Iceland Is Weird But So Great #7: The Pagan Yule

The Christmas season may be behind us now, but did you know that Christmas is loaded with heathen trappings?

In this installment of Iceland Is Weird But So Great, take a visit to the Ásatrú Society, a pagan religious group who worship the old Norse gods, like Odin and Freyja. You’ll see how they regard Yule, how they practice it, and how they feel about Christians using their symbolism and iconography (spoiler: they’re cool with it).

This series is the work of film maker and director Árni Sveinsson, in collaboration with the Reykjavík Grapevine as media partners and sponsored by Go Car Rental. The series takes a look at some aspects of life around the country that might be familiar to locals, but are probably less known to visitors to the country.

The series runs in both directions, too: Árni encourages our readers to contact Grapevine if they have any suggestions for possible coverage. If you have any idea to throw Árni’s way, just drop us a line at grapevine@grapevine.is with the subject line “iceland is weird but so great”.