As some of you may be aware, the Christmas season is a pretty big deal here in Iceland. Advent (the four weeks leading up to Christmas) is definitely one of the most magical times of year here, fully qualified to rival the season of the midnight sun.
It's the time when coloured lights decorate just about every window, and practically every other tree is wrapped in them. There are concerts everywhere, almost everyone goes to at least one Christmas buffet (usually with their workplace), and families uphold their Yule traditions, be it making laufabrauð, or baking gingerbread cookies, or chopping their own Christmas tree, or making their own cards, or whatever.
In 2015 however a decision was made (in Norway) to stop this tradition, which has been going on for over fifty years. The reasoning, as I recall, was that the Icelanders had their own big Christmas trees now (global warming, Hallelujah!) so the transport over here with the resultant greenhouse gas emissions just didn’t make sense.
This apparently hurt the feelings of many an Icelander, and there was a bit of a public outcry (totally cringe-worthy in my opinion; I mean, you don’t sulk when someone decides to stop giving you presents, unless you’re five years old, which maybe the mainstream Icelandic consciousness is ... but I digress) with the result that the Oslo people reconsidered and did, in fact, send a tree that year.
But lo! The very day that the lights were to be ceremoniously lit, a wicked storm blew in and actually snapped the Oslo Christmas tree in two!!! (Or, well, maybe not in two, but took a sizeable chunk off the top at least.)
The result? The mayor of Reykjavík and the Norwegian ambassador to Iceland made a trek up to Heiðmörk, on the outskirts of town, where they found a one-hundred-percent homegrown Icelandic tree, chopped it down, and a week after the planned lighting of the Oslo tree (of course the previous week’s lighting ceremony was cancelled on account of the storm and everything) that very Icelandic Christmas tree was ceremoniously lit in Austurvöllur square.
And that, my friends, is what you call a Message from Divine Providence.
Want to know more about Icelandic traditions and culture? Check out The Little Book of the Icelanders and The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days. Or follow Alda on Facebook or Twitter.
Photo visir.is/GVA
I’m Alda, an Icelandic-North American hybrid and the author of several books about Iceland, including the 'Little Books' series that many Iceland-aficionados know and love. I love to delve below the surface of things and to give people insight into Iceland's culture and its people. I have written about the Icelandic national character, the harsh lives of the Icelanders in the old days, the Icelandic language and how it reflects and is reflected in Icelandic culture, and Iceland's folk legends and how and where they originated. My latest book is called The Little Book of Tourists in Iceland, and it is chock-full of insights and tips to help all those who wish to tour Iceland safely, responsibly and in harmony with the locals. On this site I hope to share some tips and insights to help you gain a better understanding of the Icelanders, and the best practices for touring Iceland.
