The Second Day Of Icelandic Winter, Sunday, October 25, Near Vík

Winter is upon us, according to the old Icelandic calendar. Yup, Saturday marked the beginning of Gormánuður (the month of Gor, “slaughter month” – the month in which the darkness takes hold and we slaughter things (mainly livestock)), the official First Day Of Winter.

Winter wasted no time making its presence felt. Consider the accompanying pics, shot by photographer Art Bicnick while out enjoying a casual Second Day Of Winter Rúntur near Vík í Mýrdal on Sunday.

In South Iceland.

Wow. Would you look at that. Zero visibility. Car trouble. Snowy roads. White darkness.

That certainly looks like winter. Hi, winter.

In the old Icelandic calendar, which was apparently devised in the 10th century, Gor is the first of six so-called “short day” months (skammdegi). The next short day month, Ýlir, begins on Monday November 23. And then we only have Mörsugur, Þorri, Góa and Einmánuður to get through before the days start getting noticeably longer.

Summer, it’s almost here.