Thorrablot is Back!

Alaska has their Fur Rondy and 

Iceland has  Þorrablót!

When you live in an area of the world where you have months of long dark days, you find a way to celebrate and make merry!

Thorrablot was a sacrificial midwinter festival offered to the gods in pagan Iceland of the past. It was abolished during the Christianization of Iceland, but resurrected in the 19th century as a midwinter celebration that continues to be celebrated to this day. The timing for the festival coincides with the month of Thorri, according to the old Icelandic calendar, which begins on the first Friday after January 19th (the 13th week of winter). 

Origins of the name "Thorri" are unclear but it is most likely derived from Norwegian king Thorri Snærsson, or Thor the God of Thunder in the old Nordic religion.

On this occasion, locals come together to eat, drink and be merry. Customary, the menu consists of unusual culinary delicacies, known as traditional Icelandic food. These will include rotten shark’s meat (hákarl), boiled sheep’s head, (svið) and congealed sheep’s blood wrapped in a ram’s stomach (blóðmör)! This is traditionally washed down with some Brennivin - also known as Black Death – a potent schnapps made from potato and caraway (we drank Appelsin {like orange Fanta}combined with a non-alcoholic malt drink).

After the Thorrablot dinner traditional songs, games and story telling are accompanied by dancing and in true Icelandic style continue until the early hours of the morning (we finished about 9:00 pm).

People would measure the distance over a mountain by counting how many pairs of fish skin shoes you would wear out walking over it. 
This cute pair of fish shoes was part of our table decorations.

Members of the Branch mingling.

More mingling!

Warm welcomes as you arrive - EVERY TIME you arrive!!
This is a loving Branch with awesome members.

Brother Johan - our Branch 1st counselor.

Getting things ready - small, small kitchen!

Our sister missionaries from Denmark.  They will stay in Iceland for about three months.

Two of our young single adults.

And for the main course......boiled sheep heads. 
Really not bad tasting (just don't look them in the eye!!!)

The rest of the menu consisted of lamb, fermented shark, pickled herring, flat bread, mashed rutabaga and mashed potatoes. 
Since I tried EVERYTHING last year, I went totally vegetarian this time!

Homemade bread

  

Our Branch president mixing the drinks....The orange drink is like Fanta and then they add a non-alcoholic malt drink. 
I don't care for it too much but Allan loved it!!

  

In this picture you can see our Branch president, the lady behind him is the wife of the Mission President's 1st counselor.  Her husband is the one on the far right.  Allan and another senior missionary are hovering near the food table.

A lovely ice cream cake for dessert.

  Checking out the food!

Mingling with my friends.  These ladies are good friends.  

The lady two down from me is the one that made my sweater!

 Our music for the night - brother and sister.  Their dad is the Branch president.

Enjoying dessert and more visiting.

Getting ready for entertainment.

We are enjoying about 9 hours of daylight now (from about 9 am until 6:30).  
The snow continues to come and go. 
And for excitement, we apparently had the storm of the century as "Dennis" reached Iceland's shores.

Here is what the Washington Post had to say about the storm (dated February 14th):

A potentially unprecedented scenario is unfolding in the North Atlantic on Friday, as a bomb cyclone batters Iceland with hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions, just as another bomb cyclone, known as Storm Dennis, rapidly intensifies behind it. Ultimately, the two storms will enter into a complex dance around each other before combining into one atmospheric behemoth, with a minimum central air pressure that could rank among the top three most intense storms ever observed in the stormy North Atlantic Basin.

Already on Friday morning, the first bomb cyclone, which has a minimum central air pressure of 929 millibars, roughly equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, is slamming Iceland with blizzard conditions, mixed precipitation and heavy rain. Winds have been clocked at about 70 mph in the capital city of Reykjavik, and 90 mph at the international airport in Keflavik. The forecast called for gusts of higher than 120 mph in a few locations, particularly on the western coast of the island, though conditions were improving early Friday afternoon local time.

This storm battering Iceland underwent the process of bombogenesis, or rapid intensification, with its air pressure plummeting more than 24 millibars in 24 hours. Over the course of 48 hours, its pressure dropped by 67 millibars as it moved from near Nova Scotia early Thursday morning to near Iceland early Friday morning.

So, on that Friday (Valentine's Day), the archive closed along with all of the other government offices, and downtown streets were closed.  Everyone was advised to stay home and off the roads.  We hunkered down and enjoyed a warm and cozy Friday at home.  There wasn't much damage in our area but Keflavik (out where the airport is) suffered a lot of flooding and in other areas people lost roofs, windows, and had all types of damage from the wind.

An example of one of the heated streets around town.  

This one happens to be right across from our flat.

So, February brought festivities and some excitement from Mother Nature.

There is always something new waiting just around the corner.....

we look forward to all the experiences headed our way.

"So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever."
―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders Among You"

Happy February!!