Christmas in Iceland

Hello Friends!

I thought today I'd share a little bit about Christmas in Iceland. In some ways, it is similar to Christmas in Wales but in other ways, it is very different indeed. First, we'll take a brief look at the National Folk Museum of Iceland in Reykjavik. It's a small collection of traditional Icelandic buildings constructed from wood and turf.

Please note: the majority of these photographs are photographs of the original 35mm film images.

National Museum of Iceland 

A small brass band entertains, while the guide in the foreground is wearing a traditional cloak woven from Icelandic sheep fleece.  She will be warm and cosy in her cloak, whatever the weather.  It was a very beautiful garment, of which I was quite envious!

l

A few various photographs of interiors. There is a traditional fir tree as we would know it, however, the majority of the decorations will be handcrafted. Very often they are made out of recycled materials.  Until fairly recently, post WWII, importing of manufactured goods to Iceland was often intermittent, unreliable and expensive, so there is a strong history of make do and mend, recycling and upcycling.  Improvements to transport may have changed all that now, but the museum continues to preserve the ethos of bygone days.

Trees were hung with paper cones of sweets, and small baskets made out of hexagonal shapes cut out of last year's Christmas cards and stitched together with yarn would be filled with cookies and other sweet treats.  These ladies are making cones and baskets to sell.  The homemade tree was commonplace, instead of a real fir tree.

The emphasis is very much on home made, recycling, good food, and above all, family time.

Knitted ornaments, shapes woven from straw, woven paper hearts, and candles are also traditional Christmas decorations.

A traditional food served at Christmas is Laufabrauð, an unleavened flatbread {you can read more here} made using a special type of cutter.  The cuts are then folded into intricate patterns before the dough is cooked.

I purchased this paper cut replica at the museum, as made by the ladies, above.

This is a traditional cutting iron for sale in the museum shop {photo from site}

Another tradition in Iceland are the Yuletide Lads. These are the thirteen sons of the ogress Grýla and they come down from the mountains, one a day until on the 25th of December, all the boys are here. and then one by one they return to the mountains.  Each of them has an attribute for creating havoc, with Anglicised names such as Pot  Licker, Skyr Gobbler, Door Slammer, Sausage Stealer, and Window Peeper.   

You can read more about Grýla and her infamous Black Cat, and there's a full list of the Lad's names here.

Icelandic children do not put out Christmas stockings on Christmas Eve. But for the 13 days before Christmas, when the Icelandic lads are coming down out of the mountains, they put a shoe by the door or the window sill and if they have been good children they get a treat in their shoe, but if they have been naughty, they receive a potato.

Over the years, the fear of Gryla and her sons has softened somewhat, but in centuries past it must have been a very frightening time for small children especially in the deep dark days of an Icelandic winter!

A wonderful Christmas tradition they have in Iceland is the Jólabókaflóðið. It literally translates to flood of books. in the weeks coming up to Christmas, all authors release their new titles. Then, on Christmas Eve, the tradition is that the family gathers in the living room by the fireside and they all read their new books while eating chocolate.  What could be better: It is a tradition that would be worth observing!

Speaking of books, I am making a donation to the Book Trust in lieu of sending Christmas cards this year. Books have always held a special part of my heart for all of my life but as a small child, Christmas wasn't Christmas unless I had at least one book And thankfully, I usually had many!  The gift of a book to a child is a very important thing, in my opinion. It encourages so many things, not only the basic skills of reading, but opens up a whole new magical world of the imagination. 

Well, I have just scratched the surface of Christmas in Iceland. I've put in a few links if you want to explore further, you can.

Gleðileg jól

Until next time.
Stay safe stay well. Stay warm!
Debbie.  xx

Anonymous comments will not be published.

Christmas Countdown, Traditions and Trivia Day Eighteen

Hello Friends!

We're on the home straight now, a week from today it's Christmas Day. It is hard to believe how quickly this year has flown by ~~~

Here is today's Advent calendar picture and scripture ~~~

~~~~~

We have a lovely tradition in the cathedral at Christmas called Lilies for Remembrance.  Displays of pure white lilies are arranged on the altars, the font, at the bases of pillars, and in the small chapels and annexes throughout the cathedral.  For a small sum you may dedicate a lily to a loved one who has gone before.  I have seven names that I dedicate lilies to, and here are some of the images I've taken over the years of the displays ~~~

Here is a photo of the organ loft decorated for Christmas. I often feel the presence of my Grandparents when I look at the organ loft, for my Grandfather was Verger at the cathedral for 35 years, and my Grandmother was Housekeeper at the Deanery, which is just up the hill from the south door. I often sense they are standing there looking down on the building that played such an important part in both their lives, and which meant so much to them ~~~

   ~~~~~

Tonight's Yuletide Lad, number seven to come down from the mountains, is Door Slammer, also called Hurðaskellir or Door Banger. He enjoys nothing better than disturbing you while you sleep by making plenty of noise during the night by banging doors.  He leaves on December 31st.

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

Christmas Countdown, Traditions and Trivia Day Fifteen

Hello Friends!

Over half way now, and here is today's Advent calendar picture and scripture ~~~

~~~~~

I thought today I'd tell you about the history of Christmas Crackers.

When I was a child, these fun novelites were pulled at every Christmas meal and we sat around the table wearing the obigatory paper hat and reading silly jokes and mottoes that came from the crackers.  In those days in the middle of the 20th century crackers were not particularly expensive things, containing cheap paper hats and a silly, cheap novelty gift.  Over the years, however, even every day Christmas crackers have taken on a more designer quality with more elaborate gifts from a few luxury chocolates, miniature bottles of alcohol, travel sizes of toiletries, to jewellery and silk scarves. Making your own crackers and customising the contents to match your table decor and your guests preferences is also popular.

So how did the Christmas cracker come into being?  They were invented by an English gentleman named Tom Smith who had worked from an early age in a bakery and confectioner's shop in London. In 1840 he travelled to Paris, France where he came across the "bon bon" ~ small almond confections wrapped in tissue paper. From this simple beginning, the Christmas cracker evolved and developed into the elaborate and decorated novelty we know today.

If you would like to read more about the fascinating development and history of this tradtional novelty, you can do so here tracing the changes from Victorian love mottoes to corny jokes and riddles, and how the familiar 'snap' was developed, and connections to the Ministry of Defence.  There is even a rather sad tale of a gentleman who wrote to the factory in 1927 enclosing a diamond ring, a 10/- {ten shilling} note and a request for a special cracker to surprise his {future} fiance. Sadly, the gentleman overlooked to include his return address and the ring and money are still in the company's safe!

Tom Smith is still a leading name in the world of Christmas crackers and the company he founded is still run by family members, and is in posession of many Royal Warrants, including one granted in 1964 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and this is still held today.

~~~~~

The Yuletide Lad who arrives tonight is called Spoon Licker, or Þvörusleikir. He will be here until the 28th December.  Spoon Licker is extremely thin and malnourished and will try to steal dirty Þvörur, a type of wooden ladle, and lick any food found on them.

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

Christmas Countdown, Traditions and Trivia Day Fourteen

Hello Friends!

Just eleven more sleeps, as they say, until Christmas Morning! Here is today's Advent picture and scripture ~~~

~~~~~

Today I'm sharing with you the unique Icelandic tradition of Laufabrauð, or Leaf Bread {call me a romantic, but I'd really like to think that this may be where JRR Tolkien got his inspiration for the Elven waybread of Lembas Bread} and also sometimes called Snowflake Bread ~~~

Laufabrauð is a traditional Icelandic bread eaten at Christmas consisting of very thin "cakes" about 7 inches in diameter with intricate leaf~like patterns cut into the dough before they are deep fried in fat {or oil}.  Originally eaten only in the north of Iceland, it is now the custom across most of the country to make and eat Laufabrauð at Christmas.  It is usually a pre~Christmas family activity with several generations sitting around the kitchen table cutting their own patterns into the dough. Sometimes, a special cutting iron called a laufabrauðsjárn is used.

You can watch a clip of still images with dialogue from Icelandic Review here.

I was privileged to see this happening, some thirty years ago when I lived in Iceland, at the Árbær Open Air Museum in Árbæjarsafn near Reykjavik. I bought the paper ornament, below, as a memento of seeing real Laufabrauð being made ~~~

~~~~~

Tonight's Yuletide Lad, the third, is Stubby, or Stúfur, and is also the shortest Lad. He is also known as Pan Scraper and he will try to steal small bits of food left in the fat at the bottom of a dirty pan.  He joins his two brothers who are already here and will leave for his mountain home on December 27th.

Until next time ~~~
~~~ Deborah xoxo

Christmas Countdown, Traditions and Trivia Day Thirteen

Hello Friends!

We're over half way to Christmas now ~ half way through December, that is. Here is today's Advent picture and scripture ~~~

~~~~~

For today's Traditions and Trivia I will turn it over to you. I've been asked by a few of you if I'll share some images of some of my ornaments, so I'm doing this today instead of research ~~~ so if you'd like to, why not tell me some of your traditions in the comments box? I'd love to read what you do too!

I used to decorate all out for Christmas and have quite a collection of ornaments, some vintage, some new {or they were new 30 years ago which makes them almost vintage now} and many handmade ones. I used to decorate one large, two medium, and several miniature trees each year, but have pared it all back since Mum can't cope with it all. So, this year I have just decorated my mantel and a shelf or two {I'm still decorating, by the way} to give a little Christmas cheer to the living room only.  Here are a few of my particular favourite ornaments ~~~

Let's start with the Crib. This is almost as old as I am, and I know many of us have one. Inexpensive, mine came from the long~gone traditional newsagent that stood on the bottom of the village square for decades. It was bought for me by my dear Nanna, and it has travelled the world with me in my hand luggage because if I only have one decoration at Christmas, this is it ~~~

Now on to some of my David Winter Cottages and Shoemaker Cottages which I bring out at Christmas ~~~

and some Cherished Teddies, which I used to collect at one time ~~~

some miscellaneous Santas ~~~

I made this from cotton paper pressed into a cookie mold

and the few of my snow globes that I have found {the box with the remainder is still waiting to be found, maybe one of the Yuletide Lads took it as he left last year!} ~~~

My Corn Angel tree topper ~~~

A Thomas Kincaide Tree ~~~ large enough for my small cottage ~~~

and a small stack of Christmas books {and a few that aren't Christmas but have Christmas things in them}

It isn't much this year, but it does bring an air of festiveness to the cottage for my visitors and guests.

~~~~~

Tonight's Yuletide Lad is Gully Gawk, or Giljagaur.  This Lad lurks in dark corners around Icelandic farms waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the cowshed and skim froth from the pails of milk.  So, tonight, two of the Yuletide Lads are abroad in the villages and farmsteads!

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

p.s. don't forget to share some of your traditions, will you?

Christmas Countdown, Traditions and Trivia Day Twelve

Hello Friends!

Here is today's Advent calendar image and scripture ~~~

~~~

A peculiarly British Christmas tradition is that of Pantomime, or affectionately called 'panto'. It is a centuries old form of entertainment having evolved over time from the Mummers play of the Middle Ages by way of the Commedia dell arte but is now a genre of entertainment all of it's own. It is a stage production of humorous family entertainment based on fairy tales and stories performed in dialogue along with plenty of slapstick comedy, gags, music, song and dance.  The stories are based on fairy tales and are written to include topical material of the day, cross dressing characters, with plenty of humour and audience participation with singalongs, and interaction with the characters through use of well known phrases.

Some popular panto productions include:
Aladdin; Jack and the Beanstalk; Snow White and the Seven Dwarves; Cinderella; Dick Whittington; Puss in Boots; Mother Goose; and Babes in the Wood.

The conventions of panto include:
Cross dressing ~the male lead is played by a woman
                       ~the pantomime dame is played by a man in gaudy drag.
Audience participation phrases~ such as "he's behind you!" or "oh! no he isn't ~ oh! yes he is!" and the audience is encouraged to hiss and boo at the villain.
Lyrics to popular songs rewritten and adapted to the script and to include references to topical anecdotes and news.
The Good Fairy should always enter stage right and the Villain from stage left.
An animal, usually a panto horse played by two people in costume, one at the front one at the back.
Slapstick comedy routines
Risqué jokes and double entendre which, in theory, is aimed at the adults and not comprehended by children in the audience.

Many famous celebrities appear in panto in towns and cities all over the UK and it is a popular event for many local amateur dramatic troupes too.
Call me a spoil sport or a Grumpy Old Woman, but I have never cared much for panto.

~~~~~

As I shared with you yesterday, the first of the Icelandic Yuletide Lads arrives in the villages and farmsteads across Iceland tonight and is called "Sheep-Cote Clod" also known as "Stekkjastaur" in Icelandic.  He has wooden legs, so is also called "Peg Leg".  He sneaks into the sheepfolds where he harasses the sheep and drinks the ewes' milk.  Arriving tonight, the 12th December, he is also the first Lad to return to the mountains on December 25th.

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

Christmas Countdown and Traditions Day Ten

Hello Friends!

Here is today's Advent calendar window ~~~

Today's tradition is a more modern one, that of television and all the special films and cartoons that we only get to see this time of year, unless, of course, we own copies on dvd ~~~

Probably the  most famous British television tradition is the Queen's Speech which is recorded at Buckingham Palace well in advance of Christmas Day and then broadcast at 3:00 p.m., probably to coincide with most people just finishing the Christmas Dinner Feast.  She offers a summary of her year and words of gratitude and encouragement to her loyal subjects across the Commonwealth. I think this year's speech will be very interesting indeed.

Growing up in Britain Christmas was a time to look forward to seeing a lot of "new" films on television, albeit in the 1960's and 70's most of them were three years old, it was the first time they were broadcast to the general population through the ever increasingly popular medium of television.  Over the years, one or two became stalwarts, such as "White Christmas", "The Sound of Music" and "Ben Hur" and at one time I joked that it can't possibly be Christmas because Ben Hur isn't on!  As the years progressed so the number of Christmas programmes increased, and many are the remakes of "A Christmas Carol" by both serious actors and The Muppets, as well as musical adaptations. Then Raymond Briggs's "The Snowman" came into our lives and Christmas viewing seemed changed forever.

Nowadays, there are many films that put in a seasonal appearance and Christmas has a new tradition of films and cartoons we all want to see, maybe because they remind us of our youth, or maybe just because most of them have a feel good factor we love. I know, for me, although I'm not a huge fan of Christmas I do tend to make an effort to watch a few special things, partly for old times's sake and partly because it gives me a forced break from all the hubbub of the season!

It's the one time of the year I also buy the Radio Times. I remember as a child we always had a Radio Times at Christmas so that we'd know when our favourites were coming to air ~~~

{other tv guides are available, but this one is the best!}

So, these are my 'must watch' programmes at Christmas {and into the New Year} ~~~

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from Kings {radio or televised}
The Queen's Speech
The Snowman
The Sound of Music
It's a Wonderful Life
The Bishop's Wife {my favourite}
White Christmas
The Bells of St Mary's
Miracle on 34th Street {the 1947 version}
Any number of old Hollywood musicals that are aired
Other classic Hollywood films {they don't make them like that anymore!}
I always hope "Little Women" will be on {any version}
The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
and this year, there is a Harry Potter~fest, showing each of the eight films over eight days; if I can squeeze those in I will!

So, what are your favourite Christmas films and shows that you don't like to miss? Please share, I'd love to know, and maybe I can find your favourites and check them out this year.

Tomorrow I have a special treat from Iceland which will mean extra trivia daily between now and Christmas Day ~~~ do come back to find out, won't you?

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

Christmas Countdown and Traditions Day Nine

Hello Friends!

It is December 9th, so here is the image and scripture from the Advent calendar for today ~~~

and here is how the calendar looks so far, with the first nine doors opened ~~~

Today's tradition I will share is the observance of Boxing Day.

Christmas Day in the United Kingdom is followed by Boxing Day on December 26th.  It is a secular holiday so called because it is the day when servants or tradesmen would receive their 'Christmas Box', a cash gratuity, from their masters, customers, or employers.

A Christmas Box was, and often still is, a gift of money in recognition of work throughout the year. In bygone days the Christmas Box was an important source of extra income.  Even today, when we give a tip to postmen, refuse collectors, hairdressers and beauticians, etc. it is called their "Christmas Box" {although this is no longer given on December 26th} in recognition of the distant origins.

Boxing Day is a holiday tradtion I grew up with, and frankly I never understood what it was about until I was much older. During my research for this I came across another interesting related snippet which is that servants and workers kept sealed stoneware boxes in their rooms or cottages in which they kept the tips they received throughout the year. On December 26 they traditionally broke open the boxes to access the money accrued through the year, hence the name 'Boxing Day' ~ I had not heard of this before, but it adds another layer of interest to the interpretation.

Christmas Boxes were often spent on little luxuries that otherwise were not affordable, and also on sweet treats sold by the numerous street vendors of the day. This goes a long way to explaining why, at Christmas time, I always felt my mother was stocking up the home for a ten day siege! Although we were not in reciept of a Christmas Box, I know she kept a little box in the sideboard in the parlour so she could save regularly throughout the year to provide a sumptuous feast for the family between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day when we ate like the kings and queens of old!

The gifting of Christmas Boxes was not an insignificant gesture. Considering the average well~to~do household over the course of twelve months might employ, in addition to their own staff and servants, the following tradesmen: butcher, green grocer, brewer, fishmonger, poulterer, dustman, watchman, lamplighter, seamstress, carpenter, glazier, blacksmity, tallow chandler, grain chandler, baker, and so on and so forth, not forgetting the person who sells brick dust to your footman for the polishing of knives, and not to mention that every apprentice who works for all of your main suppliers and tradesmen would be sure to make themselves known to you on Boxing Day too then the giving of a Christmas Box was an expensive thing to do.

We do not like to be done out of an extra day off work, so if Boxing Day falls on a weekend, then a Bank Holiday is taken on the first working day that follows {to complicate matters, if Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, and Boxing Day on a Sunday then the next two working days being Monday and Tuesday are taken in the form of Bank Holidays, so it can be a four day weekend}.

Across much of Europe, the 26th December is known as St Stephen's Day, or the Second Day of Christmastide and is observed as such with different traditions or customs pertinent to each country.

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo