Nammidagar

Saturdays in Iceland are sometimes called nammidagar because this is the day when the parents take their kids to the shop and the kids get to buy a bag full of mixed candies from the bins. These bins are in almost every store in Iceland, and, using my cousins as ethnographic field data, it seems every child knows which shop has the best candy of a certain type.

In the States (at least where I grew up), candy is only sold in prepackaged bags, and, of course American style, all through my youth the portions just got bigger and bigger. I have always been a big fan of hlaup, or in English, gummy candy. When I was younger, it was specifically gummybears - I had a ritualized way I would bite off the head of one and then the feet of the next one. So I would buy a bag at the mall, at the movies, whenever. And I would devour the entire pack over the course of a half-hour or so, usually feeling incredibly sick to my stomach. The next time I would buy a bag, I would promise myself I would take it easy, not eat all of it, but then whala! Before I knew it the bag was gone and my appetite shot for a day or two. So then it go to the point where I just simply absolutely had to stop buying gummybears, it seemed there was just no other way to control myself.

Since I've moved here to Iceland, I have periodically participated in nammidagar, usually going to the bins and buying just 3 gummy cherries and 3 gummybears. Or even at the shop, asking the girl for blandaðhlaup, 50kr, a really tiny bag. By having my supply so severely limited, I did not have to even try to exhibit self-control in the actual consumption. This worked rather well.

Three weeks ago, I happened to be at the shop near me which does not have very good hlaup in the bins and thus without really thinking about it, I bought one of the prepackaged Harpo bags of mixed hlaup. As soon as I got it in the car, I tore the bag open. Oh no I thought. What in the world had I done? I'd surely make myself sick.

But nope, I had two pieces on the way home, and then put the bag away, completely forgetting about it. Now the hlaup are all hard, and, guess what? They shall not get consumed. I am afterall capable of controlling myself.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Ég trúi eiginlega ekki á þetta nammidagadæmi (nammi, ekki nummi), að gefa út veiðileyfi á einhverja risastóra poka af nammi einu sinni í viku. Að sjá fólk í Bónus eða Krónunni að versla á föstudögum og með fullar stórar kerrur af gosi, snakki og nammi, maður fær bara ógeð! Krakkarnir mínir hafa aldrei haft nammidag, mega borða nammi hvenær sem er - bara ekki mikið af því.

Gott hjá þér að hafa hemil á þér :D
September 19, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Lissy said…
Things like that happen when the Icelandic Online dictionary site is down, and I am too lazy to go upstairs!
September 19, 2009 at 2:38 PM
Anonymous said…
haha ok :D
September 19, 2009 at 2:48 PM
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