Tag Archives: so icelandic
Elves, fire, explosions: New Year in Iceland Posted by hulda on Dec 30, 2014
New Year is fast approaching. For Icelanders it begins tomorrow, or perhaps right after Christmas, depending on whether you use the official definition or the start of the partying. Officially we’re beginning tomorrow, however, the party is already on. We’ve had fireworks every day, some quite flashy since that’s the way the fireworks sellers here…
Christmas is almost here. Posted by hulda on Dec 19, 2014
Iceland is expecting Christmas completely decked in white. We had even more snow yesterday and cars were stuck throughout the country, so in case you saw people clad in red pushing them out of the banks (link) those were not Jólasveinar but Björgunarsveitinn, the voluntary rescue units. They don’t give you presents but I bet…
Icelandic Christmas calendar Posted by hulda on Dec 11, 2014
Welcome to count the days with the Icelandic blog, dear readers – I’m going to follow the Icelandic tradition of Christmas calendar in which the count-down does not begin on the 1st Dec but the night before the 12th. There will be a new part added to this post every day, so stay tuned! Today it’s… Kertasníkir (= Candle-Stealer)…
Jólin að koma! Posted by hulda on Dec 4, 2014
Christmas is on its way! Without further ado, let’s get into the spirit of Icelandic Christmas 2014 – but first some sad news. The present that was blown away “Góður hluti af efri hluta trésins brotnaði af og stjarnan hékk í miðju trénu.” (= A large part of the lower part of the tree was broken off…
Angry, angry Icelanders. Posted by hulda on Nov 30, 2014
After a whole month of talking about fighting in the Medieval era I felt it’s time to see if anything’s changed in one thousand years. Are Icelanders still solving their problems by hacking parts off of their enemies? Should you carry an axe around just in case when visiting the country? Perhaps not, because one…
Fighting, Viking-women Style pt.2! Posted by hulda on Nov 24, 2014
What would be the biggest difference between Medieval Icelandic women who fought using weapons as opposed to using their wits? I’d say it would be in the amount of casualties. Let’s count! Auður Vésteinnsdóttir (Gísla saga Súrssonar) Deaths – 0, Injuries inflicted – at least 2 severe ones. Auður is one of the most loyal wives…
Fighting, viking-women style! Posted by hulda on Nov 20, 2014
Medieval Norse women tend to make people think of either of two things first: either a stoic-looking linen-clad lady who does nothing besides carrying horns of mead and popping out heroic babies, or a shield-maiden in a skimpy armour. Both images are wrong, but because they answer to two romantic ideals it’s easy to…