Þorrablót (;

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

as thorrablot) is an

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 largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic midwinter festival, named for the month of ''

Þorri Þorri () is the Icelandic name of the personification of frost or winter in Norse mythology, and also the name of the fourth winter month (mid January to mid February) in the Icelandic calendar. In the '' Orkneyinga saga'' (written in the 13th ...

'' of the historical Icelandic calendar (corresponding to mid January to mid February), and ''

blót ( Old Norse) and or ( Old English) are terms for "blood sacrifice" in Norse paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism respectively. A comparanda can also be reconstructed for wider Germanic paganism. A ' could be dedicated to any of the Germanic ...

'', literally meaning ''sacrifice''. The historical context is from the '' Orkneyinga saga'', where Þorri ("Frost") is an early Finnish king, the son of

Snær In Norse mythology, Snær (Old Norse Snærr, East Norse Sniō, Latin Nix, Nivis, English "snow") is seemingly a personification of snow, appearing in extant text as an euhemerized legendary Scandinavian king. Icelandic tradition In the '' Orkney ...

("Snow"). ''

Hversu Noregr byggðist ''Hversu Noregr byggðist'' ( non, How Norway was inhabited) is an account of the origin of various legendary Norwegian lineages, which survives only in the ''Flateyjarbók''. It traces the descendants of the primeval Fornjót, a king of ''"Gotlan ...

'' in the ''

Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and produced by the priests and scribes ...

'' states that the Kvens offered a yearly sacrifice to Þorri at mid-winter. The modern festival arose in the second half of the 19th century, with the Romantic nationalism of the time, comparable to

Burns night A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), the author of many Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January, known as Burns Night ( sc ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The first known celebration was reportedly organised by the association of Icelandic students in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1873, and by other societies active in the

Icelandic independence movement The Icelandic Independence movement (Icelandic: ''Sjálfstæðisbarátta Íslendinga'') was the collective effort made by Icelanders to achieve self-determination and independence from the Kingdom of Denmark throughout the 19th and early 20th ...

of the time (Iceland received a constitution in 1874, and was recognized as a

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

in personal union with Denmark in 1918). The Þorrablót is an evening with dinner where participants hold speeches and recite poems, originally to honour the Norse god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

(''Þórr''), whose name is taken to be associated with ''Þorri''. Calling the feast a ''

'' (a sacramental feast held in honor of a god in Norse mythology) makes clear the reference to pre-Christian times, which many nationalists of the 19th century considered a golden age of Icelandic history. The festival gained wide publicity in the 1960s. This was due to a

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

restaurant, called Naustið, starting to offer a platter with a selection of foods that had previously been common in the Icelandic countryside, but had become rare by that time, in 1958. The food was arranged in slices on a wooden trough made in the likeness of old troughs on display in the

National Museum of Iceland National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. The restaurant advertised this platter as Þorramatur, thereby linking it with the tradition of the Þorrablót. The idea was well received and the serving of Þorramatur has since become a defining feature of Þorrablót. Today Þorrablót are common events among Icelanders everywhere and can be anything from an informal dinner with friends and family to large organised events with stage performances and an after-dinner dance. These large Þorrablót celebrations are usually arranged by membership associations, associations of Icelanders living abroad, and as regional festivals in the countryside. Thorrablot
Promote Iceland

References

Other sources

*Magocsi (ed.),
Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples
' (Multicultural History Society of Ontario, University of Toronto Press) 1999
p. 695
*Árni Björnsson, ''Þorrablót á Íslandi'' (Reykjavík : Bókaklúbbur Arnar og Örlygs) 1986. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorrablot Folk festivals in Iceland Winter traditions January observances February observances Observances on non-Gregorian calendars Festivals established in 1873 Winter festivals Cultural festivals in Iceland Winter events in Iceland