Icelandic National Day (Icelandic: Þjóðhátíðardagurinn, the day of the nation’s celebration) is an annual holiday in Iceland which commemorates the foundation of The Republic of Iceland on 17 June 1944. This date also marks the end of Iceland’s centuries old ties with Denmark. The date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson, a major figure of Icelandic culture and the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement. Today, Icelanders celebrate this holiday on a national scale. The celebration traditionally takes the form of parades through each city, town, and village, usually with a brass band leading the way. Riders on Icelandic horses often precede the brass band, and a flag-bearing troop from the Icelandic scout movement traditionally follows the band. After the parade speeches are held out in the open, including one from Fjallkonan (the woman of the mountain), dressed in Skautbúningur, who recites a poem. She represents the fierce spirit of the Icelandic nation and of Icelandic nature. In many ways this recalls the period of romanticism that reigned when the first steps toward independence were taken. After the public speeches are over, less formal celebrations ensue, usually including a variety of musical performances.
This year our national holiday, 17 of june, was on Monday. Usually we celebrate in the preschools the Friday before if it connects to a weekend.
Here in Iðavöllur we had our summer festival in the week before, so we kind of put those two things together this year. We had the parents for a visit in the end of the day. The children got facepaint, we ate some ice cream, had a water and soap bubble station, a carpenters station, rock painting station and had some horses so the children could go on hoursback.
It was a lot of fun and luckily the weather was finally nice for the day. The week before we had very cold weather and snowstorms for a week, which the children did not like very much – and the adults even less! Two girls at our school were playing by the window and looked out into the snowstorm. One of them said; is the summer over so soon??
At Kiðagil kindergarten we always celebrate our national holiday with a big parade. We use the days before June 17 to prepare for the festival. The students either made flags or crowns in the colors of the flag. On the morning of the National Day, everyone shows up in their best polish. After breakfast, the whole school gathers outside, with their flags and their crowns, and the parade continues around the neighborhood. We bring speakers and sing Icelandic national songs. Our neighbors really like to hear and see us, and many faces come out the window to watch us. When we get back to the kindergarten, it’s lunch and rest after a wonderful morning.
Gleðilegan sautjánda júní.
Norsamby 