Merry Christmas dear friends!
Recently, Iðnó held a celebration called Christmas Eve. It was organized by ethnographers and other scholars who have studied ancient Christmas customs.
There appears the ancient Christmas spirit – the heart, which is the peaceful creature that comes to settlements from the wilds of the country and disturbs the gathering of people and seeks the company of people, bathed in light and candles on its horns. The outfit consists of heart skin and a blanket of some kind, with reindeer antlers attached to the head and candles lit there. Before reindeer were brought to the country, the locals used spits and attached candles to them.
This performance was performed by the Reykjavík Folk Dance Society at Rúv in 1970 – but has since then been largely forgotten – until recently.
Long live the hearts!
Posted by Solmundarson