Icelandic National Day (, the day of the nation's celebration) is an annual

holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

which commemorates the foundation of The Republic of Iceland on 17 June 1944. This date also marks the end of Iceland's centuries-old ties with Denmark. The date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of

Jón Sigurðsson Jón Sigurðsson (17 June 1811 – 7 December 1879) was the leader of the 19th century icelandic nationalism, Icelandic independence movement. Biography Born at Hrafnseyri, in Arnarfjörður in the Westfjords area of Iceland, he was the son of ...

, a major figure of

Icelandic culture The culture of Iceland is largely characterized by its literary heritage that began during the 12th century but also traditional arts such as weaving, silversmithing, and wood carving. The Reykjavík area hosts several professional theaters, art ...

and the leader of the 19th-century

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 ce ...

.Today is the Icelandic National Day
''Icelandic Review'' 6/17/2013

History

The formation of the

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

was based on a clause in the 1918 Act of Union with Denmark, which allowed for a revision in 1943, as well as on the results of the 1944 plebiscite. German

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself Neutral countries in World War II, neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from Military occupation, occupying the country soon after the outbreak of ...

meant that the revision of the Act of Union could not take place in 1943. However, the referendum on abolishing the monarchy went ahead in 1944 while Denmark was still occupied by Germany, and was overwhelmingly approved. At the time, the US military had taken over the defence of

at Iceland's invitation, after being occupied by Britain in 1940. Although saddened by the results of the plebiscite, King Christian X sent a letter on 17 June 1944 congratulating Icelanders on the establishment of a republic. Abolishing the monarchy resulted in little change to the Icelandic constitution, instances of "The King" simply being changed to "The President". Icelanders celebrated the severing of all formal ties with Denmark after centuries of sometimes difficult Danish rule. Iceland's national day was chosen as the birthday of

who pioneered the early independence movement.

Sveinn Björnsson Sveinn Björnsson (; 27 February 1881 – 25 January 1952) was the first president of Iceland, serving from 1944 to 1952. Background, education and legal career Sveinn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the son of Björn Jónsson (editor and ...

became the country's first president.

Celebrations

Today, Icelanders celebrate this holiday on a national scale. The celebration traditionally takes the form of parades through each city, town, and village, usually with a brass band leading the way. Riders on

Icelandic horse The Icelandic horse ( ), or Icelandic, is a Horse breed, breed of horse developed in Iceland. Although the horses are smaller (at times pony-sized) than other breeds, most Breed registry, registries for the Icelandic refer to it as a horse. Th ...

s often precede the brass band, and a flag-bearing troop from the Icelandic

scout movement Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including ...

traditionally follows the band. After the parade speeches are held out in the open, including one from Fjallkonan (the woman of the mountain), clad in ''Skautbúningur'', who recites a poem. She represents the fierce spirit of the Icelandic nation and of Icelandic nature. In many ways this recalls the period of

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

that reigned when the first steps toward independence were taken. After the public speeches are over, less formal celebrations ensue, usually including a variety of musical performances.

References

External links

Information for Reykjavik city celebration with program in Icelandic, English and Polish

{{Authority control 1944 establishments in Iceland Culture of Iceland June observances Annual events in Iceland

Summer in Iceland Public holidays in Iceland