Íslenska
First Day of Summer in Iceland
Icelandic: Sumardagurinn fyrsti
The first day of summer is a national public holiday in Iceland which means no working – only the absolutely necessary tasks are performed. This holiday is always on a Thursday (sometime between 19th – 25th April).
The first day of summer marks the beginning of the lengthening days or in other words, the first summer month (Harpa) and thus, signals the end of the harsh winter.
While to many people outside of Iceland it probably won’t make any sense why summer in Iceland is already starting in April, it is quite easy to explain:
The beginning of summer is calculated based on the old Icelandic calendar which was also used by the first settlers. This calendar, inspired by the Julian calendar, was developed in the 10th century. According to it a year has a fixed number of weeks and is further divided into six months of short winter days (Skammdegi) and six months of nightless summer days (Náttleysi).
People also used to tell someone’s age by counting the winters they survived e.g. his daughter is twelve winters old.
The twelve-months Roman calendar replaced this old Icelandic version in the late 18th century and it has not been officially in use since then. However, many Icelandic holidays are still calculated based on it.
How do Icelanders celebrate this first day of the summer?
This annual public holiday has been around since the 16th century when Icelanders were exchanging gifts on this day. Thus, this tradition is even older than the worldwide practiced Christmas gifting. People used to gift their children some type of food such a loaf of bread or other treats.
Starting in the 19th century, public gatherings were taking place and people focused on creating celebrations around young adults and children. This has not changed a lot since then. Today, you can see numerous parades all over Iceland led by The Icelandic Boy and Girl Scout Association bearing the Icelandic flag as well as other forms of organized outdoor entertainment (sporting events or family games). The tradition of summer presents is often seen as outdated and not many Icelanders follow it anymore but those who do give their children new clothes or something that can be used to play outside – such as a ball or a bike.
Other than that, families also meet up and enjoy some BBQ, ice cream, or some other summer treat such as a traditional Icelandic pancake. The pancake is usually served with whipped cream and jam or rolled with sugar.
Fun fact:
According to old folk belief, the summer is seen as promising if “winter and summer freeze together”. This occurs when right before this first day of summer the temperature drops below freezing. Icelanders used to actually place a water-filled container somewhere outside in hopes of it freezing overnight.
Now, as you can probably already tell, the first day of summer does not necessarily mean that warmer days are starting, it is just to signal that winter has come to an end. This is why you should still prepare for coldish weather and pack some waterproof clothing and hiking boots.
As you can imagine, Icelandic winter could be really cold, check out How to dress for Iceland and avoiding to be sick on your holiday.
