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

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 ...

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 independence movement. Biography Born at Hrafnseyri, in Arnarfjörður in the Westfjords area of Iceland, he was the son of Þórdís Jónsdótti ...

, a major figure of

Icelandic culture The culture of Iceland is rich and varied as well as being known for its literary heritage which began in the 12th century. Icelandic traditional arts include weaving, silversmithing, and wood carving. The Reykjavík area has several professional t ...

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 ...

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

History

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

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. For most of the war, the country was a protectorate and then an occupied territory of Germany. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December ...

meant that the revision of the Act of Union could not take place in 1943. But 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 Christian X ( da, Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 to his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, in the form of a personal union rath ...

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, "The King" was merely 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. Mr.

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

became the first President of Iceland.

Celebrations

Today, Icelanders celebrate this holiday on a national scale. The celebration traditionally take the form of parades through each city, town, or village usually with a brass band leading the way. Riders on Icelandic horses often precede the brass band while a flag-bearing troop from the Icelandic

scout movement Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpackin ...

traditionally follow 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 Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

. 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, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

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 Icelandic culture June observances National days Annual events in Iceland

Summer events in Iceland Public holidays in Iceland