Once a week, after schoolyards fall quiet and workdays end, a handful of musicians climb the stairs of a whitewashed…
-
The Eccentric Trad Society of Ölsmiðjan
-
Þorrablót: A Fabricated Tradition
It’s Þorrablót time in Iceland. You could have one too. Let me save you some trouble: the Þorramatur menu isn’t…
-
You Might Not Know Oliver, But He’s Throwing You A Party
Icelanders hang with their families on New Years Eve. At least until midnight. You can’t convince them to do otherwise….
-
Artificial Christmas Trees More Popular Than Actual Pine
If you spend your holidays at an Icelandic household, you will most likely see the living room decorated, or perhaps…
-
-
Orable Tradition
Nostalgia marketing is big money but it is around the Holidays that it is most expertly wielded. Shady mega-conglomerates and…
-
Good Ol’ Traditions
One of last week’s loudest debates has to do with next year’s State Treasury budget, which Alþingi has been debating,…
-
Gathering Sheep: They’re Bloody Stubborn!
It was a tough climb to the top of the hill, and I was tired from the ascent. Luckily it…
-
Wedding Ring Found In Blood Pudding
First, context: Slátur, etymologically related to slaughter for a reason, is a traditional meat-product somewhere between a sausage and Scottish…
-
So What’s This Hazing I Keep Hearing About?
Like young people the world over, Icelandic youths like to humiliate younger kids for fun. This behaviour takes many forms,…
-
RÚV Backtracks, Prayers Back On Air
Iceland’s National Broadcasting Service, RÚV, have backtracked their recent decision to take prayers off air following a meeting with the Bishop…
-
Screaming Jumpers
There are not many things that scream “cultural heritage” as loudly as the humble Icelandic woollen sweater or “lopapeysa” as…
-
Ram’s Balls, And Sheep’s Heads, And Smoked Horse, Oh My!
At the end of January, mere weeks after most Icelanders have packed away their Christmas decorations and returned to the…
-
VIDEO! Special Rotted Skate Special!
Your friends at The Reykjavík Grapevine sure love them some fermented skate. We dropped in at a rotten lunch party…
News vine
Popular on Grapevine
