From Iceland — Special Holiday For Nonbinary People In Iceland Today

Special Holiday For Nonbinary People In Iceland Today

Published March 22, 2022

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Andie Sophia Fontaine

You may have heard of bóndadagur and konadagur; now get ready for kváradagur, a holiday just for nonbinary people in Iceland.

The Icelandic Easter Box! How about it? Easter is drawing closer! The beautiful celebration of resurrection and the beginning of spring! Icelanders love Easter and particularly the part where chocolate is involved. As always, to keep supporting our journalism and getting some sweet perks, join our High Five Club today.

For context, all three of these holidays are based on the Old Norse calendar, which divided portions of the year quite differently from the Gregorian calendar.

Bóndadagur, often referred to as “men’s day”, occurs on the first day of Þorri, which is the fourth month of the Old Norse calendar. It starts on a Friday, or at some point from January 19th through January 25th. Kónadagur, which is “women’s day”, falls on the first day of Góa, the fifth month, falling on a Sunday that can be anywhere from February 18th through 24th.

Kváradagur translates to “kvár’s day”, with “kvár” being a relatively newly-introduced Icelandic word referring to a nonbinary adult. It falls on the first day of Einmánuður, the sixth month of the Old Norse calendar. The first day of Einmánuður is a Tuesday, or anywhere from March 20th through 26th.

This holiday seeks to recognise that there are more than just men and women in this world, and the best part is, there is no one way to celebrate it. You can wish the nonbinary people in your lives a very happy holiday, gift them something special, read more about what nonbinary means, or all of the above.

So happy Kváradagur from Iceland, to nonbinary people the world over!

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