In iceland when does christmas start and end

Christmas Day itself is spent with the family, relaxing, eating good food, playing games, watching films, or going to a big family gathering. Boxing Day is similar, except people also tend to go out partying at night, as bars are open until late. No edits made. Icelanders love the Christmas season, and people have plenty of different customs! Food connects with many of these traditions, and Icelanders have various tasty Christmas food to sample.

The most 'prestigious' sweet treat is the 'Sara' - as it takes quite an effort to make. This almond macaroon, biscuit based, chocolate cream-filled, and chocolate-dipped treat is named after Sarah Bernhardt, the famous French actress. However, these cookies are Danish as they were created in by a Danish pastry chef, Johannes Steen, to commemorate Sarah when she arrived in Denmark to mark the publication of her memoirs in Danish.

What matters most is that they are absolutely delicious, and they are best served slightly frozen. Photo by Dario Mingarelli. You'll find several other different sweet treats in bakeries, shops, and local homes. People also make gingerbread cookies, chocolate cookies, licorice tops, and various confections, and it differs from house to house how much effort they put into the baking.

Some people go all-in and start baking cookies at the beginning of December or even earlier. Others take it easy and buy cookies in the shops. Most people feel that the Holiday Season starts four Sundays before Christmas Eve - on the first day of advent. It is customary to make a heath out of fir tree branches, leaves, berries, and pine cones or anything you want to make it out of, really - there are no rules when it comes to this! On the first Sunday in Advent, you light the first candle.

On the second Sunday, you light the first and second candles and so on so that you'll end up with four candles that are different in size. The dough of this bread is extremely thin and circular shaped, resembling a pancake. After you cut the bread out in a lovely pattern, it is then fried and served with butter. The fried bread texture is similar to a crunchy poppadom, although the taste is somewhat different.

When Icelanders speak about 'Christmas,' they are generally referring to the 24th of December. Bars are open until 1 am as they generally are , and people like to dress up in nice clothes and go downtown to mingle. Some people buy presents last minute, and some leave the last gift on purpose until this night, many people go to the center of town to see people and be seen. The stench of the Skate is powerful - so you'll know when someone's had it at home. The taste is quite different from the smell - or so people say.

Be sure to try it if you get the chance! Photo by Jed Owen. On Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve, there are a few dishes that are considered Christmas dishes, and most people will have one, two, or three of them.

It's a smoked lamb that's quite salty and has a very strong flavor. A sweet glaze and sauce made out of Coca Cola give a pleasant contrast with the meat's salt. It is also served with caramelized potatoes, pickled red onion, and some vegetables.

Games such as reindeer and ptarmigan are also popular. Hunters may take only a certain number of ptarmigans each year - and for some people, Christmas doesn't come unless they get this dish. These would be the most common dishes - but other ones are also coming in strong, such as turkey, premium cuts of beef, geese, and luxurious seafood such as langoustine Icelandic lobster or salmon. Seafood soup or lobster soup is also popular as a starter or even as a main course.

She likes nothing better to eat than nasty or naughty children, who she cooks in a large pot. She is rather fat, so it seems like she gets a handful of naughty children to eat each year. He's not too keen on eating children and is a rather useless chap. The Christmas Cat also loves the taste of humans, no matter if they've been naughty or not. However, the only people the cat gets to eat each year are the ones that didn't get a new item of clothing before Christmas.

So if you don't want your loved one to be eaten by a giant troll cat in Iceland, you'd better give them at least one pair of socks! They're all a bit naughty - although they have softened up a bit in recent years and have started leaving presents for kids in their shoes if they leave one in their window each night.

If you've misbehaved, you'll get a rotten potato. He has a wooden leg and likes to frighten farmer's sheep. The next night, Stubby arrives, the shortest one of them all. And so on it goes, every night. After the 24th of December, the Yule Lads head back to their home, one by one.

All stores and other public places are closed. A day for rest and chill with friends and family, although if you feel like it, you can go out to party, go to the cinema or do other activities. December 24th and 25th are just considered as inappropriate days for the public to be partying and drinking. Icelanders go to " brennur " which we can translate as celebrating groups of people holding sparkles, smiling, watching big bonfires.

At midnight, the sky is full of fireworks , while everybody enjoys stepping into New Year. The January 6th is the last day of the Christmas holidays. It is the thirteenth night since Christmas Eve, and many magical traditions will happen. Legends say that cows start to talk, seals change their appearance into a human form and elves move their homes. Icelanders need to be sure that their houses are clean, the Christmas decorations are taken down, and the tree is no longer in the living room.

There are also bonfires on this night as well to say farewell to this holidays season. Exciting enough to get to know Christmas in Iceland, isn't it?

If you are going to stay here over the holidays, enjoy them as much as you can, and we hope that this article helped you a little bit to orientate and educate. But for now,. Trolls were creatures that were greatly feared for centuries; gigantic monstrous creatures that could only travel during sundown, since sunlight turns them into solid rock. Therefore, isolated rock formations who seem to be out of place, were often said to be petrified trolls.

Here is a list of some of Iceland? The most unpredictable thing in Iceland is the weather. Sometimes we check the weather forecast many times each day and it's different each time. The temperature can change dramatically, specially in winter so it's no wonder that the first thing an Icelander will do when meeting someone is to talk about the weather! When the whole world has been turned upside down by a pandemic, the way we travel has changed as well. Here is some information on what you can do in Iceland.

Christmas Traditions in Iceland Posted by on 07 Dec Joy, family, and food, never enough of good food. Let's sing some Christmas songs, if not watching Christmas movies.

We recommend to give them a try and listen to a little bit of Icelandic :- When it comes to the movies, there are some classics Icelanders watch every year like How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Home Alone, Love Actually or Elf.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Recent articles 4 Stories of Trolls who turned into Rocks Trolls were creatures that were greatly feared for centuries; gigantic monstrous creatures that could only travel during sundown, since sunlight turns them into solid rock. How's the weather in Iceland? The festive period lasts for 13 days with the main days of celebration falling on the following dates:.

This day is named after Iceland's patron saint, St. It is tradition to eat putrid skate on this day, although many, especially members of the younger generation, find it a bit too pungent for their taste! This is the big day — or evening really. Everybody dresses up in their best clothes. The church bells ring in Christmas at , when many people attend mass, followed by a big family dinner.

An almond is hidden in one of the bowls and whoever gets the almond needs to keep it a secret until everybody is finished - when he or she receives a prize! After dinner family members gather by the Christmas tree and exchange gifts. This is a day to relax, sleep in, perhaps read a book, play games, watch a film or go for a nice walk before another delicious family dinner takes place.

This day is much the same as 25 December, relaxed and enjoyable, all about meeting friends and family and enjoying good food. In Iceland, anyone can freely buy and use fireworks, which are commonly bought from rescue teams to support their important work. Come evening, everybody dresses up in their finest clothes and gathers for a festive dinner. After dinner most people attend a nearby bonfire to warm up, perhaps sing a few songs and meet old friends.

When the clock approaches midnight the sound of fireworks banging becomes louder and louder, culminating in a grand display of fireworks emanating from almost every garden and streetcorner, a spectacular sight! After midnight, parties often continue either at home or move to the bars and clubs downtown. Did you know?