''Á baðkari til Betlehem'' (English: ''On A Bathtub To Bethlehem'') is an Icelandic television series that first aired on Icelandic public television channel Sjónvarpið in December 1990. The show was the second televised advent calendar produced in Iceland after '' Jólin nálgast í Kærabæ'' from 1988, and is a part of

Jóladagatal Sjónvarpsins Jóladagatal Sjónvarpsins is an ongoing Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and la ...

, an ongoing series of televised Advent calendars. The show follows two eight-year-old children, Hafliði and Stína, who embark on an adventurous journey to Bethlehem, in order to bring Baby Jesus the gifts of gold,

frankincense Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense'). There are several species o ...

and

myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...

. Their form of transport is a magical flying bathtub lent to them by the concertmistress Dagbjört, who the children suspect of being an actual angel. On their way to Bethlehem, the children face numerous challenges and obstructions, most notable being their repeated encounters with the evil bird Klemmi, who is the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

of the show. Hafliði and Stína were both played by adults; Kjartan Bjargmundsson and Sigrún Waage respectively. All the other characters, both male and female, were portrayed by actress Inga Hildur Haraldsdóttir, in numerous guises. Having been rerun in 1995 and 2004, the show has gained a cult following in Iceland, especially among teenagers and young adults who grew up watching the show in its early runs. A novella bearing the same name, and following the same storyline, was published at the time of the show's first run in 1990. The novella was illustrated by Brian Pilkington.

List of episodes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:A Badkari Til Betlehem 1990s Icelandic television series 1990 Icelandic television series debuts 1990 Icelandic television series endings Christmas television series