Christmas Trees Lit in Iceland

The Christmas tree on Austurvöllur parliamentary square in downtown Reykjavík was lit at a special ceremony yesterday. For almost 60 years the capital’s Christmas tree has been a present from the City of Oslo.



Iceland’s First Lady Dorrit Moussaieff launched a charity initiative by lighting another Christmas tree in Kringlan shopping mall in Reykjavík yesterday. People are encouraged to put presents under the tree which are then delivered to families in need, Morgunbladid reports.

Charities Maedrastyrksnefnd and Fjölskylduhjálp Íslands have undertaken the delivery of Christmas presents for many years, which have been much appreciated by the recipients.

In other Christmas related news, a new Icelandic Christmas carol by composer Jón Ásgeirsson was premiered by women’s choirs in eight churches across Iceland at the same time yesterday.

Gígjan, the national association of women’s choirs, requested Ásgeirsson’s assistance to write a song to the poem “Ég heyrdi thau nálgast” (“I heard them approach”) by Snorri Hjartarson to commemorate the poet’s 80th birthday on October 11.

icelandreview.com