Tag Archives: culture
6 steps to Icelandic autumn Posted by hulda on Sep 1, 2016
Today is the first of September, which means autumn is nearing. In Iceland summer will still continue for a while, to the 28th October to be exact. That will be the first day of winter, or Skammdegi (= short days), meanwhile feel free to enjoy the end of summer that still lives up to its…
Kilroy may have been here too. Posted by hulda on Aug 11, 2016
When thinking of Iceland-specific things a guestbook is probably not the first thing that comes to mind, yet the way Icelanders approach the idea is so Icelandic I almost didn’t realize there was anything unusual about it until a friend pointed it out in her blog. Icelandic guestbooks are more than just a list of…
Sons of Iceland. Posted by hulda on Jun 23, 2016
Football fever is at record heights right now, but along has come an interesting side feature: if Icelanders try to watch the games in any other language than Icelandic they immediately get a bit confused listening to the announcers. The foreign announcers don’t call the players by their own names! This is due to the…
Independently Icelandic. Posted by hulda on Jun 16, 2016
Guess what day tomorrow is? That’s right – Iceland celebrates its independence on the 17th June with Hæ Hó Jibbi Jei, það er kominn sautjándi Júní (= Hi Ho Yippee Yay, it’s come the 17th June), parades, bouncy castles and lots and lots of flags. I’ve already dug out my own 17th June kit well in…
The day of sailors. Posted by hulda on Jun 9, 2016
Last weekend we had Sjómannadagurinn, the day of sailors, and the harbor area was full of all kinds of sea-related activities. It’s held annually on the first Sunday of June unless Pentecost falls on that day: on those years it’s held on the second Sunday. It was first held on 6th June 1938 and since…
Four kinds of dreaming. Posted by hulda on May 26, 2016
In Icelandic fairy tale tradition dreams are given an especially important part in how they affect and shape people’s lives. In old stories and legends gods and elves visit people in the dreaming, explaining dreams has been a valued skill all the way from the settlement era and people have for a long time believed…
Icelandic national dress. Posted by hulda on May 19, 2016
Icelandic national dress, þjóðbúningur, has a long, long history and each of them is a work of art. Made of wool, richly embroidered and decorated with a great amount of jewellery the dresses are often family treasures, given to the next generation or borrowed for a relative for important occasions such as graduation or the Independence…