Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.02.2019, Síða 5

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Lögberg-Heimskringla • 1. febrúar 2019 • 5
David Gislason and his wife, Judy Sólveig
Richardson, were guests of Alþingi, the Icelandic
parliament, at its special session at Þingvellir on
July 18, 2018, which was held to commemorate the
100th anniversary of Danish and Icelandic authorities
completing work of the Act of Union, which recognized
the independence of Iceland as a sovereign nation
that shared a king with Denmark. David was invited
to speak at the official gala dinner held later that day
at Hótel Saga in Reykjavík. This is a translation of
David’s remarks from the original Icelandic.
Forseti Íslands, virðulegir gestir:
My wife Judy and I feel very honoured
today. It is a great pleasure for us to join you
here in celebration, as a hundred years have gone by
since Iceland gained full independence as a sovereign
nation. We bring you the heartfelt good wishes of the
untold multitude across the sea whose roots reach
back to Iceland, and who join you in celebrating this
moment in time.
There are a great many people in North
America today who share your sense of pride in this
achievement. While it is difficult to suggest an exact
number, it is generally considered that there are as
many people of Icelandic origin in North America
today as there are Icelandic citizens living in Iceland.
They are immensely proud of their Icelandic heritage,
and they share with you today your well-earned sense
of accomplishment.
There are many ways in which Icelandic culture
manifests itself in our part of the world today, many of
which are that deeply embedded that perhaps we tend
to take them for granted. Icelandic foods, for example.
Among their offerings, on a daily basis, the Arborg
Bakery advertises its “Icelandic brown bread.” While
it may not quite compare with the rye bread baked in
the natural heat of your Icelandic lava, it does make a
statement!
On his pedestal and sheltered by the spreading
limbs of the evergreen trees at the Manitoba
Legislative grounds in Winnipeg, you can find a statue
of Jón Sigurðsson. This statue is a replica of the one
found on the grounds of the Alþingi here in Reykjavík.
Every year on the 17th of June, people of Icelandic
descent gather at the statue in Winnipeg to celebrate
the birthday of this determined freedom fighter who
laid the foundations for Icelandic Independence and
sovereignty.
Yes, every statue has its tale to tell, and none less
than the ones of Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir and her
young son, Snorri Þorfinnsson. Replica statues of these
early Icelandic and Greenlandic adventurers reach back
over a thousand years. They have been preserved at
Glaumbær in Iceland, and are now on display at the
National Library and Archives Building in Ottawa.
The essence of the Icelandic Þorrablót is widely
held, both in Canada and the United States, and, if
anything, is gaining in popularity as people enjoy
celebrating this unique Icelandic festivity.
The Icelandic language lives on in manifold ways.
People young and old take the opportunity to register
for Icelandic classes at the University of Manitoba, the
only Department of Icelandic Language and Literature
outside of Iceland. In addition to this formal teaching
at the university level, there are many enthusiasts
across the country teaching Icelandic voluntarily.
Among the many immigrants who arrived in
Canada and the United States around the turn of the
nineteenth century was a group of young men and
women who arrived here prior to the years of the
First World War. They arrived in Canada and the
United States, and many enlisted in the Canadian and
U.S. armies. As newly minted citizens of their new
countries, they wanted to do their part.
Even they did not forget the important issues of the
day in Iceland. The other day, I was turning the pages
of a remarkable book entitled Minningarit Íslenskra
Hermanna (Memorial to the Icelandic Servicemen)
when one of the entries caught my attention. It read
this way: “With a burning interest he kept up to date
on the developments in the Independence movement
in Iceland, even though he did not live to see that
issue fully resolved.”
I was very moved that from the depths of the
trenches of war there were those who had not
forgotten the country of their birth.
The Icelandic immigrants did not forget. Their
letters home were many, and collectors published
them in thick volumes, which give us an insight on
life in their time.
Many would have wanted to return “home to
Iceland,” as they phrased it, if even for a brief visit. My
amma and afi were among those. Afi was able to visit
Iceland once in his declining years. My amma, however,
had become too frail to manage the trip. She expressed
her longing in the way of so many Icelanders, through
poetry. I have translated her poem to English, as follows:
Yearning
To clamber the hills to the highlands
And gaze on the view to the West
This would be a strenuous journey
And hard underfoot, at its best.
How oft in my mind I’m transported
Down the paths of my youth of yore
Where my footsteps lie imprinted
On the trails I trod before.
If only on just one occasion
All this once more I might see
Who knows what could happen
Perhaps it is yet to be.
– Steinunn Bjarnason;
translated by David Gislason
David Gislason
Arborg, MB
“Every statue has its tale to tell”
Aldarafmæli sjálfstæðis og fullveldis Íslands 2018
Remarks on the centennial of the independence and sovereignty of Iceland
Dawn of Peace
As the sun’s bright rays shine after rain
And nourish flowers and trees,
So for the human hearts that throb,
Now comes the dawn of peace.
Each little bird that lifts a wing,
Each flower beneath the snow,
The stalwart, stately forest trees
And mighty waves that flow:
All now rejoice that din of war
Is over and the plight is done.
That now once more on fragrant fields
There shines a peaceful sun.
The tears that were of sorrow shed
Now glisten bright with joy;
As mother, wife, or sweetheart fair
Each thinks of her dear boy.
And even those that mourn are glad
And with the rest rejoice;
Though when the trains are coming in
They cannot greet their boys.
Yes, when we mention those that mourn
Our hearts are filled with pain.
For out on silent Flander’s fields,
Their thoughts are with the slain.
For those that fought and bravely died
For what they thought was right,
We always will have cherished thoughts
As long as dawns a light.
Oh, wilt thou bird in bright array
Just fly across the main
And sing beside each silent grave,
Of all our noble slain.
And tell them that through sorrow’s clouds
There shines a little ray
That brings dear memories of them
Though they are far away.
Bergþór Emil Johnson
This poem commemorating the end of the
First World War first appeared in Lögberg
on February 27, 1919.