Iceland in a Nutshell

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 Hello, welcome to my blog. From now on I am starting a series about deep diving into unknown cultures for me. The first country that I want to dive into is Iceland. I think it is important to know the different cultures, traditional food, music, events, etc. of every country where you travel. It provides a much better experience. Iceland is first on my travel bucket list and it is my dream to watch the northern lights there. After learning about their culture, my future travels might be without unpleasant situations when you say or do something that might be taken as rude behavior in the other culture. Every civilization is different and even if you don't think some behaviors may cause any problems in the other culture it is different.

the country marked in orange represented the location of Iceland

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iceland/locator-map

The flag

Iceland's flag is blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag. The cross part is taken from the Danish flag while the color represents the three elements that make up the island: white - snow and ice fields of the island, red - volcanic fires, and blue - the surrounding ocean. 

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iceland/flag


The cuisine

I believe cuisine is one of the most important parts of every culture, it often tells a lot about the history, habits, and lifestyle of the citizens. As you can probably imagine, Iceland's surroundings forced some habits. The ocean around the island gives them so much delicious seafood. That’s why one of the most popular national dishes is Hákarl (fermented shark). The sharks are mainly imported from Greenland. Their meat is poisonous unless it has been fermented for about 5 to 6 months. Most of the time Hákarl is served with a shot of Bernnivín, Iceland’s drink. 

Hákarl - https://www.islandshotel.is/explore-iceland/blog/10-must-try-icelandic-foods/

Another typical dish that I think is necessary to try is Rúgbrauð. It is a dark rye bread, made traditionally by putting dough in a pot and burying it near a hot spring. It is said to be the best with some fresh Iceland salmon and salted butter. 

Rúgbrauð - https://saltverk.com/blogs/recipes/rugbraud-rye-bread/



As a coffee lover with such a big sweet tooth, I couldn't forget about something sweet. Icelandic favorite dessert or addition to coffee is Snúður, an Icelandic version of a cinnamon roll often covered with chocolate or icing. You can find bakeries that sell it everywhere.

Snúður - https://www.islandshotel.is/explore-iceland/blog/10-must-try-icelandic-foods/

Art

Art is focused mostly on landscapes. It is probably because they are close to the environment. Their nation with not too big a population, of about 394,000, owes a lot to nature, not only beautiful landscapes that bring tourists but also a way of life and work. That is why as an act of appreciation and gratefulness they present it in paintings.


Religions

Religion in Iceland is not differentiated. About 58.6% of the population is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, Roman Catholic 3.8%, Independent Congregation of Reykjavik 2.6% (Wikipedia),



Holidays

The history of each country created its unique holidays. I want to share a few interesting events:

  • January 20 - Husband’s Day or Farmer’s Day

  • midwinter - Sun Day (the Sun appears for the first time after winter darkness)

  • March 1 - National Beer Day 

  • Uppstigningardagur 'Climbing Up Day’ - Ascension Day

  • the first Sunday of June - Festival of the Sea

  • August 29 - Head Day

  • August 18 - Culture Night

  • November 16 - Icelandic Language Day



What does “In studying other cultures, we do so very often from the perspective of our own culture” mean for me? I believe comparing other cultures to ours is one of the most common cases. People often think that only their beliefs are true and everyone who believes in something else is mistaken, or our interpretation is partly correct because we look at this from our perspective. 

Our point of view on the world is created by our culture. With the interpretation, we use our norms and morals that create misunderstandings. That is why hearing the unbiased perspective of people who live in that culture is essential to understanding it properly. Even when we get information from the first hand we should have in our minds the fact that there are some differences between groups within the same culture. In everyone’s beliefs, there is a little bit of the truth, in some, there is more than in others. My tactic is to find the most repetitive things because it is the most possible to be true. Confirming that information is gathered on the Internet is helpful, too. However, you should ensure the website is written by reliable sources and Google Scholar is the perfect place to find scientifically proven facts. 

Moreover, being open-minded will help with understanding other cultures. 


If you want to get some more essential information before you travel to Iceland I would recommend this YouTube video. https://youtu.be/d-x0OAExfa4?si=cgZRPMU7rkmjOMQB

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