First day of summer in Iceland (21/04)

The first day of the month of Harpa, according to the ancient Icelandic calendar —, is the First Day of Summer (Sumardagurinn Fyrsti), which is currently a public holiday in Iceland and is celebrated on the first Thursday after April 18.

The origin of Harpa's month name has been lost in the centuries, but with the light hand of the romantics of the 19th century, Harpa began to be depicted as a young girl, the daughter of Torrey and Goa — of the last winter months. By the way, according to one version, Harpa is considered the female name of one of the forgotten goddesses.

If the previous two months were devoted to the spouse, respectively, then the meeting of the first summer month belongs entirely to unmarried girls.

Some villages in Iceland have developed special traditions associated with unmarried girls. For example, in some areas, every day of the month was dedicated to one of the unmarried girls (according to the established procedure, depending on the place of residence). The weather on this day served as a reason for «hairpins» addressed to the girl’s temperament. Another fun was that the girls pulled out the names of unmarried guys who were supposed to come on the first day of the next month — Lonely Month.

The people did not forget about the unmarried and, alas, middle-aged: the eldest bachelor of the village « received the first unmarried girl who came to visit. The next day the same applied to the second oldest and so on.

In modern Iceland, colorful festivals, parades, fairs, sports competitions and other festive events take place throughout the country on this day. The first day of summer has been a public holiday and a non-working day since 1921. This is one of the official flag days in Iceland (days when the national flag is raised on government buildings).

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