order choose this person. The Swedish-American of the Year is honored during special Sweden-America Days in different places in Sweden. A list with the names of all the people who have received this award is kept at the Swedish Emigrant Institute (which in Swedish is Svenska Emigrantinstitutet) in Växjö, Småland, Sweden.

Clubs and Groups You Can Join

Activity Clubs
Children's Clubs
Folk Dance Club
Genealogy Club (for studying family history)
Past District Master Club
Vasa Choir
Youth Club

Vasa Order of America facts for kids

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