Archive for 'Icelandic customs'
Norwegian Wood – a Christmas Tree from Oslo. Posted by hulda on Dec 4, 2012
Even though I’ve been totally caught in the busy busy busy time of exam weeks I decided to take a small break from university assignments last Sunday and head downtown to Austurvellir where the Óslóartré’s Christmas lights were lit. Óslóartré means what it sounds like, it’s a Christmas tree that is sent from Oslo, Norway…
Star signs, Christmas preparations. Posted by hulda on Nov 26, 2012
Today, according to the old Norse calendar, begins Ýlir, the second month of winter. It’s the month of Jól (= Yule) and some scholars have suggested that the month either gets its name from the holiday or possibly from old English month names Ærra Géola (= December) and Æfterra Géola (= January). Ýlir always begins on…
How to order coffee in Icelandic Posted by hulda on Nov 24, 2012
Icelanders are among the leading nations in the world when it comes to coffee consumption per capita. This means that no matter how small they are, every single town has at least three cafes, and that in Reykjavík there are so many of them that it’s hard to choose among them. Some serve a wide…
Happy anniversary, Icelandic! Posted by hulda on Nov 16, 2012
Today, on the 16th of November, Icelanders celebrate Dagur íslenskrar tungu, the Icelandic Language Day. Icelanders have celebrated their language since the year 1995. The date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of Jónas Hallgrímsson, an Icelandic poet often called “the most influential Icelandic poet of all times”. He was also a prominent figure…
Icelandic proverbs Posted by hulda on Nov 8, 2012
What taught the naked woman to spin thread? Or why does one become happy twice when one sits on a stone? Icelandic proverbs show how the people here think and view the world around them, and besides that they’re often very sharp and accurate to their point. Let’s look at some of my favourites! A…
Survive a storm in Iceland. Posted by hulda on Nov 4, 2012
Hello dear readers, I hope that everyone around the areas that Sandy hit are safe! Over here we had some stormy weather over the weekend as well, although it really couldn’t compare to Sandy. Storms are typical autumn weather for Iceland and with winds over 25m/s they can, however, still cause a lot of damage…
The winter is here. Posted by hulda on Oct 27, 2012
Happy New Year to all of you who use the old Nordic calendar! Today’s the first day of Gormánuður (= the month of half-digested hay) which is the first month of winter, and at the same time the first month of the year. This is when in times of old animals were slaughtered for the…