Sleep All Day

Akureyri, Iceland - Sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times, table

Date Sunrise Sunset Length Change Dawn Dusk Length Change Today 11:21 14:49 3:28 09:51 16:20 6:29 +1 day 11:24 14:48 3:24 00:04 shorter 09:52 16:19 6:27 00:02 shorter +1 week 11:35 14:42 3:07 00:21 shorter 10:00 16:17 6:17 00:12 shorter +2 weeks 11:40 14:45 3:05 00:23 shorter 10:04 16:20 6:16 00:13 shorter

The days are short, but that just means I can see the christmas lights shine more!

When the days are short, folklore adds to the mystique of winter in Iceland. While American children dream of Santa Claus, little ones in Iceland are scared by stories of a troll woman and her sons - Gully Gawk, Window Peeper, Bowl Licker, Pot Scraper, Door Slammer - among others. These are the Yuletide Lads, elf-like spirits who live in the mountains until December 12, when - one by one - they descend to the villages to create mischief as Icelandic families prepare for the holiday festivities. Bowl Licker and Pot Scraper are very good at cleaning up leftovers! Each day, one of thirteen Lads makes an appearance and stays until Christmas, then one by one they leave each day until they are all gone by January 6th. This day is the "3 Wise Men Day" according to my Polish and Hungarian classmates, and is considered the last day of Christmas. When they leave, a little gift - or a potato - is left in the shoes of children who leave them on windowsills for that purpose.  

One major difference between Christmas in Iceland and in the U.S. is that Icelanders celebrate on Christmas Eve. The family gets together in the evening and that is when presents are exchanged. During the following two days everyone goes to Christmas parties and meets with grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and friends. The stores are usually all closed for these days.


Everyone is supposed to get a new piece of clothing or the "Christmas Cat" will get you.  They say this was to keep children busy back in the day as everyone had to work very hard to make new clothing!

Another Christmas tradition in Iceland is when people make up for the short days and long nights by lighting up the community with thousands of Christmas lights. For as far as the eye can see twinkling lights illuminate the scenery into a Vegas-style icy wonderland. Christmas itself is celebrated on the evening of December 24, when families everywhere dress in finest clothes and on the dot of 6pm, sit down to a delicious Christmas feast, often of lamb or "Christmas bird" - aka grouse aka ptarmigan. In Icelandic this bird is  "ryupa" (pronounced ree-you-pah, and dont forget to roll the r!)