Last day of Christmas

TODAY is þrettándinn in Iceland. More popularly known as the last day of Christmas, it is also thought to be an acknowledgment of Old Christmas mainly because in the old days this is the date that Christ's birthday was marked before Rome formally moved it to the 25th of December.

I don't really know what happens on þrettándinn, except that the last of the 13 Icelandic Santa Clauses is supposed to be visiting happy kids (incidentally this Santa Claus is also known as the candle thief) and that all right-thinking Icelandic housewives should be taking down all things Christmasy. Since I am not Icelandic (nor a housewife),  is enough of an excuse to be lazy and leave the "taking down all things Christmasy" until I feel like it...which means not until February.

Coming from a country like the Philippines where Christmas starts right after Nov. 2 (some even say from September) and ends just before February, taking down Christmas lights and Christmas trees before January is done seems like a very un-Christian thing to do. Add to the package the Scandinavian darkness outside my windows, it just does not compute. So, laziness+darkness=Christmas decor up until the end of January (hopefully).

However, I am told that here in Reykjavik, trolls, elves and locals are expected to party around a bonfire while Santa Claus bids everyone goodbye. Meanwhile, I stay at work communing with the trolls, elves and locals of the psychiatric ward.

Happy New Year everyone and cheers!

    Mynd fra: http://gudgeirjons.blogspot.com/