Lögberg-Heimskringla - 24.06.1994, Blaðsíða 1

Inside this week
Heimskringla
The lcelandic Weekly
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. janúar 1888 Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 1886
lcelandic Instruction in a Public School..2
Our True Inheritance....................3
Letters to the editor...................4
Shana Stefanson, poet...................5
Raffle Winner goes to lceland...........6
Children's Corner.......................7
108. Árgangur Föstudagur 24. júní 1994
108th Year Publications Mail Registration No. 1667 Friday, 24 June 1994
Númer 23
Number 23
lcelandic
News
Directory
of lcelandic Export:
■ A Direc-
tory of lce-
landic Ex-
p o r t e r s
I994/95 will
be pub-
lished by
the Export
Council of
I c e I a n d
and Midlun
Co. The
book will
contain a
d e t a i I e d
listing of
most lce-
landic pro-
ducts and services. Addresses and
other information on the companies
vyill also be listed to enable foreign
customers to contact each company.
The book was expected to be on the
market by the middle of June. It will
be dístributed, without cost, to for-
eign customers, lcelandic Embassies
abroad as well a$ ínstítutions and
busíness libraries and certain interest
groups. The purpose is to increase
lcelandíc exports.
A fowling cliff
instead of gymnastics:
■ The older children tn Höfða school at
Skagaströnd were invited to try out fowl-
ing cliffs (for collecting birds' eggs) in
Stead of the last class of gymnastics this
spring. Before going for the actual ex-
perience, instructions were given in the
gymnasium. The teacher, Calle Jakob-
sen, is an experienced fowler. He
allowed the children to try out his fowling
outfit with strict supervision. He also
chose a good cliff, with no danger of
falling rocks. Some of the chiidren lost
courage, though, when standing at the
top of a I5 meter precipitous cliff, but
most took the plunge.
CUNNUR ISFELD J
t was a remarkable day in
many ways. Most of all, of
course, it was remarkable
because it was the 50th
anniversary of Iceland’s inde-
pendence from Denmark.
On June 14, 1944, Iceland declared
its independence. Tens of thousands of
people showed up that year on the
plains of Þingvellir, in front of the lake
and in the shadow of the magnificent
cliffs to share in the joy of the occasion.
This year, 50 years later, more than
60,000 people showed up at Þingvellir,
the original site of Iceland’s Alþing,
the world’s first parliament, to celebrate
the occasion.
That is an astonishing number, when
one considers tKat it is 25 per cent of
the population or very nearly so, and
that another 30,000 people attended
festivities in Reykjavík. Other celebra-
tions were held in other parts of the
country as well.
The govemment had been expecting
upwards of 80,000 people, an astonish-
ing figure in a country of only 260,000
— the Canadian equivalent would be
about 7 million people showing up at
one event, in one place on one day.
The weather was not good, and the
event was televised, so that may have
contributed to the lower than expected
attendance. That may have been just as
well. The sixty thousand people who
did show up caused the biggest traffic
jam in Iceland’s history.
Þingvellir, where the celebrations
took place, is about 50 kilometres from
the capital of Reykjavílc. It took two
hours on a bus to travel the 1.5 kilome-
tres from the site of the celebration to
the parking lot: It took another four to
fivehours togetback to the city.
Organizers of the festival are still,
catching hell for the foul up.
People stuck in the gridlock involved
in the leaving of Þingvellir took it in
good spirits, chatting with each other,
drinking coffee and visiting.
Others, however, were less pleased.
Some Canadians on a charter from
B.C. and Alberta never even made it to
Þingvellir, stuck in the traffic and
forced to turn back to Reykjavík. It
was, said one member, a major disap-
pointment to travel so many thousands
of miles only to wind up in a traffic jam
and to miss the festivities altogether.
Even they, however, still had the
experience of being in Iceland for this
major event. Their spirits were only
slightly dampened, a sign perhaps of
the signifigance with which they regard-
ed the event and the seriousness with
which Icelanders and Western
Icelanders regard their
long and colourful his-
tory.
Those who did man-
age to make it to
Þingvellir experienced
something unique. The
kings and queens of Bj^Ton^leaot^
Scandinavia and the
new President of Finland were in atten-
dance, along with representatives of
many other countries, including Liberal
member of Parliament John Harvard, a
Western Icelander from Glenboro,
Manitoba, who represented the
Canadian Govemment.
The warmth of the occasion could be
seen in the reception given at Þingvellir
to King Harold of Norway, whose
country is in the middle of a bitter Cod
War with Iceland over fishing rights
Cont'd. page 3
Harvard represents Canada
at lceland’s 50th Anniversary
Iohn Harvard, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg St. James, was sent
to represent Canada on behalf of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien at the
50th Anniversary celebrations of the Icelandic Republic, June 16-18,
?4.
‘Tt is an honour to be representing Canada at Iceland’s independence
celebrations,” said Mr. Harvard, whose father and matemal grandparents
emigrated from Iceland. “This trip is, in part, a recognition of Canadians of
Icelandic ancestry and their contribution to the building of Canada, espe-
cially in the Province of Manitoba where they settled more than a hundred
years ago.”
Mr. Harvard attended a concert and dinner onThursday, June 16th host-
ed by Davíð Oddson, Prime Minister of lceland. The main part of the pro-
gram on Friday, June 17th was held at Þingvellir, the world’s oldest extant
national parliament dating back to 930 A.D.