The National Queer Organization will, on Christmas Eve, be offering a free holiday dinner to those in need – wherever they may hail from.
“People can always find themselves in the situation that they don’t have anywhere to celebrate the holidays,” National Queer Organization director María Helga Guðmundsdóttir told Vísir. “For example, some people who have come to us are asylum seekers, and don’t have a rich social network but very much want to be in an environment where they can enjoy the holidays with people and have the freedom to be themselves. There are also individuals who just want to be in an environment where they can have some kind of security and feel better over Christmas.”
Christmas in Iceland is traditionally a family-only affair; those without families to celebrate with can often times find themselves all alone for the holidays. Even those who have families might not want to or be able to celebrate the holidays with them, for a variety of reasons.
“It would be a dream if everyone had a place to be with their families or friends but that is not always the case,” board member Guðmunda Smári Veigarsdóttir added. “I think it’s more common than most people realise, although I hope it’s not too common. But yes, I know a bunch of people who won’t be going to their families [for Christmas] because they don’t feel safe or comfortable there.”
The dinner will be held on December 24, from 17:00 to 23:00, at the National Queer Organisation’s headquarters at Suðurgata 3.
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