Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.11.1980, Page 7

WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 21, NÓVEMBER 1980-7
Iceland is Different
continued from page 6
ed Iceland had to travel on foot or by
boat. Later on they were able to travel
on the beautiful little Icelandic ponies.
Then came the cars and buses.
The building of roads was a very for-
midable task because of the moun-
tains, rivers, lava and glaciers. The
huge Vatnajökull was the big obstacle
to the building of the 900 mile road
around the island. Finally in the year
1974 the Icelandic engineers com-
pleted the "ring road" by building a
long bridge over the Skeiðar river.
There have never been any trains in
Iceland. Instead the Icelanders pro-
ceeded directly into the jet age. It is a
matter of great prestige for a country to
have airlines. Many of these are sub-
sidized by the government.
In the year 1937 the first Icelandic
airline was established. It was named
ICELANDAIR and their first ship was
a WACO four seater seaplane. Because
of the war it was limited to domestic
use. In the year 1944 the second airline
was established. It was named
LOFTLEIÐIR. The competition was
great. After the war, in 1947, LOFT-
LEIÐIR abandoned domestic flights
and entered the international field. In
1978 the two airlines were
amalgamated.
It is intereting to note that the first
air pilots were trained by Konrad
Johannesson in Winnipeg.
Travel by taxi in Reykjavík is
evidenced of a progressive, efficient
and a very proved people. In 1971 I
was visiting my cousin Blaka Björns-
dóttir and decided to take a taxi back to
the Hotel Borg. She suggested that we
wait one minute until the time I
wanted to go because they would be
waiting for me. She called the taxi. I
put on my coat and the taxi was
waiting for me. He would not accept a
tip because tipping is not the custom in
Iceland.
8. EDUCATION
There were compensations when the
Icelanders, because of poverty, were
unable to build schools. This did not
quench the thirst for knowledge but
probably increased it, for each home
eventually became a school.
In ancient times, poems from the
Elder Edda were read and recited and
committed to memory. The same ap-
plied to the Icelandic sagas. Lastly, the
hymns were memorized by the young
children. There were always people to
teach them for the education of their
children was an obsession with the
parents. This was not always easy
since the Icelanders are separated from
one another because of rugged terrain.
In the evening in almost every home,
after the day's work was done, the peo-
ple would sit in the common room or
baðstofa and relax by knitting, sewing
or engage in some other activity while
the head of the house or some other
knowledgeable person would read
aloud for all to hear — sagas, poetry,
hymns or special papers of interest.
The reading would be done by the
flickering light of a small miser's oil
lamp. This desire for knowledge made
Iceland the most literate nation in the
entire world.
Because the Icelandic language has
remained virtually unchanged over the
years, a small child is able to read a
book that was written 900 years ago.
The number of books published per
capita is greater than that of any coun-
try in the world.
As part of the educational system,
every child in Iceland is taught how to
swim. The pupils learn Icelandic, the
mother tongue; Danish, because the
Danes have traded with Iceland for
hundreds of years, and English, the
working language of the world. By the
time the students enter university,
they will have added two or more
languages, usually French and German
— making a total of 5 or more
languages. This is indeed amazing.
Most of the people of the world are
unilingual.
9. RELIGION
Many momentous decisions were
made at Thingveillir. An important one
was made in the year 1000. The discus-
sion between two factions whether
Christianity should be made the of-
ficial religion by law or not was very
heated. Many wanted to retain their
pagan ways. Finally, the law-speaker,
a pagan named Thorgeir was chosen to
resolve this very serious matter. The
record reveals that he wanted isola-
tion, darkness and time for reflection.
Because it was summer and the sun
did not set, he covered his head with a
cloak. A day and a night later he cast
off this covering and strode to the
Lögberg (law rock). With authority and
great strength in his voice he ordained
that in the future everyone in the coun-
try should be baptized. Those that
resisted this order were allowed to
pracíice some of their pagan ways pro-
vided they did so in secret. The Roman
Catholic cathedral in Reykjavik, built
atop the highest area is a beautiful
testimonial to the influence of the
Roman church.
continued in next issue
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