The Arts Junction: Yuletide: Looking for My Icelandic Roots

Monday, December 19, 2005

Yuletide: Looking for My Icelandic Roots

An Icelandic Christmas: Sharing the Traditions Рождество по-исландски: В Поиске Моих Исландских Корней

I found that Icelandic people I met yesterday at the Icelandic Christmas celebration at Spadina Historic House Museum are pretty, simple and warm as their Icelandic wool sweaters.

They not only served traditional food offerings but also set up a demonstration for the leaf-bread preparation. I’ve heard a comment that the leaf-bread dough should be rolled as thinly as possible – so you can read a newspaper through it.

It gave me an idea that it is worth to go to Iceland and enjoy its food as well as scenic beauty and hot springs.

Upstairs I explored a piece of Badstofa, typical Icelandic farmhouse with artifacts and a setup of a family getting ready for a long trip to Canada. I was impressed by children toys: shells, animal’s horns and bones that designated to be “objects” like cows, sheep or dogs.

It also gave me an idea that the Icelandic people are widely creative naturally. They called this principle of luxury from poverty with deep roots in the country’s geography and history.