Festivals and Events in Iceland
In Iceland, you may become overwhelmed by all the number of shops, galleries, museums, restaurants, sporting events, and nightclubs. But don’t fear! Give priority to one of the many festivals that are always going down in Iceland. Small villages in Iceland are always having musical events, artists’ showings, and parades.
Year-round, there’s always something brewing for every season in Iceland.
In fall in Iceland, you’ll find the traditional Rettir, or Sheep and Horse Round-up Festival of Iceland. This traditional Icelandic festival takes place in September and is one of the most popular events in Iceland. The festival can take as long as a week as farmers mount their horses and gather sheep that have spent the summer grazing in the pastures of the Icelandic highlands.
With the summer in Iceland comes the Sjomannadagur festival or Seamen’s Day in June. This festival recognizes the valuable efforts of Icelandic fishermen with colorful parades, rowing and swimming races, and all kinds of aquatic sports. Icelandic families flock to this event, and each fishing village hosts its own festivities.
The springtime in Iceland harkens the celebration of Easter in late March. This is the time in Iceland to bring out your sweet tooth!
Taste one of the famous Icelandic chocolate Easter eggs.The hollow egg is stuffed with a delicious assortment of candy, and a piece of Icelandic wisdom.
The Malshatt is a collection of traditional proverbs, and you may just find the one that’s life-transforming! Indulge in the traditional Easter meal of roasted lamb with rhubarb jelly.
Iceland couldn’t be complete without a fabulous line-up of winter events. After all, they don’t call themselves the land of ice for nothing. The Christmas season in Iceland is all about Gully Gawk, Window Peeper, Bowl Licker, Pot Scraper, and Door Slammer! Don’t be alarmed; these are the charming Yuletide Lads, elf-like creatures living in the mountains of Iceland.
These are the little guys that are believed to leave gifts for children, just like another big, fat man that we all know so well.