Happy Bolludagur, everybody! While it may not be a familiar holiday if you hail from outside the Nordic countries, Bolludagur, or “bun day”, is the first of three days marking the start of Lent in Iceland, followed tomorrow by Sprengidagur, or ‘Bursting Day’ (you may know it as Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, or Mardi Gras elsewhere); and Öskudagur (Ash Wednesday), the first day of Lent when children in Iceland dress in costumes and sing songs for candy.
Today, on Bolludagur, children will try to spank their parents with paddles they’ve made in school in hopes of receiving a tasty cream-filled bun in exchange for every successful whack, all the while screaming “bolla, bolla, bolla!”
So get spanking! Or just pop into any bakery in the country and pick up a bolla of your choosing.
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Happy Bun Day!