Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.12.2019, Page 14

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14 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • December 1 2019
In 1814 and 1815, Ebenezer
Henderson became the first
Englishman (technically
Scotsman) to spend the winter
in Iceland. He was there to sell
and give away Icelandic bibles.
He was devout, well educated,
a brilliant linguist, and utterly
determined to spread the word
of God. He was a keen observer
and, during his year in Iceland,
he made enough observations
to fill a two-volume book based
on his visit.
He has a chapter (Chapter
IX) that describes winter in
Iceland. I thought, when I first
read Iceland or the Journal
of a Residence in that Island,
during the years 1814 and
1815, that it would describe
various Christmas customs
practiced by the local people
of Reykjavík since he spent the
winter there.
He does describe the
weather. He says that, “On the
6th of December, with clear
weather and a light breeze
from the east-north-east, it
sunk to 8º 30”, after which
especially toward the end of
the year, the weather became
remarkably mild and continued
in this state till near the middle
of January.” He adds that there
was a lot of snow, so much so
that there was great distress
among the peasants because
they ran out of hay. He says
that the Northern Lights were
exceptional.
In Iceland Review there
were some reports a year ago
about the danger of traveling
in Iceland. Here is what
Henderson has to say about
winter travel in 1814-15: “The
distance between the houses;
the dreadful chasms and rents
in the lava hidden by snow; the
rivers either choked full of ice,
or but slightly frozen … all
combine to present obstacles,
which few have the courage, or
physical strength to surmount.”
In winter, “The men
are occupied in fabricating
necessary implements of iron,
copper and wood, &c.; and
some of them are wonderfully
expert, as silversmiths … They
also prepare hides for shoes;
make rope of hair or wool; and
full the woolen stuff.”
The women, “Besides
preparing the food … employ
their time in spinning, which
is most commonly done with
a spindle, and distaff; knitting
stockings, mittens, shirts, &c.
as also in embroidered bed-
covers, saddle clothes, and
cushions.”
“Reykiavik,” he says, “is
unquestionably the worst place
in which to spend the winter in
Iceland. The tone of society
is the lowest that can well be
imagined. Being the resort of
a number of foreigners, few of
whom have had any education,
and who frequent the island
solely for the purposes of
gain, it not only presents a
lamentable blank to the view
of the religious observer, but is
totally devoid of every source
of intellectual gratification.
The foreign residents generally
idle away the short-lived day
with the tobacco pipe in their
mouth, and spend the evening
playing at cards, and drinking
punch. They have two or three
balls in the course of the winter,
and a play is sometimes acted
by the principle inhabitants.”
And there you have it. Not
a single word about Christmas.
Not a word about any marking
of the birth of Christ in church
or out. No mention of local
customs. No Yule lads, not
even to disparage pagan ways.
No Christmas cat. No ogres or
giants. No potatoes in shoes.
No new piece of clothing. No
Christmas songs inside or
outside the church.
Did he just not think they
were worth writing about? He
describes in detail the fishing,
the farming, many aspects of
daily life. He tells us about
the reaction of both wealthy
and poor to receiving a new
Bible. But not a word of any
celebration of Christmas.
It may just be the because
of the church to which he
belonged, but he goes to
such great effort to record
everything around him that it
seems a shame, if there were
Christmas celebrations among
the Icelanders (I wonder
who those other foreigners
in Reykjavík were who were
such a bad lot) that he didn’t
record them for us.
Ebenezer Henderson’s silence about Christmas in Iceland
W.D. Valgardson
Victoria, BC
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Rev. Ebenezer Henderson (1784-1858)