Archive for 'Icelandic culture'
Happy First of Summer! Posted by hulda on Apr 23, 2015
Summer is finally here! I mean it did snow a few times today and the night before was freezing, but that’s just good luck according to old beliefs, it’s said that if winter and summer freeze together the summer will be good. Sumardagurinn fyrsti, The First of Summer, divides the year into its warmer half just like…
Cod Wars. Posted by hulda on Apr 16, 2015
Did you hear about that time when Iceland, a country with no military, beat the British Royal Navy three times in a row with 7 small coast guard vessels? If you ever visit Iceland you probably will hear of it – the Cod Wars, as they’re called, are a source of national pride. Like the name…
Vatnsenda-Rósa: a legendary poet. Posted by hulda on Apr 9, 2015
The most famous love poem of Iceland is written by a woman. Though little is actually known of her the amount of legends that circle around Rósa Guðmundsdóttir, also known as Skáld-Rósa (= Rósa the poet) or Vatnsenda-Rósa (= Rósa of Vatnsendi), would suggest she was a striking and noteworthy person in her time just the same…
10 steps to becoming an Icelander. Posted by hulda on Mar 26, 2015
Thinking of moving to Iceland? Here’s what you need to know. 1. Forget about punctuality Meeting your deadlines is appreciated but not actually expected. At least no one will meet any that you set, and they’ll act offended if you show any displeasure for the tardiness. As long as things get done that’s close enough is…
Choirs, choirs everywhere! Posted by hulda on Mar 19, 2015
Icelandic is nightmarish to learn to pronounce, so wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a shortcut that allowed you to easily remember how certain letters are pronounced, and maybe even help you out with learning them in the first place? Well, there is! Like I often like to say, singing is the way to…
The coat of arms of Iceland – monsters ahoy! Posted by hulda on Mar 5, 2015
In Medieval times Icelandic noblemen had their own coat of arms assigned to them by the ruler of the time, King of Norway, but today no Icelander is allowed to carry a personal heraldic symbol. No, not even if they can prove a family connection to the early nobles of Iceland (which, considering how small the gene pool of…
Non-binary pronouns in Icelandic. Posted by hulda on Feb 26, 2015
Icelandic grammar offers a gender neutral option for personal pronouns. Does that therefore mean that referring to non-binary people is easy and straight-forward? Alas, no. Icelandic gender structure is very strict and merciless and the local non-binary folk have had to give this matter a great deal of thought. When the whole world of Icelandic…