It’s New Year’s Eve in Iceland and the elves are out! Look for them and you might spot them as they search for a new home. This is their time to cross the dimensional plane and make themselves visible to humans. But first, let’s eat. In Iceland, we love a socialized dinner, which we eat around 18:00-19:00. The table is laden with delicious meat, caramelized potatoes, red cabbage, peas, and Appelsín (orange soda).
Everyone is invited
Once everyone is full and the dishes are clean, it’s time to take the party outside and head out to the nearby Áramótabrenna or the New Year’s bonfire. The bonfires normally start around 20:00-20:30, which gives everyone enough time to finish their dinner. There’s no New Year’s Eve in Iceland without a bonfire gathering, so make sure to find one. There is no need to wait for an invitation, everyone is welcome.
The first bonfire
1791 was the bonfire on New Year’s Eve in Iceland. A bunch of schoolboys from Hólavallaskóli in Reykjavík got together and planned the event. They piled up barrels and all sorts of wood waste near the school, an area they called Vulcan. This may have been at Skólavarða, the site of today’s Hallgrímskirkja.
Skólavarða is the hill at the top of Skólavörðustígur where Hallgrímskirkja church is.
The first New Year's bonfire
By the 1840s, bonfires were a familiar sight and attracted drunken, noisy teens. As a result, to divert teens and vandals away from the downtown area, the city permitted bonfires throughout the suburbs. In 1872 some 70 boys at the Learned School (Today called Reykjavik Junior College) started dancing álfadans (elf dance) around the bonfire. They presented the play “New Year’s Night” which was about elves.
The students from the Learned school and Copenhagen University split into two groups: light elves and dark elves. As they walked towards the city center, the two groups carried torches. They sang and danced until they met in the middle of the Tjörnin pond in Reykjavik. There they continued to dance elf dances and sing national songs.
Nostalgia
Some say the bonfire tradition dates back to the Middle Ages or even further when the fishermen threw out all their old stuff to make room for the new. I was told a similar story as a child. We would bring old stuff from our house to burn in the bonfire. Cleaning out the house was part of the plan to make room for all the new stuff that will come in the new year.
Today, the city controls most bonfires and doesn't allow people to bring their garbage to build a fire. Nonetheless, standing by the fire with my family all wrapped up in warm winter clothing and feeling the heat on my face was heavenly. I remember watching the old thrown-out garbage burn into oblivion, leaving only ashes behind. Beginning a fresh new year wasn't just an idea anymore, it was a tangible reality and it felt great. A ritual cleansing, perhaps.
New Year’s Eve in Iceland is filled with otherworldly events. If you are lucky, the elf king and queen will visit the bonfire and everyone will sing elf-songs and dance elf-dances. However, in 2020 we broke the tradition for the first time in nearly 200 years. Likewise, there were no bonfires on New Year’s Eve because of Covid nor were there in 2021.
Satire
When the bonfire is over, it’s time to head home to watch ‘Áramótaskaupið‘ or ‘The New Year’s Comedy Show’ which starts at 22:30. The comedy special is a satire that was first aired on the radio in 1948 until Iceland got its own television station in 1966. The entire country turns their TV on to watch. To put this into perspective, the most recent Gallup poll showed about 98% of all TVs in Iceland had the show turned on and 75% of the population said they actually watched it. Bottom line, there is no New Year’s Eve in Iceland without Áramótaskaupið.
The show consists of multiple satirical skits that make fun of both national and international politicians and other famous (and non-famous) individuals who had been in the news or made the headlines during the year.
I guarantee that the day after, people will ask you what you thought of it. Everybody has an opinion about it and it’s usually I loved it! Or I hated it! Followed by a discussion. After an hour of TV entertainment, it’s time to get ready for fireworks. This is truly the Greatest Show if you enjoy watching fireworks. Tourists from all over the world visit Iceland just to experience the extravagant New Years’ Eve celebration.
Fireworks
This is also the time when fireworks are legal to purchase for the residents and they go all out. The residents personally provide the firework that you see coloring the sky. The proceeds from the firework sales go to ICE-SAR, or Icelandic Search and Rescue Teams, a volunteer-run program dedicated to keeping us safe on land and at sea.
ICE-SAR rescues a group of travelers from the roof of a mountain truck.
ICE-SAR get most of their funding through the sales of Christmas trees and fireworks. In 2017, they made ca. ISK 800 million from fireworks alone, which equals USD $6.8 million and €6.0 million. That’s a lot of fire in the sky. A few sources mention that we purchase about 500 tons of fireworks every year. It’s almost midnight and everyone has found their spot outside and is ready to ‘sprengja út árið‘ or ‘blow out the year‘ as we call it in Iceland. First, we burn the old year with fire, and afterward, we blow it out with fireworks.
Where to watch the fireworks
If you are looking for the best firework display, Hallgrímskirkja church or Perlan put on fantastic shows. In addition, If you plan on bar hopping, then Hallgrímskirkja would be the best location to watch the fireworks as it is only a walking distance to all the pubs and bars.
Legends
There are a few legends out there about the magic that happens on New Year’s Eve in Iceland.
Cows
Cows will speak and you can have full-on conversations with them. However, many people have gone mad after talking to the cows.
Seals
Tonight they will not only shed their skin but also take on human form as well.
The dead
The dead will rise from their graves, so they can go to church, only to disappear again. While they are at church, the souls of those who will die in the next year go to the cemetery to try out the empty graves. It is important to find one that fits.
Dreams
Make sure you pay attention to your dreams tonight because they will provide you with important visions.
Elves
At Christmas, the elves party nonstop by listening to music and dancing. However, when the new year arrives, it's time for them to pack their bags and move on. For this reason, make sure to leave a plate of food in remote places in case they get hungry. Also, It's important to leave candles out for them and to keep the house clean.
In addition, if you want to keep the peace with the elves, make sure you tell them that they were welcome in your home. One way you can do this is to walk around the house wishing it out loud. An example is to say or sing: “Come those who wish, Leave those who wish, Stay those who wish me and my people no harm” Having a family of elves move in nearby can bring you good fortune, so don’t forget to invite them.
Lyrics by Jón Ólafsson
To translate the song into English is very difficult, but it goes something like this:
