Are you spending Christmas in Iceland? You should learn about Icelandic Christmas traditions. First of all, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” in Icelandic means ” Gleðileg jól og farsælt komandi ar !”
When planning a Christmas holiday in Iceland, it is always helpful for visitors and travelers to familiarize themselves with local Icelandic Christmas traditions and different customs. You can even send Santa’s mail using your own mailbox.
Story
Christmas in Iceland is an interesting experience as this country has many ancient traditions for celebrating Christmas. Expect no less than 13 Icelandic Santa Clauses clauses. In Iceland, they are called jólasveinar (“yuletide boys”; singular: jólasveinn ). Her parents are Grýla , an evil old woman who drags mischievous children and supposedly boils them alive, and her husband Leppalúði , who is not so bad. Iceland even has a black Christmas cat that is depicted as an evil cat on the prowl for anyone not wearing a newly purchased piece of clothing.
The origin of Icelandic saints is centuries old, and each has its own name, character and function. Over the years, these 13 guys have gotten nicer. In fact, in the 18th century, parents in Iceland were officially prohibited from tormenting children with scary stories about yule boys.
Today, during Christmas in Iceland, your role is to come to town carrying gifts and sweets (and a joke or two). The first jólasveinn arrives 13 days before Christmas and then the others follow, one each day. After Christmas, they leave one by one. The Icelandic Christmas season lasts 26 days.
Thorláksmessa (Saint Þorlákur’s mass day) is celebrated on December 23. Stores open late and close for three days over Christmas. Many attend midnight mass. The main Christmas celebration takes place on Christmas Eve, including the exchange of gifts.
Traditions
A special Icelandic custom for children is to put a shoe in the window from December 12 to Christmas Eve. If they have been good, one of the 13 boys leaves a gift: the bad boys get a potato or a note from one of the boys, explaining an incident of mischievous behavior or warning them to improve next year.
Weather
When it comes to the weather, don’t expect a lot of light during Christmas in Iceland, as this is the season when the Nordic countries remain dark for most of each day. The further north you go, the less light you can expect. However, it is a much better show than the Northern Lights and fireworks.
New Year Eve
On New Year’s Eve, many people attend community bonfires and exchange visits. At midnight there is a fireworks display when almost every house in Iceland will light their own fireworks.
Iceland’s holiday season ends on January 6 with a special Twelfth Night celebration. This is when the elves and trolls go out and celebrate with the Icelanders, dancing and singing. On this day, the New Year’s Eve festivities (bonfires and fireworks display) are repeated to a lesser extent throughout Iceland.
