Christmas Traditions in Iceland
Christmas is a tremendous time to visit Iceland, where you can wander snow-lined streets in a winter wonderland, browse Christmas markets, watch the Northern Lights dance across the sky, and enjoy a festive atmosphere like no other.
There's a packed calendar of traditional Icelandic festivals and special events for more than a month, making it the perfect place to celebrate Christmas.
Christmas in Iceland has some unique features, including thirteen Santas, a fearsome giant cat, a "book flood," putting shoes in windows, one of the most incredible fireworks displays in the world, and some rather intriguing items on the menu!
Here's everything you need to know about Christmas in Iceland!
Firstly, it's not called "Christmas" here!
In Iceland, you'll find that Jól or Yule is the more relevant word, not Christmas.
Jól has its foundations in an ancient midwinter festival honoring the Norse god Thor and marking the return of the Sun after the darkest days of the year, with the nights filled with feasting and storytelling.
When Iceland became a Christian country a thousand years ago, these pagan traditions were blended with religious rituals.
Whatever the name, Icelanders make the most of the festive period, brightening the long winter nights when the sun shines for just a few hours a day.
So much so that Christmas celebrations start in early December and continue well into the New Year, concluding on January 6th, the "Thirteenth Day of Christmas."
The Advent
Christmas in Iceland gets underway with Advent, which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve.
Families will decorate their homes with two types of Advent lights: the Advent Wreath, which has four candles that are lit on successive Sundays, and triangle-shaped seven-candle electric candle holders.
These look just like Hanukkah candelabras but aren't connected to a particular faith.
The story goes that an Icelandic businessman bought several as Christmas presents while shopping in Sweden in the 1960s.
Soon, everyone in Iceland wanted their own seven-branched light, too!
Icelanders will clean their homes to prepare for the festivities, bake bread, cakes, and biscuits, and make presents for friends and family.
This is when Icelanders make laufabrauð (leaf bread), a delicate, thin, and crispy bread decorated with intricate leaf-like patterns using rollers and cutters passed down within the family and deep-fried with butter.
Things to see and do
A pop-up skating rink opens in Ingólfstorg Square from the end of November to New Year's Day.
And when Tjörnin (the city's large pond) freezes over, you can join the locals in skating there too! Don't worry - the pond is very shallow!
Since 1951, Oslo has sent Reykjavík a Christmas tree each year as a sign of friendship between the two cities.
The tree is lit in Austurvöllur Square on the first Sunday of Advent each year to commemorate the beginning of the festive season.
You can take part in a treasure hunt to find the "14 Christmas Creatures" at the Art Museum, City Hall, and all over the city, with the Yule Cat looming large at the top of Austurstræti.
Honoring Iceland's famous folklore and storytelling traditions, this Christmas challenge set by the City of Reykjavík starts every year in the first week of December.
Around the capital, a series of Christmas concerts will be held, particularly at Hallgrímskirkja, the city's iconic church.
It's the ideal time to ride up to the top of the church tower to see the city's colorful buildings beautifully blanketed in snow.
You can take a break in one of Reykjavík's countless cozy cafes with a warming coffee or hot chocolate, or browse its many bookshops and intriguing design stores to pick up a perfect present for friends and family back home.
The Yule Lads and the Yule Cat
The night of December 11th sees the arrival of the first of the Yule Lads, an unruly band of mischief-making trolls who descend from the mountains at this time of year.
The 13 Yule Lads come from a fascinating family, including their fearsome mother, Grýla (Growler), and the scary Yule Cat.
Known as "jólasveinar" in Icelandic, their names tell you something about their characters - Spoon Licker, Door Slammer, Skyr Gobbler, and Sausage Stealer, for example!
Over the thirteen nights leading up to Christmas, children can expect a gift from each Yule Lad in turn, provided they have been well-behaved!
Children put a shoe in their window, waking to find a little present each morning - this is the Icelandic "Christmas stocking" tradition but spread over 13 nights.
If they've been naughty, they'll get an old potato instead, or Grýla will take them away, never to be seen again…
The Yule Lads used to be feared, like an Icelandic version of "the bogeyman," stealing food and playing tricks on people, but have become softer and friendlier fellows over the years.
The Yule Cat (Jólakötturinn) goes out hunting on the night of Christmas Eve, eating anyone who didn't get anything new to wear for Christmas.
So make sure you wear something nice if you're out in the city that night!
Learn more about the Yule Lads, the Yule Cat, and other Icelandic festive folklore here.
Þorláksmessa
December 23 is St. Þorlákur's Day, when Icelanders will eat putrefied skate, potatoes, and lard to symbolize the end of the Christmas fast when fish dishes were eaten instead of meat.
A 12th-century bishop, Þorlákur Þórhallsson is Iceland's patron saint, and his feast day has become an integral part of the country's Christmas celebrations.
Recently, it's become traditional for Icelanders to eat skata on this date - that's fermented skate!
Skate was never a popular dish and was usually caught only in the Westfjords and West Iceland. However, as its fishing season ended around this date, eating skate has slowly become a cherished Christmas custom.
It's exceptionally smelly and quite a challenging dish, so don't feel obliged to try any.
Instead of that ammonia-infused dish, you can always warm yourself on a chilly December day with a steaming bowl of kjötsúpa (meat soup) packed full of free-range lamb and seasonal vegetables or tasty tomato and vegetable soups.
Learn more about what's on the menu in Iceland during the festive period here.
Shops are also open very late for the many who leave their Christmas present buying until the last minute. For many, this signifies the real beginning of Christmas.
Jólabókaflóð - The Christmas Book Flood
Icelanders buy more books per capita than any other country, and most are bought as Christmas presents for friends and family in December.
The Christmas tradition is to read one of your new books on Christmas Eve in bed and eat lots of chocolates.
This annual literary treat began after the end of World War II when books were much easier to buy than any other present idea.
With Iceland's rich storytelling traditions dating from the Sagas to modern-day writers, bookstores around the country hosted authors who would read their latest works to delighted audiences.
And even now, in the digital age, after opening their presents at night on December 24th, many Icelanders will settle down with a new book and enjoy a good story!
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve (Aðfangadagur) is more significant for Icelanders than Christmas Day and is usually spent with their closest family members.
Celebrations will start at 6 pm, following an Icelandic tradition when each new day started at sunset, with a special broadcast to mark the moment when Christmas begins.
The radio silence in the minutes before 6 pm is said to be the most listened-to piece of programming on the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service all year!
This is quickly followed by the sound of church bells ringing from the Dómkirkja cathedral in downtown Reykjavík.
This is what Icelanders call að hringja inn jólin or "ringing in the Yule," and everyone wishes each other Gleðileg jól, the Icelandic for "Merry Christmas."
Many Icelanders will attend church services before gathering for family dinners and exchanging gifts.
The menu usually includes smoked lamb, ptarmigan, ham, red cabbage, and potatoes.
They will be washed down with a Malt & Appelsín, a hugely popular non-alcoholic ale and orange soda drink, and topped off with "jólakaka" (Christmas cake) or a box of chocolates.
Christmas Day
On Christmas Day (Jóladagur), there will be larger gatherings of family and friends, which can extend into Annar í jólum on December 26th, when even more smoked lamb (hangikjöt) and other festive favorites will be eaten!
New Year's Eve
Icelanders celebrate New Year's Eve (Gamlárskvöld) with enormous fireworks displays and bonfires (Brenna) in every neighborhood.
As many as ten bonfires are set around the capital, with some displays commencing around 8.30 pm.
After these early displays, everyone will sit down at 10.30 pm to watch a TV show called Áramótaskaup, an annual satirical review of the year.
Judging the viewership as a percentage of the population, Áramótaskaup may be the most-watched TV program in the world!
It's also shown with English subtitles, so even if you're not Icelandic, you'll still get some of the jokes!
When that's over, they'll switch off the TV and set off the remainder of their fireworks at midnight.
The capital's display is so impressive that thousands visit the country to enjoy the spectacle, and it's streamed live worldwide on YouTube.
Revenues from the fireworks purchases help support the Icelandic Search and Rescue teams, encouraging the vast displays, which continue long into Nýársdagur (New Year's Day).
Twelfth Night - January 6th
Þrettándinn (the Thirteenth) marks the end of Iceland's month-long Yuletide celebrations, a hazy day when the merry-making begins to fade and everyday life returns.
In Iceland, Twelfth Night was also known as "Old Christmas," referring to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar when Christmas Day moved from January 6th to December 25th.
Supernatural events are said to occur on this night, including seals taking on human form, fairies and elves leaving for new homes and cows standing up and talking to each other.
The last of the 13 Yule Lads will depart from the city and return to the mountains.
January 6th is also occasionally known as "Second New Year's Eve." If December 31st had seen poor weather, even more bonfires and fireworks would be lit on this night.
It's the last day fireworks can be legally set off, and Christmas beers (Jólabjór) can be purchased.
If you like to try one of those festive ales, they're on sale in the bars and restaurants around the city. Many seasonal beers are available at Vínbúðin, the state-run alcohol and tobacco stores.
Remember that most shops and businesses will close around noon on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and remain closed for a few days.
Only a few restaurants and cafes will remain open on Christmas Day, and it's recommended that reservations for a festive meal are made as soon as possible.
And even if you're in Iceland at other times of the year, you can still enjoy a taste of an Icelandic Christmas with a visit to Litla Jólabúðin at Laugavegur 8.
The Little Christmas Store offers a great selection of traditional Christmas decorations and festive treats all year round.
So, if you love Christmas, why not come to Iceland, where it's celebrated for 26 days, there are 13 Santas, the Northern Lights are dancing, and you're almost guaranteed to see snow?