December 2011
12 posts
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“This has been my day’s highlight! If I hadn’t found out by surprise,...”
– A very happy man called Jérôme after attending our Ólafur Arnalds Live in the Lobby event.
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The HI Iceland Advent Calendar - 24 reasons we...
#7 Gingerbread cookies
Need we say more?
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The HI Iceland Advent Calendar - 24 reasons we...
#6 Christmas songs
A lot of Icelandic Christmas songs are songs that we have borrowed from our friends abroad. Like the one below which is actually an Italian Eurovision song from 1987. In fact, a lot of the Christmas songs played on Icelandic radio are originally Italian and were not written as Christmas songs at all. I guess we should thank Italy - grazie!
We didn’t just borrow our...
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The HI Iceland Advent Calendar - 24 reasons we...
#5 The Christmas Concerts
December is without a doubt the busiest month on the musical social calendar in Iceland. Artists use the opportunity to follow up new releases, Icelandic music superstars put on massive Christmas spectacles and in every café, church and restaurant artists come and entertain the patrons with some lovely holiday tunes.
The annual Frostrósir concert has become a part of...
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The HI Iceland Advent Calendar - 24 reasons we...
#4 Laufabrauð
If you have ever been in Iceland around Christmas you may have noticed beautifully decorated thin cake-like breads that are available all over the place. These breads are called Laufabrauð, leaf bread in English, and are an important part Christmas for many Icelandic families.
The Laufabrauð originates in the north of Iceland and it’s thin shape is probably linked to the...
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The HI Iceland Advent Calendar - 24 reasons we...
#3 The Yule Cat
One of the strangest things connected with Icelandic Christmas must be the legend of the Yule Cat (Jólakötturinn). The Yule Cat is a big black cat with glaring eyes and whiskers sharp as bristels. It is believed to belong to Grýla, mother to the Yule Lads, and it eats anyone who doesn‘t get a new item of clothing for Christmas.
We told you that this was strange!
In the olden...
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The HI Iceland Advent Calendar - 24 reasons we...
#2 Egils Malt and Appelsín
Egils brewery was founded in 1913 and the first beverage they ever produced was the Malt Extrakt or Malt for short. In 1955 they came up with a new product, Appelsín orange soda, which to date is one of the most popular soft drinks in Iceland.
Shortly after Egils introduced Appelsín the tradition of mixing the two drinks together came about. Nobody knows who did it...
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12 tags
The HI Iceland Advent Calendar - 24 reasons we...
#1 The Nordic House Christmas Calendar
Every day from December 1st till Christmas, at exactly 12:34, something new and exciting happens in the Nordic House in Reykjavík as a part of their very popular Christmas calendar.
At the end of November the Nordic House announces which artists will participate that year and then at the morning of each day, just like when you were a kid and would open...