Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.03.1980, Síða 5

Lögberg-Heimskringla, föstudagur 7. mars, 1980
5
sson, king of the Norwegians and
Danes, was comtemplating a
military expedition to Iceland and
sent a wizard there to explore the
feasibility of an invasion. The
wizard turned himself into a
whale, swam to Iceland, but was
unable to get ashore because
wherever he came he was met by
the guardian spirits of Iceland who
quickly convinced him that the
Icelandic nation was invincible.
The mythological frame of Snorri’s
story presents the country and the
peop'.e as a unified whole and gives
expression to a very deep-seated
sentiment familiar to all Icelan-
ders. The guardian spirits in
Snorri’s story are a mythologized
extension of Iceland and the time-
honoured bonds that unite all
descendants of that country. We
all have our guardian spirits. Even
though we may no longer give
them food offerings, they still
demand a spiritual sacrifice which
can best be offered by maintaining
the perpetuating what we con-
sider important in our heritage.
The þorrablot festivals are an
appropriate recognition of that
fact.
Tests of Endurance:
Having discussed briefly the
meaning of the word borrablot
and a few aspects of sacrificial
feasts, we may consider the
history of Porrablot celebrations
in modern times. In the late 19th
century Icelandic students at the
University of Copenhagen decided
to revive this ancient feast, and
shortly afterwards the Icelandic
Club in Winnipeg, Helgi Magri,
followed suit.
The club held a famous
Porrablot in Winnipeg, in 1903.
After the chairman’s remarks, the
Reverend Fridrik Bergmann
proposed a toast to Iceland, then
the well-known song “0, fogur er
vor fosturjord” was sung. Next
Mr. Skafti Brynjolfsson proposed
a toast to the ladies, which was
followed by the song
“Fosturlandsins freyja.” Next
Magnus Palsson proposed a toast
to the pioneers and spoke about
the significance of þorrablot
celebrations. Mr. Palsson’s speech
was followed by a fairly lengthy
musical program, and then the
poet of the evening, Mr. Hannes
Blondal, was introduced and gave
readings from his poetry. Im-
mediately after, the main speaker
of the evening Baldvin L. Bald-
winson was introduced, and he
gave a long speech on the history
of the Icelandic settlements in
North America. Then the second
guest speaker of the evening, the
Reverend Bjarni Borarinsson was
introduced. He proposed a toast to
the district of Eyjafjordur in
North Iceland. Reverend
Borarinsson’s speech was suc-
ceeded by a musical program,
whereupon the third guest
speaker, Mr. Wilhelm Paulson
was introduced. Mr. Paulson
proposed a toast to his Majesty
the King, and gave a run-down of
the main kingdoms western
civilization has known. The
program was then concluded by
the singing of the national an-
thems, whereupon, one must
assume people hurried out on the
dance floor.
The Longest Program in History:
This brief summary of the
program of the 1903 t’orrablot in
Winnipeg should convince us that
the Winnipeg Icelanders must
have celebrated the longest
Aíowfareand
a stoporcr ln fcdand?
PulYÍiLstliliiktluitis
a niighty good deaL
Now you can take ádvantage of our $20* a day stopover tours
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from NewYork, Chicago, or Baltimore/Washington to Great
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of the most intéresting countries in the world.
Iceland is a land of volcanoes, Viking museums, glaciers,
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pools. And it’s all ýours for 1 to 3 days for just $20* a day.
That price includes room with bath/shower at the érst class
Hotel Loftleidir, transfers between Hotel and airport, a sightseeing
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So on your next trip to Norway, Sweden, Denmark or Great
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For further information see your travel agent or contact
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212-757-8585 (New York City only) or call 800-555-1212 for
the toll-free number in your area. •PricesineífectOct.ithru
April 30,1980 and subject to change.
borrablot in human history. It
probably came close to being as
long as the religious services in
New Iceland, on Lake Winnipeg,
were in the olden days. The poet
Guttormur J. Guttormsson once
told me that, from his childhood
days, he remembered having
attended a sermon that lasted for
almost six hours including in-
termissions for both lunch and
afternoon coffee.
Fond Memories:
I have some very fond memories
of f*orrablot celebrations myself.
A few years ago I was invited to
address an American-Icelandic
gathering at their t’orrablot in one
of the bigger cities in the United
States. This organization then
adhered to the rule of having the
program entirely in Icelandic, so
that I was instructéd to give my
speech in my mother tongue. The
celebration took place in the
basement of a hotel in an area
sectioned off by curtains, so that
two banquets could be held in the
hotel basement at the same time.
As I started my speech, I im-
mediately realized that there
would be very few people in the
audience able to understand
Icelandic. However, I proceeded,
hoping that people would at least
be able to appreciate the rhythm
of my speech. But no sooner had I
started then I r£m into a very
difficult kind of competition with a
brass band concert on the other
side of the curtains. I tried to raise
my voice, but then another highly
unusual incident occurred. One of
the head-table chairs collapsed
and a certain guest of honour fell
on the floor. Pretending that I had
not noticed the incident,-1 kept on
with my Icelandic speech until the
second chair collapsed and an
elderly gentleman fell on the floor.
Fortunately, there were two
Icelandic doctors in the audience,
and they immediately rushed to
the scene, but soon announced
that although there had been no
. injuries, the chairs in the halls
were obviously not at all safe to sit
on. The doctors, who were both on
Íhe executive committee of the •
'orrablot celebration, were in-
censed and demanded an im-
mediate explanation from the
chairman as to who had been
responsible for renting these
wretched chairs. The chairman
said that the doctors had, and I
continued with my speech, still
pretending that I was unaware of
the rapidly deteriorating
situation, and miraculously
managed to finish it. As I had been
talking, I had noticed an elderly
lady in the audience who appeared
to have been listening to me with
sympathetic understanding. With
the formal part of the program
over, this lady came to me and
praised me very highly for my
performance. “But I wonder,” she
said, “if you would be kind enough
to tell me what language you were
speaking in.” I told her it was
Icelandic. “That is interesting,”
she replied. “As we were
discussing this at our table, my
husband, who is of Norwegian
descent, said, “I bet you anything
this fejjow is speaking in one of the
Scandinavian dialects.”
Cont. on page 7
Lotest News
MDKIEF
Three of lcelands opera singers
From left: Elisabet Erlingsdóttir, Guðmundur Jónsson
and Kristúm Hallsson
La Traviata:
In February the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra staged Verdi's
La Traviata. About 150 people were involved in the performance.
Mr. Gilbert Levine from the United States, with the assistance of
his compatriot Sue Marie Peters, was the symphony’s guest
conductor on this occasion.
During the winter season the Icelandic Symphony holds con-
certs every other week in Reykjavik. In addition, concerts are
occasionally staged in various other parts of the country.
The National Theatre of Iceland stages one opera every year,
usually at the time of Christmas or in the spring. The Christmas
performance this winter was Orpheus and Eúrydice.
AHEAVYTOLL
In 1979 12 Icelandic ships were lost. From 7 of these the crews
escaped unharmed. In 2 instances, there was partial rescue. In 2 of
them, the entire crew perished. Altogether fifteen men were
drowned at sea. The year was free of fatalities among those
working on-board Icelandic fishing vessels, whereas five men died
in industrial accidents on land in the same period.
Icelandk night-life uninteresting:
More than 650 tourists visiting Iceland were recently polled on
various aspects of services accorded them. They were asked to
state what had interested them most of their visit, what they
thought of Icelandic hotels, restaurants, night-life in Iceland,
camping areas, etc. In general, their answers indicated
satisfaction. However, 50 percent of the informants expressed
their disappointment in Icelandic night-life, which they felt could
only be rated as poor.
Canadian films in Iceland:
In February the people of Reykjavik were treated to a special
film festival with a truly international flavour. Among the number
of films shown were two from Canada, both of which deal with the
F.L.Q. crisis in Quebec and Prime Minister Trudeau’s invocation
of the War Measures Act. One of the fílms is a straight
documentary including among other things very interesting
glimpses of Mr. Trudeau fighting it out with reporters. The other
highlights the people who claim that they were the victims of the
crisis and that they were harangued by the military and even
incarcerated without any valid reasons. One may therefore say
that the people of Iceland have at last been duly informed on two
important aspects of a bizarre event which, in its time, had strong
repercussions right across Canada.
j líí
Que Otiws
To ReWase
From a Canadian Film