Description
Summary
Description
Celebrate the new year in Icelandic style on this New Year's Eve tour in Reykjavik and Hafnarfjordur. If you're in Iceland on December 31 and want to learn about Icelandic New Year's traditions, this tour suits you.
You make your way to the bus station to meet the local guide who leads the morning's tour. Once everyone has checked in, the tour begins with a visit to a fireworks sale.
Fireworks can only be sold and used in Iceland between December 28 and January 6. Icelanders make the most of this by setting off huge numbers of fireworks around Reykjavik on New Year's Eve. If you buy some of your own, you can join in by setting them off after dark.
The profits from the fireworks sale go to the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue. As you browse, your guide tells you about the work these volunteer rescue teams do. Locals like to support them, and by buying a few fireworks, you contribute to a good cause.
Next, your guide takes you to Reykjavik's old cemetery and shares New Year's Eve graveyard folklore, including the caretaker's story and why the dead are said to rise from their graves every year on December 31.
Then, you board the bus to the town of Hafnarfjordur. On the short drive, your guide tells you about the elves that are said to live in the area.
Many Icelanders believe in elves, also known as hidden people. The elves are thought to come out more around New Year, and there are many myths about them in Hafnarfjordur. You also visit an elf stone.
Finally, you walk into a forest grove, where you light sparklers, have a glass of sparkling wine, and say farewell to the passing year in traditional Icelandic fashion.
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