The White Falcon - 02.04.1993, Side 4

How Easter is celebrated in Iceland
By Arni Hilmarsson
Family Service Center
The Easter celebrations in Iceland start on
Palm Sunday (Palmasurmudagur in Icelandic),
the Sunday before Easter.
Sheer Day
The Thursday following Palm Sunday is
called Sheer Day or Maundy Thursday
(Skirdagur in Icelandic). Sheer Day is cele-
brated in commemoration of the Last Supper,
when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.
Sources from the 18th and 19th centuries
indicate that a mud-thick, milk-and-rice por-
ridge, cooked until it acquired a pinkish tone,
was served on the morning of Sheer Day
before people went to church. Such porridge,
was long considered a great delicacy, for it is
often mentioned specifically as a holiday
treat. However, it was said to have made the
people so gaseous that the air in church on
Sheer Day often smelled less than fresh.
Current celebration of Sheer Day is much
like any Sunday in Iceland. People get the
day off from work, and stores are closed.
Candy shops and theaters are open, and the
public transportation system runs on a Sun-
day schedule.
Long Friday
Following Sheer Day is Long Friday, or
Good Friday (Fostudasgurinn Langi in Ice-
landic). This day commemorates the long
suffering of Christ on the cross.
On no other day of the year were children
as strictly forbidden to indulge in any fun or
games as they were on Long Friday. Some
even made it a custom to spank the children
thoroughly on Long Friday for all their sins
and transgressions during Lent.
Church services are held on Long Friday,
but no stores or other services operate that
day. Nor is there entertainment of any kind.
Easter Sunday
Easter is called Paskar in Icelandic. Some
people maintain that there was a Germanic
spring goddess by the name of Ostara and that
the name Easter is derived from her name. A
more exciting possibility is that the word
Easter is derived from the name Astaroth, the
goddess in old sun worship. Interestingly,
sun worshippers celebrated the birth of As-
taroth at Easter time, after abstaining from
meat for a period of time. If this explanation
for the name of Easter celebration is true,
than it would also explain why the egg plays
such a big role in the Easter celebrations
today.
Candy/fortune - filled Easter eggs
Story and photo by JOC Terry Barnthouse
Nearly all of the Easter egg traditions we
cherish in the U. S. were cooked up by other
cultures. While stationed in Iceland, you
have the unique opportunity to taste the tradi-
tional Icelandic Easter egg treat - the fortune
and candy-filled chocolate Easter egg.
The custom of the Easter egg was laid in
Iceland in the 1920s when the first chocolate
egg was bakery-hatched in a small oval form
in Reykjavik. As the confectionary industry
grew, the Icelandic Easter egg took on a
larger hollow form, filled with sweet treats
and a fortune.
The workers at the Mona and Noi Sirius
candy factories whip up these special eggs
only once a year for sale in Iceland and export
to Scandanavian countries.
First, powdered chocolate is mixed to make
liquid chocolate. The liquid is kept at a con-
stant temperature and then poured into egg
shell shaped molds. Then, the molds are
placed on a conveyer and pass through a
cooler and then onto the decoration stage.
The eggs are filled with candy and a fortune
before they are glued together with liquid
chocolate, then bagged and made ready for
the consumer.
Get a taste of the Easter season by cracking
into one of these unique Icelandic fortune
eggs. The eggs come in many sizes and may
be purchased in stores off base, or the Navy
Exchange and Mini-Mart.
There is another popular myth surrounding
the Easter egg. The laying of eggs by the
birds in the spring were celebrated in an
festival”. This celebration was later linki
the paschal feast, and on Easter momirij
children were allowed to go outside to gather
eggs. In many places, the Easter bunny is
believed by children to have brought and
hidden eggs. Rabbit meat was and is a
y *e_
40
common spring delicacy in central Europe.
After the introduction of Lent, it could not be
eaten until Easter. This is the origin of the
pictures of images of Easter bunnies, which
often were made of wax or on baked dough.
As time passed, instead of merely eati
the eggs, people began to decorate them,
contents would be sucked out of the she!
which was then painted or otherwise covered
with pictorial designs. This craft is most
advanced and probably also oldest among
Slavic people, many decorated Easter eggs
are considered works of art.
Whitsunday
On Easter Sunday all shops and the trans-
portation system are closed.
During the Easter week, Lutheran confir-
mation ceremonies are held. All the friends
and relatives gather together to give presents
to the teenager. At the close of the confirma-
tion day the teenager and his/her parents
receive communion at their local church.
Ligh^.
m
;hel^^^
Easter Information
A Jewish Sabbath Service will be held
tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the Multi-faith
Chapel. Call ext. 4111 for more informa-
tion.
A Community Easter Sunrise Service
will be held at 7 a.m. on Sunday, April
11, in the main Chapel.
A free non-denominational perform-
ance of The Last Supper will be held on^
Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel <
4
The White Falcon