Easter without the Fasting

While Iceland is a wonderful travel destination year round, Easter, like Christmas, in Iceland is a special time.

Officially, the country is dominated by the Lutheran church, as seen by the giant testament to their faith, Hallgrímskirkja, the famous church which dominates any Google image search with the word, “Reykjavík.”  However, most Icelanders declare atheist (although perhaps a truer word would be “agnostic”) beliefs.  Despite this, all of Iceland still celebrates Easter full-force.

By this I mean, they start the Easter season the way any holiday should be started, with food.  The Monday before Catholic countries start Lent, Iceland celebrates Bolludagur (“Bun Day”).  This is one of my favorite holidays.  In Icelandic, “bollur” are round bread buns (“bolla” is singular).  These bollur are light, round pastries, sliced in half and filled with a cream in the middle.  They are often also covered in a frosting or sweet fruit topping as well.  To me, they are kind of like a cross between a donut and a cream puff, which makes for sweet, sweet happiness.

The tradition is that one must spank another to receive their bun.  This leads to children arming themselves with homemade paddles on Sunday and waking their parents on Monday morning by spanking them while yelling “Bolla!” over and over again in order to receive their bollur. Where else can you spank your PARENT and get away with it?

This is only the beginning.  The very next day is Sprengidagur (Mardi Gras in most places).  While Icelanders do not partake in Lent, they still want to participate in the gluttony celebrated on “Explosion Day.”  Similar to Mardi Gras, Sprengidagur is reserved for eating as much as one can, or till one explodes.  Traditional food for the day is salty (I guess to balance the sweet from the day before) – salt-preserved lamb and split-pea soup.

Ash Wednesday, Öskudagur, also has a special Icelandic tradition where children dress up in costumes and solicit shops and businesses for candy by singing to them, very similar to Halloween in the United States.

All is quiet in Iceland for the next few weeks until … the Easter eggs (páskaegg) come out.  Then you know it’s almost time!  You can find these eggs in grocery stores all over the island.  Locals will give them to their children, spouses, or receive them from their employer.  They range in sizes and are hollow, but don’t worry the large ones contain more candy inside.  Every egg from the tiny number 1 to the large number 9 all contain an Icelandic proverb, malshættir, which often have hilarious English translations.  The eggshell is chocolate, some of the newer ones are chocolate and licorice (such as the Draumur one in the photo) or puffed rice.  A new one this year from the famed Icelandic candy company, Nói Síríus, featured an Icelandic candy, Tromp, which is chocolate, marzipan, and licorice.

Various Icelandic Easter eggs. The middle one has a Draumur shell, which is a licorice and chocolate bar.

Traditionally, these eggs are hidden.  Children will wake up on Easter morning and hunt down their eggs with their parents and caregivers helping them along with “hot” and “cold” verbal cues.  Once they find it, the children break open their páskaegg excitedly and read the proverb inside before devouring the candy.

Easter is a national holiday in Iceland.  As a result many companies and businesses are closed from Maundy (Holy) Thursday through Easter Monday.  With so much time off, a favorite past-time of Icelanders is to go skiing, visit a summer house, or even take a holiday outside the country.  Do keep this in mind if you are travelling in the country during this time.  Many businesses will be closed.  Additionally, it is forbidden to party on Good Friday, so all bars and clubs are closed midnight to midnight on Good Friday.  In protest, Icelandic atheists gather annually at Austurvöllur in downtown Reykjavík to play Bingo.  It’s open to anyone, and there are prizes!

For those staying close to home, traditional meals include a “party bird” (turkey with stuffing) or a “turkey ship” (turkey breast) with sweet potatoes, vegetables, and gravy on Good Friday, similar to Thanksgiving in the United States.  On Easter itself, families indulge in a roasted leg of lamb, more sweet potatoes, vegetables, and gravy.

All in all, Easter in Iceland brings families together over food.  How does your culture celebrate Spring?  What foods are special to this time of year?