Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.12.1977, Blaðsíða 11

Lögberg-Heimskringla, Fimmtudaginn 15. Desember 1977 — JÖLABLAÐ
11
Christmas in ICELAND
IN SEPTEMBER 1957, my
wife, Kristbjörg Ethel, and
I with our four children
ranging in age from 3 to 10
years og age stepped off the
plane to touch Icelandic soil
for the first time. It was a
beautifully sunlit day as
well as an exciting beginn-
ing of two years of family
living in Reykjavik. I had
undertaken a teaching posit-
ion in the University’s De-
partment of Theology. Both
Ethel and I were realízíng a
life long dream in spendíng
some time in the land of our
forbears.
Among the places we vis-
ited were Ethel’s mother’s
birthplace in Vopnafjord,
where the family name
“Vopni” had been derived.
We also visited places in
Eyjafjord from where her
father’s people had come —
Hannes Kristjánsson, son of
Kristján G. Kristjánson who
lived in the Eyford district.
of Pembina County, North
Dakota until his death at.
age 103 years. We also spent.
several days at my paternal
grandfather’s, ancestral
home in S.-Thingeyarsysla.
hy HARALD S. SIGMAR
Einarstadir, and enjoyed a
brief visit to the farm near-
by where my maternal
grandfather, Sera N. Stein-
grimur Thorlaksson had
been brought up, Ljótssta'ðir
in Ljósavatnsskarði.
Two decades have now
passed by since our memor-
able experiences in Iceland
began. Some memories havc
faded a bit. But our firsl.
Christmas stands out with
the sharp brightness and
beauty of our first. landing
at Reykjavik airport..
Shortage of money has
usually created feelings of
frustration for me in antici-
nating the Christmas season.
But seldom had t.hat probl-
em been as acute for us as in
1957 with the “inflation” al-
ready affecting Iceland’s eco
nomy. For examble I re-
member the sacrifice of 500
krónur (at that time about
$30.) to buy an imported
Christmas Tree from Nor-
way.
We counted heavily on the
promise of presents from
family members in the State
of Washington. We had only
been able to afford to buy
one small gift for each of the
children. But the ship which
brought the gifts from Ame-
rica did not arrive until aft-
er Christmas. So there wer<
just four little packages und
er the tree. To our joy and
amazement, the children
were delighted with the lit-
tle that they received in the
way of material gifts. Per-
haps they had not been blind
ded to the Spirit of the Seas-
ón by too much substance!
Earlier that evening we
headed for the Cathedral
(Dómkirkja) service. On the
way we drove through the
down town district expect-
ing to see some of the ex-
citement and last minute
feverish activity that we
were accustomed to in Ame-
rican shopping district early
on Christmas Eve. What we
did se was a scene as
serene and tranquil as a
Christmas card picture of
the Nativity. Peace had set-
tled on the city as people
had gone to their homes and
churches to Celebrate the
Joy of Christmas.
I’ll never forget the ex-
periénce of having Kristin,
Wally, Karen and Thora on
our laps and squeezed be-
side us in a crowded but re-
verent service of worship. I
have conducted hundreds of
festival services, but never
been as personally tauched
by the meaning of worship
as that one awesome time.
After service, we went to
our apartment on Grenimel
24. The Children seemed to
try to make us happy by
their delighted thankfulness
in their little gifts. On mat-
ure reflection, the consensus
of our children was that this
was the best Christmas in
remembrance, because we
all had to give ourselves to
each other.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★l
Citizens of REYKJAVÍK wish to extend their
SEASONS GREETING'S
to fellow citizens of their Sister City, WINNIPEG