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by Gunnar Birgisson A view of Reykjavik, December 2015 Photo Credit: Arbol01, Creative Commons This is the time of year we experience skammdegi . The days are short and the nights are long. It’s dark when you go to work and it’s dark when you come home. In between, you sip coffee while gazing through the window at the grayish day outside. It’s a long se

Every year the Icelandic Roots Newsletter team considers the articles contributed to the newsletter by IR members and others. These are not the "best" posts, but they appealed to us for various reasons. We have compiled a short list of our favourites for your consideration: The 50th anniversary of the Women’s March was the most inspirational event in 2025 for me. We featured several articles as a tribute to the women in Iceland who fought for gender equality back in 1975. The

This wonderful new Christmas legend is currently only available in Icelandic, but will be out next year in English. If you have been learning Icelandic a children's book can be a good way to practise, and I did surprisingly well with reading it, I was very encouraged!  You will have heard, I am sure, of the festive peril that awaits you should you not be gifted any new clothes for Christmas - Jólakötturinn , or the Yule Cat, will come to devour you! Jólabókaormurinn introd

By Gunnar Birgisson   Photo Credit: Regína Hrönn Ragnarsdóttir; Guide to Iceland You will notice there are a lot of rocks in Iceland. There are pebbles and boulders and cliffs and everything in between. The rocks frequently dominate the view, what with the lack of forests, not to mention cities.   But not all rocks are the same. Honestly, it’s hard to tell the difference, but some of those cliffs, outcroppings and other rock formations are considered by Icelanders to be elf c

by Gunnar Birgisson   Icelandic Roots welcomes a new guest writer, Gunnar Birgisson. He offers us his thoughts about an interesting...

And that's a wrap! Brad Hirst, CEO of the Icelandic Camp, recaps the highlights and joys experienced at the 2023 Camp, the first after a...

The following article is submitted by the children of Michael and Daphne Fell: Peter Fell and Rachel Fell McDermott. They have made a...

By Sam Hodge My time in Iceland is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. Not in the sense that it will cast a shadow over my soul,...

By Douglas Hanson The worldwide pandemic has upturned all our lives in the past two years. What was once routine became difficult or even...

**Íslenska eftir Written by Sunna Furstenau, Edited by Natalie Guttormsson Dear friends, Here at Icelandic Roots, we are marking our 7th...