Under the same roof

I have enjoyed a wonderful four days with my family in Southern California, with lots of good food and laughs and fun presents and heartfelt moments.

Last night my niece left, and today my nephew and his mom will be leaving, so it is all winding up a bit now.

We've all been sleeping in the same house here, the house I grew up in, and indeed, this is a big part of the holidays in the United States, having family members who live far apart from one another actually sleep in the same house again. It strikes me as not quite so much a defining characteristic of the holidays in Iceland as it is here. In Iceland, I think everyone tends to go back to their own homes Christmas eve, and then eat somewhere else Christmas day.

Of course this could have something to do with the fact that Christmas morning is the main time to open presents in the United States, since Santa does not come until Christmas eve.

Comments

vegfarandi said…
Þetta hefur líka með það að gera að Íslendingar eru alltaf í kringum fjöskylduna sína, allan ársins hring. Bandaríkjamenn eiga það til að vera burtu frá fjölskyldunni meirihluta ársins.
December 28, 2010 at 11:55 AM
Anonymous said…
já og að fólk hér býr jú ekki langt í burtu - þegar bróðir minn sem býr á Egilsstöðum kemur í bæinn með sína fjölskyldu gista þau alltaf hjá mömmu og pabba, þau eiga hins vegar ekki rúm fyrir öll okkur 17 afkomendur og tengdabörn, ekki nokkur leið né ástæða til að troða okkur öllum í gistingu.
December 29, 2010 at 1:25 PM
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