Gudrid the Far-Traveler #56

Founded: August 26, 2023, Omaha, NE                

Meeting Details

When: Last Saturday of the Month, from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Where: Lord of Love Lutheran Church, 10405 Fort Street, Omaha, NE 68134 
Contact Us: daughtersofnorwayomaha@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4756279231074136
Website: https://don56gudrid.wixsite.com/don-omaha-lodge

Gudrid Lodge Activities

• Monthly meetings
• Brunch together
• Monthly cultural program
• Cultural fieldtrips
• Bunad doll making
• Flower crown making
• Booth at the Durham Museum’s “Holiday Cultural Festival” event
• Collaborations with other Nordic-American organizations
• Booth at annual Syttende Mai celebration in partnership with Omaha’s Sons of Norway chapter
• Annual Christmas (Jul) Party
• Booth at Little Scandinavia’s annual anniversary event in Elkhorn, NE

   

      

Lodge Highlights

Our lodge is the first Daughters of Norway lodge to be established in the state of Nebraska. Many of our lodge sisters come from both Nebraska (Omaha) and Iowa (Council Bluffs), connecting our lodge to two different states. Rather fittingly, our lodge’s namesake – Grudrid the Far-Traveler – also connects us to several different locations, as she had traveled from Iceland to Greenland, North America, Norway, Rome, and various lands between. Several sisters in our lodge also host a rosemaling group at Lord of Love Lutheran Church.

A few other notable highlights from our time together as a sisterhood have included…

• Annual Christmas (Jul) parties
• Annual Syttende Mai celebration with Omaha’s Sons of Norway chapter
• Bunad doll and flower crown making
• Fieldtrip with other Nordic-American organizations to Stromsburg’s Swedish Festival (Midsommar)
• Having Norwegian exchange students come as guest speakers to some of our meetings
• A personal congratulations from Gudrid’s direct descendant, Ambassador Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, upon the institution of our lodge
• Was the host lodge for the Grand Lodge’s board meeting in October of 2023
• Cultural presentations on rosemaling, solje, Norse mythology, Viking ships, Scandinavian royalty, Nordic artists, notable Scandinavian cities, Nordic cuisine, and more!

Lodge's Name

Gudrid the Far-Traveler (a.k.a. Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir) was born in Iceland c. 980 AD. A descendant of Norwegian Vikings, Gudrid's life was full of both hardship and adventure. Tales about her are recounted in the Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders (known collectively as the Vinland Sagas).

​Gudrid was said to be the daughter of a Viking chieftain, and participated in the voyages of Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson. During her lifetime, Gudrid married three times, with one of her husbands being Leif's younger brother, Thorstein Eriksson. With her third husband, Thorfinn Karlsefni, Gudrid gave birth to a son, Snorri, who is the first recorded child of European descent born in the Americas.

​Gudrid was said to be a very beautiful and charming woman with a lovely singing voice. Not only did she travel from Iceland, to Greenland, and to North America, but Gudrid also traveled to Norway and even Rome. Gudrid dedicated her final years to a life of prayer and contemplation, and is said to be the matriarch of several prominent Icelandic bishops.