An Icelandic Christmas

Our family loves Christmas School! Every year I find a Christmas curriculum to loosly use throughout the Christmas season. This year we had “An Icelandic Christmas“ and it was so unique and fun! The curriculum was from The Mindful Heart and I would definitely recommend it.

We spread this out over three weeks and it was perfect. We learned the song “Little Jesus” from The Primary Songbook which was so sweet. We read Christmas poetry and about being a cheerful giver in the scriptures and from modern prophets and apostles.

Iceland

Then we learned all about ICELAND! Did you know that in December – sunlight only lasts for about five hours a day in Iceland? But despite the physical darkness of the season, Icelanders have found many ways to bring light and joy into their lives.

We looked at pictures of Hallgrimskirkja – a large Lutheran church located in Reukjavik where a special Christmas Mass is held. We also looked at pictures where there are tons of colors – the homes, sidewalks, buildings – you name it! Plus, northern lights! And then, of course, we looked at some of the beautiful natural sites in Iceland and the animals. Another fun fact – did you know the arctic fox is the only native land animal to Iceland? No surprise, my kiddos were obsessed with the Icelandic horses most.

Icelandic Christmas Traditions

We read about the Christmas Book Flood, now known as Jolabokafloadid (the kids thought it was hilarious to here me try and pronounce all of these words).

During World War II, Iceland remained neutral in the war, but it still impacted their daily life because of their dependence on imports from other countries. But one thing that remained readily available was paper. So books became very popular and became a favorite gift to give. The tradition has continued and many Icelanders give books for Christmas so that they can snuggle up with a new story on a cold, Christmas Eve.

To celebrate this tradition, the kids created their own books!

Icelandic Recipes

To get in the “Iceland mood” we also made some yummy Icelandic recipes one day. Seafood is a main staple in Iceland but my kiddos (and me) aren’t big seafood people. So instead of using haddock, we made baked chicken in a cream sauce (the cream sauce tasted really unique but we loved it!) and rutmus (which was basically mashed potatoes with rutabaga).

Last, but not least, we made Christmas rice pudding which is served all over Iceland. It is traditionally served individually with a single almond hidden in a random bowl. Whoever finds the almond gets a special gift from the Yule Lads that night (more on them later). Mark found the almond! This was definitely the kids favorite dish!

The Five Brothers

We read an Icelandic fairy tale called “The Five Brothers“. It was really sweet and we enjoyed it.

Yule Lads

By far what we spent the most time on was the story of the Thirteen Yule Lads. This is such a unique tradition for Iceland! It is a story about thirteen brothers with their own special personalities full of mischief. Beginning on December 12, children leave a shoe on their windowsills for a gift from one of the yule lads. If you are good, you get a small gift. If you are naughty, the pranksters might leave you a rotten potato!

Each day we would read the story about another yule lad. There are some strange things online, but I found this book and really loved it! It helped turn what felt like a creepy tradition into something fun and endearing! The kids loved talking about what yule lad would be coming that night.

It was yet another wonderful Christmas School! Forever grateful for these memories we get to make together.