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April 2020 LII:iv

The Icelandic Canadian Club of British Columbia

N E W S L E T T E R

We hope you are all doing well and isolating yourself in-place and we hope your relatives

and friends who are in the ‘helping’ professions will be safe and well.

Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, all events have been cancelled or postponed. Listed below are the

events previously scheduled, with some additional information.

Icelandic Language Classes, cancelled and will resume in September 2020.

Icelandic Canadian club of BC Annual General Meeting, will occur when the ‘all-clear’ is sounded.

Scandinavian Community Centre Society AGM, postponed.

Icelandic National League of North America Convention, April 23-25, 2020, in Gimli, Manitoba,

cancelled. No decision as to when it will be held.

Nordic Spirit of Immigrant Women event, schedule April 18/19, postponed.

All events at the Scandinavian Centre cancelled.

Scandinavian Centre

Based on on the guidance of public health authorities, we have made the decision to close the Scandinavian

Centre to the public as of March 20, 2020. The Centre is a community gathering place where we share

Scandinavian culture with people of all ages and backgrounds. However, we must do our part in social

distancing.

While the Scandinavian Centre is closed, the Office is still open for administration. You can contact us

either by phone or e-mail info@scancentre.org. If you wish to come to the Centre, please contact us first.

The Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, scheduled for June 20 and 21, is currently under review. We will be

closely following the COVID-19 updates and government regulations. A decision regarding the festival will

be made by the Scandinavian Centre Board and posted immediately after the Easter long weekend.

Maintaining the health and the safety of those visiting and working at the Centre is our goal. Any further

updates will be posted on our website.

March 20, 2020

The Scandinavian Community Centre to which our club, Icelandic, and the

four other Scandinavian Clubs belong; Danish, Finnish, Norwegian,

Swedish, issued the following announcement.

2 April 2020

101st Icelandic National League of North America Convention, April 23 - 25, 2020, Gimli, Manitoba cancelled

Hőfn, Icelandic Harbour

2020 Harrison Drive, Vancouver, BC

Assisted Living & Affordable Housing

The facility is only 10 years old, open and bright; very inviting—a friendly and caring

place for Seniors.

We have been providing care for Seniors since 1947.

Find us at:

info@icelandicharbour.org or 604-321-3812

Höfn Executive Director, Albert Teng, said today, March 23, 2020, that there is no known virus outbreak

at Höfn and every precaution is being taken to minimize the chance of infection. Staff are all making a

maximum effort to keep everyone safe and cared for at Höfn.

Message from our Icelandic Canadian Club of BC president

Just a few words to wish all our members good health during this difficult time. The Icelandic club has

cancelled the AGM meeting that was suppose to be March 25th. Our next two monthly Board meetings are

scheduled to be on Zoom, thanks to the INL. Icelandic lessons have been postponed until the fall.

We have not made any decision on June 17th or the Scandinavian Midsummer Festival yet, we will keep you

informed both in our newsletter, Facebook pages, Instagram or Linkedin.

Please keep in touch with us on all our social media platforms; we would love to hear from all our members.

I look forward to seeing you all hopefully soon. On behalf of the Icelandic Canadian Club of BC Board, we

wish you all best.

Kristjana Helgason

3 April 2020

Icelanders Sing for Seniors, Live Stream Theatre to Lift Spirits During Pandemic- March 19, 2020. Iceland’s artists and cultural institutions are finding ways to lift the nation’s spirits during the gathering ban to

slow the spread of COVID-19. Whether it’s bringing music to nursing homes on lockdown, or live-streaming book readings, Icelanders are finding new ways of sharing culture from a safe distance.

There is also a direct link to it: https://www.visir.is/k/32a62729-c61e-4e51-add3-02f6cf88e10a-1584551575570?jwsource=fb&fbclid=IwAR0eWXmlVY8B_k3fgQJ54GvwoGOwmGNt_L9H8_tzqGkVZFT3sBgCRRO0kZw.

This is on U-Tube and is 15 minutes long. You will enjoy every minute.

Can be accessed on: https://www.facebook.com/icelandicclubbc/

World History (from Wikipedia): At present, we are part of a world-wide pandemic. The largest previous pandemic

occurred in 1918-1920. The Spanish flu, also known as the 1918 flu pandemic, was an unusually deadly influenza

pandemic. Lasting from January 1918 to December 1920, it infected 500 million people—about a quarter of the

world's population at the time. The death toll is estimated to have been anywhere from 17 million to 50 million, and

possibly as high as 100 million, making it one of the deadliest epidemics in human history.

Ed: At the time, there was neither the medical knowledge of today nor the communications systems, however . . . . .

If you're online, be sure to follow us on social media: Facebook: @icelandicclubbc / Instagram: @iccbc1908 / LinkedIn: Icelandic Canadian Club of BC

4 April 2020

If Iceland were to have a national slogan, it would be ‘þetta reddast’, which roughly translates to the idea that everything will work out all right in the end.

By Katie Hammel, http://bbc.com/travel/story/2

We were somewhere in the remote Westfjords, a large peninsula in Iceland’s north-west corner, when our campervan first stalled. It was late September, the end of the tourist season in a part of Iceland that sees about 6% of the country’s annual tourist numbers, and the roads were all but empty.

The van stalled twice more as my husband and I made the roughly 200km drive from Látrabjarg, a windswept bird cliff perched on the far western edge of Iceland, back to our base in Ísafjörður, the Westfjords’ largest town (pop: 2,600). Once we finally got back to our apartment, we called the campervan rental company and told them the issue. Unfortunately, the town’s mechanic wouldn’t be available before we were due to make the drive back to Reykjavik

Well,” said the campervan agent, “þetta reddast!” A quick Google search informed me that þetta reddast (pronounced thet-ta red-ust) doesn’t mean ‘sorry, I’m not paid enough to care about your troubles’, or ‘try not to get stranded in the middle of nowhere’. It means ‘it’ll all work out in the end’ – and if Iceland had an official slogan, this would be it. The phrase near-perfectly sums up the way Icelanders seem to approach life: with a laid-back, easy-going attitude and a great sense of humour. “It’s just one of those ubiquitous phrases that is around you all the time, a life philosophy wafting through the air,” said Alda Sigmundsdóttir, author of several books about Iceland's history and culture. “It’s generally used in a fairly flippant, upbeat manner. It can also be used to offer comfort, especially if the person doing the comforting doesn’t quite know what to say. It’s sort of a catch-all phrase that way.” At first glance, it seems an odd philosophy for a place where, for centuries, many things absolutely did not work out all right. Since Iceland’s settlement in the 9th Century, its history is littered with the tales of times when þetta reddast did not apply.

If Iceland had an official slogan, this would be it In her book, The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days, Sigmundsdóttir recounts some of these hardships: the long winters; extreme poverty; indentured servitude. There were volcanic eruptions, like the 1783 Laki eruption that killed 20% of the 50,000-strong population, as well as

The Unexpected Philosophy Icelanders Live By

80% of its sheep, which were a vital food source in a country with little agriculture. There were storms that swept in and sank the open rowboats used for fishing, wiping out much of the male populations of entire towns. Things were so bad that even up through the 18th Century, according to Sigmundsdóttir, 30% of babies died before they turned one.

The Iceland of old was an exceptionally hard place to live. And the Iceland of old wasn’t that long ago. “It hasn’t been that long since we were a society of ‘farmers and fishermen, and the seasons and the harsh conditions we lived in had complete control over our lives,” Auður Ösp, founder and owner of I Heart Reykjavik tour company, told me. ‘While Iceland today is an ultra-modern place where wi-fi is abundant, credit cards are accepted everywhere, and the majority of the country is powered by geothermal energy, it was only about 90 years ago that 50% of the population lived in turf houses (traditional homes with walls and roofs made of earth and grass) – so these hardships aren’t such a distant memory. Just 45 years ago, the Eldfell volcano exploded on the small island of Heimaey, spewing millions of tons of ash, engulfing 400 buildings and forcing the evacuation of all 5,000 people who lived there. And just 23 years ago, a massive avalanche decimated the town of Flateyri in the Westfjords, burying more than a dozen homes and killing 20 of the town’s 300 residents.

Even on a day without disasters, Iceland is beholden to the forces of nature. The island moves and breathes in a way few others do; fumaroles exhale steam; hot springs gurgle; geysers belch and bubble; waterfalls thunder. The country sits on the rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, and those plates are slowly moving apart, widening Iceland by about 3cm per year and causing an average of 500 small earthquakes every week. The country’s weather is just as volatile and formidable. Windstorms can reach hurricane force, strong storms can sweep in even in summer, and, on the darkest winter days, the sun shines for just four hours. Eruptions, like the 1783 Laki eruption that killed 20% of the 50,000-strong population, as well as 80% of its sheep, which were a vital food source in a country with little agriculture. There were storms that swept in and sank the open rowboats used for fishing, wiping out much of the male populations of entire towns. Things were so bad that even up through the 18th Century, according to Sigmundsdóttir, 30% of babies died before

5 April 2020

they turned one.

The Iceland of old was an exceptionally hard place to live. And the Iceland of old wasn’t that long ago. “It hasn’t been that long since we were a society of farmers and fishermen, and the seasons and the harsh conditions we lived in had complete control over our lives,” Auður Ösp, founder and owner of I Heart Reykjavik tour company, told me.

Those who live off the land are in constant battle with the elements,” Ösp said. “For example, when it suddenly starts to snow in August, like it happened in the north a few years ago, you need to drop everything and go out and rescue your animals. Or, when there’s a volcanic eruption that disrupts flights all over the world and leaves a bunch of people stranded in Iceland, you need to think on your feet and figure out what to do.” Maybe it makes sense, then, that in a place where people were – and still are – so often at the mercy of the weather, the land and the island’s unique geological forces, they’ve learned to give up control, leave things to fate and hope for the best. For these stoic and even-tempered Icelanders, þetta reddast is less a starry-eyed refusal to deal with problems and more an admission that sometimes you must make the best of the hand you’ve been dealt.

The phrase begins to be a little more understandable when you find out that the first Icelanders weren’t marauding Vikings who bravely sailed across the ocean in

search of new lands to raid and tribes to wage war upon. Rather, they were mostly Norwegian farmers and peasants fleeing slavery and death at the hands of King Harald Finehair in the 9th Century. They so feared his wrath that they risked the 1,500km journey across the rough North Atlantic seas in small open-hulled boats. It’s hard to imagine those early settlers making the journey – one undertaken with no maps or navigational tools – without a little bit of blind hope.

“We couldn’t live in this environment without a certain level of conviction that things will work out somehow, hard as they seem in the moment,” Ösp said. “Þedda redast represents a certain optimism that Icelanders have and this carefree attitude that borders on recklessness. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but we don’t let that stop us from trying.” It’s not that we’re impulsive or stupid,” Ösp continued. “We just believe in our abilities to fix things. With the conditions we live under, we’re often forced to make the impossible possible.”

And in many cases, Icelanders have made the impossible possible. They turned their stunning 2008 economic collapse and the disruptive 2010 eruptions of an unpronounceable volcano into PR opportunities that made Iceland one of the hottest destinations in the world, attracted millions of visitors and turned tourism into one of the main drivers of a now-robust economy.

(Continued on page 6)

Iceland sits on the rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, whose movements result in volcanic eruptions and earthquakes (Credit: Arctic-Images/Getty Images)

6 April 2020

And in 2016, Iceland stunned the sporting world when it beat the odds to become the smallest country to ever qualify for the UEFA European Championship. Iceland beat England to make it to the quarter-finals against France. And though there was little chance they’d win, roughly 8% of the Icelandic population travelled to Paris to cheer on the team (they ultimately lost 5-2).

A 2017 University of Iceland survey showed that nearly half of Icelanders say ‘þetta reddast’ is the philosophy they live by. Perhaps, as Sigmundsdóttir and Ösp suggest, this idea that everything will work out has been infused into Icelandic culture through the centuries. After all, for those who survived – and even thrived – against all odds, everything kind of did work out all right in the end.

“This is just my home-grown theory,” Sigmundsdóttir said, “but I think the Icelanders had to face so many hardships that they learned to meet adversity with a combination of laissez-faire and capitulation. It’s something that became ingrained in the Icelandic people through centuries of living with a climate and landscape that always had the upper hand, against which you had to surrender, again and again, because you couldn’t fight them. It’s difficult in Iceland not to feel your insignificance against the elements.”

“I think this mentality shows that we have a belief in ourselves as a nation and as individuals,” Ösp added. “Who would have believed, for example, that a team from a nation of 350,000 people could make it to the2018 World Cup in Russia? We did – that’s who.”

For my husband and I, that meant trusting that everything would work out on our drive back to Reykjavik. If the ‘þetta reddast’ attitude could help Icelanders thrive on a barely inhabitable rock on the edge of the North Atlantic, surely the same optimism could see us through a few hundred kilometres of remote mountain passes in the unreliable van. So, just like those early settlers who set sail from Norway, we set out with little assurances but a lot of hope. Of course, we had one major advantage: we had mobile phones.

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Why We Are What We Are is a BBC Travel series examining the characteristics of a country and investigating whether they are

true. Join more than three million BBC Travel fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us

(Continued from page 5, The Unexpected Philosopy Icelanders Live By) Guðmudur the Good Contributed by Sunna Furstenau. Icelandic Roots is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization which will search your Icelandic roots. Known by many in our club and recommended. www.icelandicroots.com

Bishop Guðmundur Góði (the good) Arason is IR # I138506. He was born an illegitimate child in 1161 at Grjótá in the Hörgárdalur Valley. He died on the 16th of March, 1237 at the northern seat of the Bishop at Hólar in Skagafjörður. Though Guðmundur did not have any descendants, it is fun to see how these famous people are related to us, where they fit into our story, and learn more about their lives. Guðmundur was ordained as a priest in 1185 at 24-years-old and elected Bishop of Hólar in 1203. There is something very special about the old church, graveyard, school, and the surrounding area. The sign by the road says in Icelandic, ”Welcome home to Hólar.” The statue is dedicated to him and is near the Hólar church and graveyard. He is considered a saint by the people of Iceland but the Catholic Church has not recognized him as a saint. The only recognized Saint from Iceland is Saint Þorlákur. You can read more. Guðmundur blessed many places across Iceland including water, ponds, wells, and land. The water supply for Reykjavík comes from one of the wells he blessed. Bishop Guðmundur performed over forty miracles. Six were contending with demons and each has a story associated with the miracle. He was very generous with the Church’s holdings to assist his countrymen. People heard about his miracles and generosity. After a short time, many poor people came to Hólar for Guðmundur’s charity. The local chieftains became very angry with Guðmundur’s over-generosity. He had many disputes with the local chieftains through his years as a bishop. The Sturlunga Saga tells us that in 1221, Guðmundur was driven away from Hólar during advent and he spent a few months with his followers on an island called Málmey in the Skagafjörður Bay. An ancient spell was placed on the island so no mice or horses can live on Málmey. No married couple can live there longer than 20 years or the wife will disappear. An Icelandic legend says that evil trolls lived on the island of Drangey. This is another island in Skagafjörður near the island of Málmey. Whenever men went to pick eggs or hunt birds at Drangey, they

(Continued on page 8)

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What’s the Status of COVID-19 in Iceland? updated March 23, 2020

The National Police Commissioner raised Iceland’s Civil Protection Emergency level from alert to Emergency/Distress after the first community-transmitted infections of coronavirus were confirmed. The following are the latest statistics regarding COVID-19 in Iceland.

COVID-19 in Iceland – Statistics – March 23, 2020

Confirmed infections = 588 Those in isolation = 537 Hospitalized = 13 Recovered = 51 Number of samples = 10,301

Number of infected persons, by gender = Male 309, Female 279

Origin of Infection = Domestic 249, Foreign 195, Unknown 144

Number of infections by age: 0-9= 11 10-19= 36 20-29= 84 30-39= 103 40-49= 153 50-59= 113 60-69= 68 70-79= 19 80-89= 0 90-99= 1 All these statistics will, of course, change daily.

Kári Stefánsson Slams Data Protection Authority For Weekend Inaction

Over the weekend deCODE CEO, Kári Stefánsson took to Facebook to air his grievances with the Icelandic Data Protection Authority. In a lengthy tirade, he berated officials for taking the weekend off whilst deCODE’s application to release new COVID-19 research was being considered. “Privacy does not work on weekends even though not only Rome, but all the cities of the world are burning,” he wrote on Sunday evening, before

going on to suggest that against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency’s weekend inaction was tantamount to a crime. At the root of Kári’s quarrel with the Data Protection Authority is the proposed release of information about the coronavirus that deCODE has collected through its screening program. According to Kári, deCODE holds vital data about how COVID-19 spreads in the non-high-risk population and this information should be made available to the wider scientific community. As the crisis worsens in Iceland and across the Europe, Kári’s hurry to publish this information is understandable. Iceland has one of the best screening capacities in the world and deCODE is currently sitting on data many countries haven’t got the means to produce. As this research relates to the genetic information of Icelanders screened as part of deCODE’s drive-in testing service there are understandable ethical concerns about data privacy. This is where the Data Protection Authority steps in. It has to OK the release of deCODE’s information, but on Friday it informed Kári that the proposal could not be processed until after the weekend, prompting Kári’s furious Facebook rant. Helga Þórisdóttir, CEO of the Data Protection Authority, has responded to Kári’s complaint in a conversation with Morgunblaðið. Helga seemed to suggest that contrary to Kári’s accusations the agency is in fact working on weekends in the light of current circumstances. She stated that the agency is committed to delivering results today.

Kindly Cancel Criminal Plans, due to COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has not yet managed to kill some people’s sense of humor. The Suðurnes Police Department, Southwest Iceland, posted a special note on its Facebook page: “Due to the situation created by COVID-19, or the coronavirus, as it’s called, the police kindly ask those who have been contemplating breaking the law to cancel all such plans until further notice.” Furthermore, the post encourages the public to do its best to have a virus-free hour from 9-10 pm, as requested by Chief Superintendent Víðir Reynisson at yesterday’s press conference on COVID-19. Víðir closed the press conference by urging the public not to mention the coronavirus at all for one hour last night. “Thank you for your understanding,” the Facebook post of the Suðurnes Police concludes

Movie Theater under Arnarhóll Hill? After reading about the financial trouble of the downtown movie theater Bíó Paradís recently, architect Sigurður Gústafsson dug into his drawer to take a look at an old idea of his: a movie theater to be located under Arnarhóll hill. “We desperately need a center for this popular art form, movies, in this country,” he tells Morgunblaðið.

Iceland Online–March 2020 Compiled by Iceland Review, Iceland Monitor & Reykjavik Grapevine Editorial Staffs

April 2020

The Plover, 1st sign of Spring in Iceland

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The 8-page newsletter is published at the beginning of each month, ten months of the year. A newsletter is not printed in July or August. Material is gratefully received by the 20th of each month. Editor & Publisher:

Margrét Bjarnason Amirault, Tel: 604-688-9082

Distribution: Heather Johnson, Nina Jobin

Membership: Norman Eyford, 778-846-1894

ICCBC Mail: 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC V5B 4P9

Printer: Prism Printing, 203-6th St., New Westminster

Website of the Icelandic Canadian Club of BC:

www.icelandicclubbc.ca

Email: icc_of_bc@hotmail.com

Facebook: @icelandicclubbc

Icelandic National League Website: www.inlofna.org

Icelandic Radio (6 stations): www.xnet.is

Morgunblaðið: http://mbl.is

Ströndin Internet Radio: www.inlofna.org/SIR

Honorary Consul General of Iceland for British Columbia, Glenn Sigurdson, www.glennsigurdson.com

Library & Genealogy

Books written by Icelanders in English or translation are available in the Scandinavian library upstairs. Books in Icelandic are located in the Iceland Room. Information regarding the Genealogy Centre can be obtained from Gerri McDonald, email: gerrimcdonald@shaw.ca

April 2020

Oakridge Lutheran Church

is engaging in a major redevelopment The new worship space is: Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1499 Laurier Ave.,

Vancouver.

fell to their deaths. When Guðmundur became the Bishop at Hólar, he went to the island with several priests and blessed the island with holy water. He wanted the men to find food on the island and he had many hungry and poor people to feed. As they went around the island, a huge and hairy paw came out of the cliff face and started to cut their ropes but the rope was soaked in holy water. The creature said to Guðmundur, “Stop your blessings. Even the evil need a place to live.” Guðmundur did stop the blessings and he declared that area as a refuge for the evil creatures to live. Ever since, there have been fewer accidents at the island, and bird hunters and egg gatherers have been left alone. This place is called Heiðnaberg (Heathen Cliff). No one picks eggs or hunts there. We celebrate Guðmundur Góði (Gudmundur the Good) and remember his life and good works. An interactive map shows his birth (1161) and his death (16 Mar 1237) on his personal page in Icelandic Roots. When you go to Iceland, go to the beautiful Skagafjörður and visit Hólar. it is a very important place in our history. The diocese was founded in 1106 and was one of the two main centers for education in Iceland during the medieval times. The present church, Hólakirkja, was consecrated on the 20th of November, 1763. It is the oldest

(Continued from page 6, Guðmundur the Good) stone church in Iceland. Nearby, you can see a turf house built in 1854. People lived in this house until 1945. The Agricultural School at Hólar began in 1881. You can climb the mountain to Gvendarskál. This is where Guðmundur went every Friday to pray at an altar called Gvendaraltari. Another location at Hólar, which is very special is called Gvendarbrunnar. This is a well blessed by Guðmundur (Gvendur). On the property is a very tall church tower. You can climb stairs up to the church bell. It was built in 1950. This was the 400 year anniversary of another famous bishop’s death. Our common ancestor, Jón Arason, was the last Catholic Bishop in Iceland. He was beheaded 07 Nov 1550 by the Danish crown for not converting to Lutheranism. Two of his sons were also killed this same day. You can find them in the database as IR #I134105 plus his two sons, Björn and Ari, who were also priests. They have many descendants and we can all find our relationship back to Bishop Jón. He is my 12th Great Grandfather. Nearby Hólar is another very special place at the farm, Neðri-Ás. Archealogists have discovered ruins from historic churches on this site. Þorvarður Spak-Böðvarsson, IR #I88244, lived at this site. Our shared stories say that Þorvarður became a Christian in 981 and built a church on his farm. You will find a large stone with a plaque near Neðri-Ás. The Icelandic text translation to English is, 'Þorvarður Spak-Böðvarsson had a church built on this

Guðmundur Statue