Lögberg-Heimskringla - 20.08.1999, Blaðsíða 6

6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 20 August 1999
ISLENDINGADAGURINN 1999
A Toast to
Iceland
David Gislason
Virðulega Fjallkona, heiðurs
gestur íslands, Sigurður
Helgason, honoured platform
guests, and all of you from far and near
who have gathered to honour the tradi-
tions of the Icelanders’ Day.
It is a great honour and a highlight
for me to oífer the toast to Iceland
today, and in keeping with our tradi-
tions, I want to begin with a few lines of
poetry, I call this one “The Ember.”
The Ember
Beneath the ice a fire glows
And it burns with an ancient will.
The spirit of hope and purpose flows
And breaks forth from the surface chill.
And the spirit dwells in the hearts of
those
Who left that mystic land.
It lingers at length in soft repose,
So far from the íjord-lined strand.
It’s an ember that lives in all of these
That wear the ancient name—
And it only takes the slightest breeze
To fan this spark to a flame.
There is a wonderful magic at work
in the Land of Ice, I have seen its
eífects, and I have felt its eifects. Young
people from my community made their
first visit to Iceland last summer, and
they came home aflame from the expe-
rience. Through the Millennium 125
organization, we have found people
everywhere across this country who are
eager to work with us in hosting events
which Iceland will sponsor in Canada in
celebration of the turn of the millenni-
um, and our special place in it.
Of all the cultural groups that make
up this great country, Canada, we alone
can look to the earliest recorded history
of our country, and claim an affinity
with it. The sagas relate the accounts of
Icelandic seafarers, sailing from Iceland
and Greenland, to the shores of North
America one thousand years ago. While
long held in doubt, the hard evidence
was found at L’Anse Aux Meadows in
Newfoundland, where Leif’s Búðir,
(Leifur’s encampment) has been recon-
structed. Next summer an authentic
viking ship will sail those waters again,
from Iceland to Greenland and down to
the Vinland of old, to Leif’s Búðir at
L’Anse Aux Meadows.
The Saga of the Greenlanders,
“Grœnlendinga Saga,” and the Saga of
Eric the Red, “Eiríks Saga Rauða,” in
very brief and dramatic terms give us a
unique window into this distant past,
and introduce us to some of the key per-
sonalities. These remarkable writings
introduce us to one of the most interest-
ing people among the Vinland trav-
ellers, the woman Guðríður
Þorbjamardóttir.
Here we have the epitome of the
Icelandic woman, gracious, attractive,
poised and sure of herself. A woman
who inspired others, and who acted out
her dreams with unfailing courage.
Without question the most widely trav-
elled woman of her time, and for cen-
turies to come. She, and about one hun-
dred sixty of her countrymen, survived
the rigours of two or three years in this
untamed land. Here, some scholars say,
in what is now New Brunswick, she
gave birth to a son, Snorri, the first child
of European ancestry born in this new
world.
The Leifur Eiríksson Millennium
Commission of Iceland, under the lead-
ership of Sigurður Helgason who is
with us today, has accepted our propos-
al, and will present, on behalf of the
people Iceland, to the people of Canada,
a statue of this heroic woman and her
child.
The statue is a replica of an original
by Asmundur Sveinsson, one Iceland's
finest sculptors, and will be unveiled
with fanfare at the Canadian Museum
of Civilization, across the river from the
Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. This
will be one of the highlight events of
our Millennium year, and a very effec-
tive way to tell the story, as the statue
will stand at the entrance to the “Norse
Hall,” the first exhibit in the permanent
“Canada Hall” which relates the history
of our country from the arrival of these
first Europeans, our ancestors.
We have much to celebrate in the
coming year. One thousand years since
the Vinland voyages took place, and
one hundred twenty-five years since
Icelandic settlers came to this country a
second time, this time to stay. We are
the most fortunate of people! We have
witnessed the greatest changes imagina-
ble in a lifetime, and, historically, we
will be among the very few to greet the
arrival of a new millennium.
We will publish a complete calen-
dar of events for the millennium year,
and it will be a full slate. For me, as
chairman of the Millennium 125
Commission, the most significant
aspect of this all is a new and strength-
ened relationship with Iceland.
We now have in our midst Iceland’s
first career diplomat posted in Canada.
Svavar Gestsson has been appointed
Consul General for Iceland to Canada,
and plans are to eventually open an
embassy in Ottawa. Increased trade and
increased travel between our countries
will result, along with a whole new
awareness of what Iceland is and has to
offer, and what, together, we can
achieve. Iceland offers a great deal to
Canada in the Millennium year, and in
return we offer the stage upon which
these events will unfold—a great part-
nership.
It’s heartwanning to reflect on the
number of people and organizations in
Iceland who have expressed an interest
in coming here to share their culture
and their talents with us as we celebrate
this milestone. In particular, I am
amazed and delighted at the number of
excellent choirs that spring from this
small island nation. We have one with
us today, the Men from Kjalarnes, a fine
example of this wonderful Icelandic tra-
dition. And on occasions such as this,
when Icelanders and Canadians of
Icelandic descent gather in the same
place, were it not for a slightly darker
tan on this side, you could not distin-
guish one group from the other, as we
are, indeed, the same people!
The flag of Iceland flies proudly
here today, as it ever has on this occa-
sion. In a tradition as old as Islendin-
gadagurinn, we offer a toast to the land
of our forefathers.
Iceland, we celebrate with you the
achievements of the distant past. We
share your pride, and we salute you!
We reflect on the dark years of the
middle ages. We share your sadness,
and we salute you!
We commemorate the outreach that
led to our new beginnings one hundred
twenty-five years ago. We reach out our
hand and we salute you!
May your skies be ever blue, your
valleys green, your glaciers white and
your oceans bountiful—we salute you!

Hceknötc Síatúnutl ICcaguc
©rgauigEi) lfllö Jlucorporatcii lfl3U
The Icelandic National League extends best wishes to the Lögberg-
Heimskringla for this special anniversary issue of the newspaper. We
recognize the 40th Anniversary of the two newspapers, Lögberg and
Heimskringla, and look forward to a third century of publication
as the Millennium approaches.
Support Icelandic Culture and Heritage. Join your local chapter or write to:
The Icelandic National League
Box 99, Gimli, MB, ROC 1B0
Phone (204) 642-5897
Fax (204) 642-7151
e-mail: inl@ecn.mb.ca
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