Roger, Miguel, Maria, Michael, and everyone else. It would be great to meet all of you here. When I have time I will post that dreamtrip frmo Worldventures!

Christmas in Iceland

Christmas is often known as 'Yule' or 'Jól' in Iceland. This comes from the ancient winter solstice celebrations, that were taken over by the early Christians. Yule also include the New Year celebrations.

There are lots of customs and traditions about Yule in Iceland. The Yule season consists of the following days:

Þorláksmessa - St. Thorlakur's Day - December 23rd
Iceland's major Saint is 'heilagur Þorlákur Þórhallsson', or 'St. Thorlakur Thorhallsson', the Bishop of Skálholt. December 23rd, is the day on which he died. On St. Thorlakur's Day, the main custom is eating of a simple meal of skata or skate. The Yule (or Christmas) tree is usually decorated on this day. This is also a big shopping day for last minute gifts, with stores remaining open until midnight.

Aðfangadagur - Christmas Eve / Yule Eve
Celebrations start at Iceland at 6.00pm on Yule Eve. This may have come from old Icelandic tradition, when a new day started at 6.00pm not midnight. Icelandic children open their presents after the evening meal on Aðfangadagur. TV stops at about 5.00pm and restarts at 10.00pm! This is when the meal is eaten. This is when the Yule celebrations really start!

Jóladagur - Christmas Day / Yule Day
Jóladagur is usually celebrated with the extended family. The main Yule meal is 'Hangikjöt', a leg of roast lamb. Sometimes 'Rjúpa' (Rock Ptarmigan a sea bird) is also eaten. Another Yule meal speciality is 'Laufabrauð' or leaf bread. This is made of thin sheets of dough cut into delicate patterns and fried. Each family often has their own patterns for the Laufabrauð.

Annar Jóladagur - Boxing Day
This is another day for visiting friends and family and eating lots more! Public entertainment is considered inappropriate on Yule Eve and Yule Day, and it is on Boxing Day that dancing is again allowed in public!

Gamlárskvöld / Nýársdagur - New Year's Eve / New Year's Day
This is one of the most important nights of the year in Iceland and there are several magical traditions that are supposed to happen on it! Cows are meant to be able to talk, seals take on human form, the dead rise from their graves, and the Elves move house.

Bonfires have been lit on Gamlárskvöld since the late 1700s. People also have big fireworks displays to bring in the New Year. This is called 'sprengja út árið' or 'blowing out the year'.

Þrettándinn - Twelfth Night - January 6th
This is the last day of Yule, celebrated with bonfires and Elfin dances. Many of the magical traditions associated with New Year's Eve are also supposed to happen at Þrettándinn.

Happy/Merry Christmas/Yule in Icelandic is 'Gleðileg jól'. Happy/Merry Christmas in lots more languages.

One other big Yule custom is the coming of the 'Jólasveinarnir' or Yuletide Lads. These are magical people who come from the mountains in Iceland and each day from December 12th to Yule Eve a different Jólasveinn (Yuletide lad) comes.

Jólasveinar first came to Iceland in the 17th century as the sons of Grýla and Leppalúði, a couple of child-eating, bloodthirsty ogres!!!

Here are thirteen of the most common names of the Jólasveinar:

Stekkjarstaur - Gimpy
Giljagaur - Gully Imp
Stúfur - Itty Bitty
Þvörusleikir - Pot Scraper Licker
Pottasleikir - Pot Licker
Askasleikir - Bowl Licker
Hurðaskellir - Door Slammer
Skyrgámur - Skyr Gobbler (Skyr, an Icelandic yoghurt)
Bjúgnakrækir - Sausage Snatcher
Gluggagægir - Window Peeper
GáttaÞefur - Doorway Sniffer
Ketkrókur - Meat Hooker
Kertasníkir - Candle Beggar

The Jólasveinar are thought of as playful imps or elves who like lots to eat and playing little tricks on people.

They leave little presents for children in shoes placed on the windowsill. If children have been naughty, they might leave a potato or little message telling them to be good. They start going home on Christmas Day, with the last one leaving on Þrettándinn.

Presents might also be brought by Jólasveinn (Yule Man).

It is traditional in Iceland that everybody has a new piece of clothing for Yule and also often a book. Children also traditionally receive a candle and sometimes a pack of cards.

There are no native evergreen trees in Iceland, so the first Yule or Christmas Trees were Rowan (mountain ash). The first recorded Yule tree was in 1862. People then started to make Yule Trees from a central pole with branches attached to it and it was all painted green.

Nowadays, there are evergreen trees grown on Iceland and people have evergreen Yule trees. It is traditional to have a star or crown on top of the tree. The Icelandic Flag is also commonly used as a decoration. The tree is normally decorated on Þorláksmessa or early Christmas

ICELAND

Nature & Environment

Iceland is a young country in the midst of its own creation. Our beautiful, bare landscapes highlight the four basic elements—earth, air, fire, and water—in a most dramatic way. Our active volcanoes, bright green valleys, glacier-cut fjords, black sand beaches, and roaring rivers are so accessible yet remain virtually untouched by human civilization. In this fast-paced world of sprawling development, Iceland's pure nature and empty expanses stand out as a luxury.

Our namesake “ice” covers over 10% of the land and represents the largest glaciers left in Europe. It represents the source of our pure water and symbolizes the purity of all Icelandic products. Indeed, nature is our brand and Iceland is dedicated to preserving this natural wealth through responsible conservation.

Water

March 12, 2013

TIME Features Dazzling Photos of Northern Lights Over Iceland

From TIME:

The Northern Lights, more properly known as the Aurora Borealis, have long enchanted visitors to Iceland. With their dazzling colors and otherworldly glow, they might look like magic, but the science behind them is well understood: The shimmer arises when electrons from solar winds interact with the earth's atmosphere, and the flowing, stream-like movements result because the winds follow the planet's magnetic force.

Mostly green – the result of wind interaction with oxygen molecules about 60 miles above the earth – they can sometimes glow red when higher altitude molecules are encountered. Captured here in all their glory by photographer Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson, it's not hard to see why they are one of the country's top attractions.

Click here to read the full article from TIME.