Sumardagurinn fyrsti vs. Earth Day

Tomorrow all the schools and many of the businesses are closed here in Iceland because of the first day of summer. Many of the townships, as I have already noted, are putting together programs and activities on this day and weekend for kids and families.

Though I do not think this is a terrible idea, I rather preferred the way Californians commemorate the day after the spring equinox. Though it is not generally speaking a day off, Californians still make a big deal out of Earth Day, which is usually on the 21st or 22nd of April. I guess Icelanders feel like they do not need to follow the lead of the rest of the world, and want to carry on with their own ideas of how to mark the change of the seasons.

But despite these misgivings, and the President of Iceland's prediction that a Katla eruption is eminent, I will try my best to just relax and enjoy tomorrow, and not think too much that I could instead be at the Earth Day parade in San Francisco. Besides, I am sure Palmer will enjoy the huge indoor bouncy castle that will be erected at Atlantic Studios.

Comments

Anonymous said…
tja, sumardagurinn fyrsti er eini séríslenski frídagurinn og hátíðin - megum við fá að halda honum? ;)
April 21, 2010 at 11:41 PM
Björn Friðgeir said…
Sumardagurinn fyrsti er 1000 (þúsund) ára gamall dagur. Earth day er 40 ára gömul uppfinning.
Þetta er dónaskapur að bera þetta saman eins og þú gerir það, segi það alveg eins og mér finnst það. Nógu mikið af bandarískum hefðum hefur verið troðið upp á okkur
April 22, 2010 at 2:01 AM
Heiða said…
Það er dónaskapur, Björn Friðgeir, að vera með ásakanir um dónaskap í kommentakerfi. Allir meiga blogga og hafa sínar skoðanir, það er ekkert dónalegt við það. Persónulega finnst mér sumardagurinn fyrsti vera tímaskekkja, því það er aldrei komið sumar þá. Taka bara upp Dag jarðarinnar þann 22. apríl og færa sumardaginn fysta fram til 22. maí, þá er líklega (vonandi) orðið hlýtt og gott úti. Hættiði svo að vera svona hörundsár, það er ekkert smá pirrandi.
April 22, 2010 at 1:52 PM
Lissy said…
"Though I do not think this is a terrible idea, I rather prefer" -- to quote myself above. I am pretty sure in most rhetoric books that would not count as any sort of huge indictment or harsh judgement.

I am well aware of how old sumardagurinn fyrsti is as a tradition, and I am quite sure Earth Day grows out of its ORIGINAL intent as a day to think about the natural world. To transform it into a day for kids to have cotton candy is what I am objecting to, not that Icelanders should have the day off of work or commemorate the changing of the seasons.
April 22, 2010 at 9:41 PM
Björn Friðgeir said…
Hamingjunni sé lof fyrir að þér finnst sumardagurinn fyrsti ekki 'hræðileg hugmynd'. Ég gæti ekki LIFAÐ ÞAÐ AF ef einhver kaliforníubúi þyrfti að líta niður á aldagamlar íslenskar hefðir. Jafnvel hálfíslenskur kaliforníubúi.
Við erum ekki að breyta Earth Day í skemmtidag fyrir börn, við erum að halda upp á okkar eigin hefðir, þannig að að það er engin 'transformation' sem þú þarft að fyrtast við. Það er ekki eins og Earth Day sé haldinn það hátíðlegur um heim allan og það er ekki nokkur ástæða fyrir Ísland að gefa sumardaginn fyrsta eftir.
April 23, 2010 at 3:26 PM
Anonymous said…
uuu, við höldum alls ekkert upp á þennan Earth day, ég hafði satt að segja aldrei heyrt um hann fyrr en í þessari færslu. Þetta eru bara tvær alls óskyldar hátíðir. Mér finnst fínt að sumardagurinn fyrsti sé á þessum tíma þó auðvitað sé ekkert orðið eitthvað heitt sumarveður - eftir langan vetur má vel reyna að telja sér trú um að sumarið sé á leiðinni. Og það er aldalöng hefð fyrir að þetta sé dagur barna, sumargjafir eru líka eina séríslenska gjafahefðin, má ég frekar biðja um að halda henni heldur en einhverjum innfluttum hefðum?

Heiða, sorrí ef ég pirra þig, ég veit satt að segja ekki til þess að ég hafi nokkurn tímann áður komið með eitthvað hörundssárt svar hér á þessari síðu :þ
April 24, 2010 at 10:03 AM
Hildigunnur said…
(semsagt þegar Earth Day var fundinn upp vorum við Björn Friðgeir smákrakkar í skrúðgöngu niðri í bæ, með fána og blöðrur og lúðrasveitir og ullarbrjóstsykur og hvað veit ég? Transformation? naaah).
April 24, 2010 at 10:31 AM
Lissy said…
By transformation, I mean that the eldgamalt tradition Björn is referring to is a tradition tied to the seasons, sumardagur fyrsti. In the Viking Age and before, it was celebrated in direct connection with nature and was a serious pagan holiday. It has been transformed in Iceland into something for kids.

When Earthday was founded 40 years ago, its date was chosen because the day after the spring equinox was an old pagan holiday in celebration of the earth.

I do not think it would hurt Sumardagur fyrsti for it to have more of an environmental message. Kids are not opposed to planting a tree or doing something else to show respect to the planet.
April 24, 2010 at 1:20 PM
Ko-Leen said…
When I was in Canada, on Earth Day, it was common for groups of friends to go out cleaning up the city, picking up garbage, composting, or planting a tree, so I guess it is more like California
Oh ya, there was also the toxic round up, encouraging everyone to dispose of old batteries, paints and chemicals safely.
I liked it.
April 24, 2010 at 4:26 PM
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