hans05_rap Greeting from The Royal Danish Consulate General

Goddag til alle HC Andersen fans!

This means ”Hello to all Hans Christian Andersen fans” in Danish. Hans Christian Andersen was from Denmark, and all Danes are very honored to be able to celebrate his 200^th birthday this year all over the world. I hope you will enjoy this interactive way of learning about our favorite writer and Denmark, the land of fairy tales.

Once upon a time…

… a young man grew up in Denmark, feeling like an ugly duckling and while he traveled the world very unhappy– as he always said “living is traveling” – he discovered that he himself was a beautiful swan with so much to give the world – and thus he started writing happy stories about beautiful creatures. I bet you know Thumbelina and The little Mermaid already, but there a many more beautiful stories for you to read!

Just like Hans Christian Andersen, I was born in the town of Odense at the Fynen Island in the core of Denmark – a beautiful, idyllic spot that is now the capital of “Hans Christian Andersen land”, and we are very proud of the fact that he is from our neighborhood! Denmark is a much smaller country than Australia, and all Danes feel that they own a bit of Hans Christian Andersen’s heritage – and I am sure that is why we all feel much attached to our new Crown Princess that is living a fairy tale of her own.

What has happened, and what is to come?

When HRH Crown Princess Mary and HRH Crown Prince Frederik visited Australia, they celebrated Hans Christian Andersen with us, just like everyone in the world do this year. In Australia lots of celebrations are still to come – books are to be released, ballets are going on tours, and even a special kind of Hans Christian Andersen ice cream will be released to be sold in large super markets very soon! I am looking forward to the celebrations that will happen nationally as well as internationally during the rest of the year – and I am hoping to see as many of you as possible celebrating with me.

God fornøjelse! (Enjoy!)

Jørgen Møllegaard

Consul General

The Royal Danish Consulate General