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| Art: Susan Seddon Boulet |
The thirteenth and last day of Christmas is about to be whirled into the vortex of time. The 'Thirteenth' as we call it in Iceland, has as long as I remember been celebrated with bonfires, and parades with santa clauses and trolls singing and dancing. Around the fires the songs of elves travelling in the light of the Moon are sung and people light their last fireworks from New Year‘s Eve! Tonight is namely the night when the elves and the hidden people move between locations, so there is always the chance of us and them crossing paths on this magical eve!
The moon outside my kitchen window was immense tonight, with many colorful circles around it, breathtakingly beautiful. I tried to capture the magic of it on my camera, it worked ok, but with the naked eye it was of course much bigger and I could see all the valleys and the shadows so clearly, and then so majestically embraced by these multicolored 'halos'.
I remember my parents making elfmasks for my sister and I. They were pretty, glittery pretty. I wish I had a photo to post, but just imagine paper eye-masks, covered with foil, with lots of lined up colored paliettes that made the eyebrows. The wholes for the eyes were exceptionally well cut, almond shaped and the tops of the masks were then cut in the shape of flames, very fine indeed. I loved wearing mine, it just made the whole experience of this particular eve of the 'Thirteenth' a very special one!
Below are three famous elf songs sung on New Year's Eve and on the 'Thirteenth' in Iceland. They linger in my Icelandic childhood heart* Enjoy *
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