Tag Archives: culture
Icelandic midwinter feast, Þorrablót. Posted by hulda on Jan 28, 2016
In the deepest winter Icelanders celebrate Þorri, the personification of winter: that’s when traditional foods are served along with strong liquor, preferably Brennivín.The celebration bears the name Þorrablót, a clear reminder of its Pagan roots – a blót is a ritual sacrifice or a feast held to honour a god or gods. The tradition died…
Who were the berserks? Posted by hulda on Jan 14, 2016
Few parts of the Nordic past are as well known as the vikings and among them a very specific group: the berserks, warriors that worked themselves into a battle rage that blinded them to anything but the fight. Today they bear a much romanticized look and are often considered as the ultimate soldier, the unstoppable one…
How to spend New Year in Iceland Posted by hulda on Dec 31, 2015
New Year is almost here! Stuck in Reykjavík and lacking ideas what to do? Worry no more, this post will be one big Hulda Recommends -post about things that are going on today. New Year’s Eve, called Gamlaárskvöld (= old year’s evening) in Icelandic, is serious business. Stores will be open even on the 31st…
8 Icelandic Christmas facts. Posted by hulda on Dec 24, 2015
Greetings from snowy Reykjavík! It’s almost time for Christmas here, so let’s have a look at some really Icelandic Christmas -related traditions. Work hard It’s not unusual at all that an Icelander would work on the 24th. Over here a Christmas break from work is almost unheard-of, unlike my previous home country Finland that enjoys…
Top ten Icelandic posts! Posted by hulda on Dec 17, 2015
The year is drawing to an end and Christmas is nearing, so now is the best time to look back a bit and see which posts of this blog have proved most popular! 1) Staving off a Disaster – Magical Tattoos Remember when it was really popular to have tattoos done in kanji with very…
Iceland emoticons? Posted by hulda on Nov 12, 2015
In the recent news the foreign ministry of Finland is releasing Finland-specific emoticons as a Christmas calendar. These include scenes and things so Finnish that the current emoticon lists don’t have anything even remotely similar on them such as a Nokia phone and people having sauna. Naturally it struck me that it’s unfair to let…
Leifur’s Icelandic, thanks Obama. Posted by hulda on Nov 5, 2015
The president of the United States has recently insulted the whole nation of Iceland, at least if going by the public outcry. His offence? He recently referred to Leifur Eiríksson, also known as Leif Eriksson in the English-speaking world, as a Norwegian. Leifur was born to an Icelandic mother in Iceland and grew up here…