Iceland Day - June 17

Iceland National Day is an annual holiday in honor of the founding of the Republic of Iceland celebrated on June 17, 1944.

This date also marks the end of the centenary of Danish rule in Iceland.

Iceland is an island nation in the North Atlantic Ocean, located between Greenland, Norway and Scotland, northwest of the Faroe Islands.

Iceland is among the least densely populated countries in the world. Its area is 103,000 square kilometers, but its population is only about 358,780 people, half of whom live in the capital Reykjavik.

The holiday date was chosen to also celebrate the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson, a central figure in Icelandic culture and leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement.

Iceland National Day celebrations

Icelanders celebrate the national day in processions in urban areas, with traditional clothing, against the backdrop of Icelandic folk music and waving Icelandic flags. After the official ceremonies that include speeches of course, the joyous celebrations begin, with lots of music, food and drink and great joy.

Women dressed in traditional Icelandic attire in the capital Reykjavik (Source)

In honor of Iceland's National Day, here are some interesting facts about it:

Iceland has a good football team, which qualified for the international finals of Euro 2016 and reached the quarterfinals. In the summer of 2017, she qualified for the 2018 World Cup. The current ranking of the Icelandic national team in FIFA's ranking list is 40th in the world, as of April 4, 2019. This is a good achievement for a country with so few people. Icelanders also have a unique sport Called "Glíma" - a type of wrestling that originated in Viking.

The national bird of Iceland is the puffin, a sea parrot, which obtains its food mainly by diving into the sea. Papin has a large beak that turns red or orange during the breeding season, and at the end of the season it sheds it and is left with a more modest beak. In Iceland it is customary to eat the sea parrot and its eggs.

Image by Mario Liebherr from Pixabay

The official language of Iceland is Icelandic, which evolved from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings.

Iceland has no family names. They use patrons, the name of the father and then add the name of the son or daughter. Sometimes they use matrons (the mother's name). All first names they give to their children must be approved by a national naming committee that does not usually approve foreign names.

Iceland is the first country in the world to have served as a declared (and gay in general) lesbian prime minister. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir served as Prime Minister of Iceland from 2009 to 2013.

The summer days in Iceland are very long and the light lasts until midnight. In winter, the Northern Lights appear in Iceland, the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) illuminate the sky in colors ranging from green to red and blue.

Many tourists come to Iceland to see its wildlife: huge glaciers and waterfalls (like Dettifoss Falls), volcanoes and geysers. In recent years, tourism has also developed in Iceland during the winter season, and tourists come to the hot baths and snowmobile rides on the glaciers.

Dettifoss Falls, the most powerful waterfalls in Europe (Source)

Iceland has also been producing good pop and rock music since the 1980s. Among the artists who have received international recognition coming from Iceland are the singer Bjork, the rock band Sigur Rós, the band Múm, the singer Emilíana Torrini and the band Of Monsters and Men.

June 17 is also Apples Strudel Day