Contnts Welcome to Iceland 4 Twelfth Night 6 Thorrablot 8 Bun Day 10 Ash Wednesday and Easter 12 First Day of Summer 14 Fisherman’s Day 16 National Day 18 Midsummer Night 20 Shopkeeper’s Day 22 Round-Up 24 Language Day 26 Christmas 28 New Year’s Eve 30 Glossary and Index 32
Welcome to Iceland Iceland is an island country It is part of Europe but it lies in the North Atlantic Ocean Much of Iceland is covered with volcanoes hot springs and lava fields That means most Icelanders live in cities or villages around the coast of Iceland Most people are descendants of the Norse or Viking people The Norse settled in Iceland over 1,100 years ago About 120,000 people live in Iceland’s capital city Reykjavík 4
Many Icelandic holidays and festivals celebrate their Norse history Others such as Christmas follow Christian traditions Most Icelanders are Lutheran a Christian religion Icelanders also include American and Danish traditions in their celebrations Traditions are special holidays and customs that a group of people follow Did You Know Only about 10 percent of Iceland is ice However it does have the largest glaciers or ice sheets left in Europe from the last Ice Age 5
